Begging for a Second Chance (Sienna Sloan and Jarred Sterling) novel Chapter 256

Sienna pushed open the door to the coffee shop and spotted Luna sitting in a corner booth.

“There you are!” Luna dragged her into a seat and immediately started venting. “My database only gave me a dozen vague silhouettes. I couldn't get a hard lock. The jewelry brand flat-out refused to give up their client list. I don't know what makes these luxury brands think they're so special, but they wouldn't leak a single drop of info.”

Sienna's heart sank. “...So you didn't find anything?”

“Hold your horses.” Luna pushed a freshly ordered coffee in front of her. “Right after I texted you that day, I walked back to my desk, and someone literally delivered the file straight into my hands.”

Sienna's eyes widened. “Who?”

Luna raised an eyebrow, looking distinctly annoyed. “Take a wild guess. There are barely a handful of people in the entire Capital who can bypass a top-tier VIP privacy wall and hand-deliver a list to a police precinct.”

Seeing the absolute disdain on Luna's face, Sienna didn't even need to guess.

Her expression turned instantly frigid. A visceral wave of rejection flashed in her eyes as she turned to look out the window.

“I don't want to guess, and I don't care. Just tell me the results.”

Seeing her icy reaction, Luna sighed in resignation and cut straight to the chase.

“You're spot on. It was Jarred's assistant, Declan Ward. He handed the file to me personally. Didn't even bother playing the anonymous hero. He obviously wants you to know he's helping.”

Luna scoffed. “If he hadn't taken advantage of you back then, none of this would have happened. Does he think this makes up for it? He's just trying to slap a band-aid on a seven-year-old mistake. Bah, belated devotion is cheaper than dirt!”

Sienna sat in silence. She offered no response, acting as if she hadn't heard a word.

She had zero desire to entangle herself with the Sterlings anymore, especially not Jarred.

Luna dropped the subject. She clicked open the cross-referenced file on her laptop and pointed at a highlighted name.

“I ran my system's suspect list against his VIP custom-order ledger. Only one name overlapped perfectly.”

With that, Luna spun the laptop around.

They shared no business ventures, no private communication, and absolutely no professional overlap.

“I bet my badge there's a massive secret we don't know about,” Luna said, looking utterly frustrated. “Otherwise, why would Maloney go to such extreme lengths to cover for Silas when they supposedly have nothing to do with each other?”

Sienna lowered her eyes, a chaotic mess of thoughts swirling in her head.

If her previous suspicions were correct, Maloney and Silas were deeply intertwined.

Where did Seraphina fit into this twisted game?

Seraphina's story was too grounded to be a lie.

Seeing Sienna lost in thought, Luna angrily muttered under her breath.

“And to think I actually thought Silas was one of the good guys! I mean, look how easily he helped you auction off that bracelet. He agreed to whatever you wanted. I even thought he was a total badass. Who knew he was doing all this slimy, shameless crap behind your back? What an absolute psycho!”