Begging for a Second Chance (Sienna Sloan and Jarred Sterling) novel Chapter 425

"Sienna? Are you still there?" Luna called out.

"I'm here," Sienna said, snapping back to reality. "Get in touch with Thea Stanton for me. Have her run a background check on Helena and the matriarch's recent movements, along with Celeste's medical files."

"Don't you think Jarred has a hand in this?"

Sienna stayed silent for two seconds. "It's better if he does, otherwise it'd be too hard to catch him slipping up."

Hanging up, Sienna immediately called for her staff to prep a change of clothes and headed straight back to Sterling Manor.

The atmosphere at the estate felt entirely different today.

Sienna felt it the second she stepped out of the car.

The main doors were wide open, flanked by somber white memorial wreaths swaying softly in the afternoon breeze.

Sienna approached slowly, her gaze locking onto the center of the grand foyer.

A makeshift memorial shrine stood glaringly in the middle of the hall.

To call it a memorial was a stretch; the setup was incredibly bare-bones.

A long table sat in the center, bearing a single urn.

Right in front of the urn rested a framed photograph of Celeste.

The woman in the picture was smiling gently, her eyes curved in a way that perfectly captured her innocent, harmless facade.

Other than that, there was absolutely nothing else.

No memorial banners, no grand floral tributes, no eulogies, not even a row of chairs for visiting family and friends.

The entire setup was barren and hollow, like a rushed theater stage thrown together at the last second.

The massive hall was chillingly quiet, so silent you could hear the faint crackle of the memorial candles.

Besides the household staff, the only people present were Helena and the matriarch sitting solemnly in the center—not a single visitor had come.

Seeing Sienna, the young maid standing guard by the door jolted upright.

Sienna didn't even look at her. Her gaze swept lightly over the empty, desolate hall, her voice steady and flat.

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