Begging for a Second Chance (Sienna Sloan and Jarred Sterling) novel Chapter 159

Sienna suddenly felt a wave of self-deprecation wash over her.

Seven years in the Sterling household, five as Jarred's wife, and yet even a handful of lowly maids felt perfectly comfortable bullying her in broad daylight.

Had she been too soft all these years? Or did they just assume there would never be any consequences for stepping on her?

Then again, it made sense.

Who in the Sterling family had ever actually treated her like she belonged there?

Before she could dwell on it, Millie's shrill voice pierced the air again. "Sienna, you need to compensate Celeste immediately. That wine was priceless. With all of us standing right here as witnesses, there's no way you can lie your way out of this."

"Exactly! No way!"

The other two maids chimed in, their arrogance inflating by the second.

Celeste remained seated in her wheelchair, her wide, innocent eyes fixed on the scene.

A faint, almost imperceptible smile danced on her lips as she watched Sienna's predicament with deep satisfaction.

This was always her signature move.

She portrayed the tragic, delicate victim, ensuring a steady stream of brainless lackeys threw themselves onto the front lines to do her bidding.

All she ever had to do was sit in her chair, furrow her brow, and let out a soft sigh, and someone else would inevitably handle the dirty work.

Leaving her completely spotless. The eternal, untainted saint.

Seeing Sienna remain silent, Millie grew even bolder. "Or, if you can't afford the millions you owe, you can get down on your knees and grovel for Celeste's forgiveness.

You have to show some kind of remorse, right? I mean, it was such an expensive... Ah!"

*Smack!*

Before Millie could finish her sentence, a sharp slap echoed across the courtyard, Sienna's hand connecting violently with her cheek.

While the money doesn't mean much to me, I did purchase it for Eleanor. I need to see some sort of accountability from you so I have an explanation for her."

Sienna let out a dark chuckle. "How you explain it to her is none of my damn business. When something breaks, your first instinct isn't to figure out why, but to immediately point the finger at me. Are you psychic, or was this a setup from the start?"

Celeste offered a light, breezy smile, one brimming with the absolute confidence of a victor.

"If you're truly innocent, just pay the compensation first. The total is roughly a million and a half dollars. Will that be cash, wire transfer, or check?"

The figure made Sienna raise a skeptical eyebrow.

When her own grandmother was alive, she frequently used various types of alcohol as a base for medicinal remedies.

Growing up identifying different spirits, Sienna had a trained eye for alcohol.

The imported liquor scattered across the ground maxed out at maybe a million dollars total.

Which meant those six incredibly plain-looking bottles of red wine supposedly accounted for half a million dollars?