Chapter 5

Pin-drop silence blanketed the room, and Carl raised his head at the coffin on his left. At the opening of the coffin covered with flowers, something bloody suddenly stretched out. "What's that? It's a hand!" "But I thought Sienna's body was never found!" The atmosphere in the room turned eerie, and a bloody person climbed out of the coffin, wailing, "Dad, I'm in so much pain! Did I die?" Carl turned his head stiffly. Scared out of his wits, he fell to the floor. The bloody body climbed out of the coffin and toward Julia. "Julia, it's so painful! Natalie pierced through my palm with her foot. Natalie, you ordered the crooks to beat me up real bad." Julia and Natalie shrieked loudly as their knees buckled, and all three of them were as pallid. Natalie held her head and shouted, "Mom, didn't we already seal her soul so she'll never return? Why did she come back for revenge? Don't come for me! No!" Her words revealed a piece of important information, and Sienna sniggered as she slowly stood up. Out of the terrified onlookers, a few looked up. When they saw Sienna moving around freely, they stammered, "M-Ms. Sienna, are you alive?" "Yes." Sienna walked over and stepped on Natalie's hand, chuckling coldly with her head lowered. "The odd thing is, my family thought I was dead and even sealed my soul." This news shocked everyone, and a smile crept across Sienn `a's face slowly as her eyes turned bloodshot. "Does it make it easier to snatch my company and forge my will after burying me? Are you giving all my assets to Natalie? "Dad, did you forget that ten days ago, Natalie and William paid some crooks to abduct me to the mountains and kill me?" "Goodness, that's different from the Rhodeses' claim! Wasn't she killed by her lover?" "What? Did she mean that the Rhodeses conspired to kill her?" Carl stared hard at Sienna, making sure that she was a living person. She didn't die! He came around quickly, though, rushing over to hug Sienna. "Sienna, you're alive! This is great!" "How can I die, Dad?" Sienna glared at him with a piercing look. "Before my wedding, my fiance and stepsister had an affair together and conceived a baby. To keep their baby, they had to kill me. How can I forget such a huge gift?" Blood drained from Natalie's and William's faces. A clamor broke out from the crowd, and the media swarmed in, holding their cameras. Hurriedly, Carl gestured at the bodyguards to clear the scene. "My child, did you hurt your head? Why are you spouting nonsense?" Julia's reflexes were even faster as she dashed over and covered Sienna's mouth. Forcing out a few tears, she cried, "Are you mad at me and Carl? I'm sorry, we mistook your death because we couldn't find your body. Carl cried for days, and someone needed to run the company. We have no other choice but to present your handwritten will." "We love you very much. Don't be mad at us anymore, okay?" Carl chirped in a kind voice. Sienna ripped Julia's hand away. Ignoring them, she swept her gaze emotionlessly across the startled onlookers. She walked down the steps and smiled gracefully at the media. "The pen is in your hands. Make sure to write today's headlines well!" The journalists gawked at her stunning face. "Sienna!" Zoe shrieked. While heading to Zoe, Sienna saw the female employee who was spreading rumors earlier and gave her a clean, tight slap. "Did you see me sleeping with a male shareholder? You better negotiate a good price with Natalie for spreading rumors. Then, you can stuff your face full with your last dinner." The female employee's face turned ashen as Sienna's deep warning reached the journalists' ears and sparked a heated discussion. … In the private room of a cafe, Zoe held Sienna as she bawled. "Are you pregnant?" Zoe widened her eyes in shock, feeling sorry for Sienna. "What did you go through, Sienna? I should have been in Rotschire ten days ago. I would have stopped that immoral couple…" she trailed off and bawled again. It was Sienna's fault for wrongly placing her trust on William for so many years. Sienna tightened her palms and recounted everything to Zoe. Zoe was even more shocked now. "Not only are you pregnant, but you also married the man who violated you!" "It's a marriage of convenience. They took me away by force, and I have no other choice, Zoe." Zoe flinched and asked anxiously, "Who is he? Which family is he from? Could he be a rogue?" Sienna shook her head. "He wears a mask, and I don't even know his name." "What?" Zoe was at a complete loss for words. "What kind of mysterious guy did you marry?" Chuckling wryly, Sienna interrupted, "Let's forget about him for now and get back to the point. Zoe, you're an expert with computers. I need your help." By looking into her eyes, Zoe knew what she wanted and turned on her computer. As they expected, the news was flooded with the