Chapter 8 - The Eviction of SiennaAs the police dragged a screaming, sobbing Richard through the crowd of news cameras toward a waiting squad car, I turned my attention back to Sienna.
She stood frozen beside the ruined champagne tower, her emerald dress disheveled, her ten-carat diamond necklace sparkling mockingly in the afternoon sun.
Two uniform officers stepped up beside her.
“What about her?” the detective asked me.
“Please! I’m pregnant!” Sienna wept, clutching her belly, dropping her arrogant posture completely. “I didn't know he was poisoning you! I swear I didn't know! I was just a victim! You can’t throw a pregnant woman out on the street!”
I walked over to her, reaching out my hand, and gently unclasped the ten-carat diamond necklace from her neck.
“You knew he was banishing me to a guest room, Sienna,” I said softly, holding the glittering diamonds in my palm. “You sat on my sofa, wore my silk robe, and talked about remodeling my home over my dead body. You weren't a victim. You were an eager accomplice.”
Samuel Sterling handed a legal notice to the officer.
“Sienna Reed is named as a co-conspirator in the corporate embezzlement charges,” Samuel stated. “As she was receiving stolen corporate funds and assets purchased with embezzled money.”
“Take off the robe, Sienna,” I said smoothly. “And get off my property.”
In front of two hundred high-society guests and dozens of rolling news cameras, Sienna was forced to strip off my silk robe and designer shoes, standing in her simple slip dress, sobbing hysterically as female officers escorted her off the Bel Air estate grounds into a waiting police van for questioning.
The crowd of board members and investors erupted into a massive standing ovation.
Charles Montgomery, the senior board member who had served under my late father, stepped forward, raising his champagne glass high in the air.
“To the true CEO of Sterling Enterprises!” Montgomery shouted. “Welcome back, Victoria!”
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“To Victoria!” the crowd cheered in unison.
I raised my glass of sparkling water, smiling dazzlingly under the warm California sun. The ninety-day death sentence was over. My new life was just beginning.