episode at Sienna's funeral. News that she was alive was covered by every outlet, and various guesses were made. Sienna showed Zoe two pictures. "That immoral couple got registered!" Although Natalie was wearing a baseball cap, Zoe could recognize her. Before Sienna could say anything, she sent the pictures to major media outlets. In less than five minutes, they triggered discussions on the Internet. Someone wrote, "That's Sienna's fiance and Natalie, isn't it? Are they outside the courthouse? It happened this morning!" "During the funeral, Sienna said that William and Natalie hooked up, and Natalie got pregnant. That's why they colluded to abduct and kill her." "If Sienna was telling the truth, then the story matches! She has a company and an inheritance. Did the Rhodeses kill their own family for the sake of her assets?" Just when Sienna and Zoe were enjoying themselves reading the comments, all the comments were removed from the trending searches all of a sudden. Then, Sienna's phone started ringing. She took a glance, and irony washed over her eyes. Stoically, she answered the call, "What's the matter, Dad?" Carl held back his fury. "Sienna, don't believe the pictures of William and Natalie on the Internet. Where are you now? Silly child, come home quickly. "I'm worried that you'll get hurt out there, and Julia already prepared a feast for you. All of us are welcoming you at home." "Oh?" He sounded as though he had no idea that she was the one who leaked the pictures. Smirking, she answered obediently, "Okay, I'll be back later." "That's great! I'm waiting for you." Carl seemed a little impatient. Instantly, Zoe objected, "Have you lost your mind? He can't possibly have anything good up his sleeves by asking you to come home now." A lopsided smile tinged Sienna's lips. "I'll tackle whatever that comes in my way. I won't fall out with the Rhodeses for now because there's something uncanny about my mother's death. "Furthermore, I have a feeling that my grandfather left more than an inheritance for me. Otherwise, they wouldn't be in such a rush to kill me." Were there other conspiracies? Zoe knew that Sienna wanted to get to the bottom of it all. "Promise me you'll watch out." "Do you think I'm still the happy and innocent Sienna from ten days ago?" The look in Sienna's eyes was as cold as winter—bone-chilling. Stunned, Zoe recalled that Sienna had died once, and her heart wrenched. "Do you still have my acupuncture bag with you?" Sienna knew acupuncture and had helped Zoe with her gastrointestinal problems the last time. Immediately, Zoe retrieved it for her. "I'll contact you tonight," Sienna said and left. … Sienna stood at the open front doors of the Rhodes residence and looked around. Julia rushed to her and held her gently. "You're finally home, Sienna! Carl will clear all misunderstandings that you have. Don't worry, the company is still yours. "All we want is for you to be alive. Take a seat. I've prepared some soup to boost the recovery of your injury." Sienna took her hats off Julia's composed acting skills. That explained why she never saw through her in the past. She walked to the couch, where Natalie was sleeping on it with her back to her. "What's the matter with Natalie?" Sienna asked. Julia sighed. "She's tired from the pregnancy. In addition, she was grieving over your death, so she passed out. It's alright. She'll be fine after a nap. Peel a fruit for yourself first, Sienna." Before Sienna could answer, Julia pushed a paring knife into her palms. Although Julia appeared casual, Sienna lowered her head and saw that all ten of her fingerprints were left on the knife. Then, she raised her head, looked at the unconscious Natalie, and sneered. "The soup is ready. Have it while it's hot, Sienna." Julia came over, gently holding a bowl of bone soup. Sienna took a look and drank it obediently. Meanwhile, Julia watched unblinkingly as she finished five mouthfuls, and her eyes flashed sinisterly. When Sienna stood up, she appeared a little unsteady. Supporting her head with one hand, she asked, "Julia, where's Dad? I'd like to see him." "He's waiting for you in the study upstairs. Go on!" Julia replied with a smile. Julia went upstairs while holding the staircase railing, shaking her head the whole time. However, she didn't see Carl when she entered the study. Instead, two portly male shareholders were there. It had been a long time since they had designs on Sienna. "You're here, Ms. Sienna," one of them said, wearing an evil smile. "What are you doing in Dad's study?" "We're waiting for you!" Panic-stricken, Sienna stumbled backward, and Julia shut the door with a bang. "Don't come over!" Sienna wailed in the room. Listening to her cries, Julia grinned and went downstairs. She woke Natalie up and giggled. "I thought she's going to smarten up after dying once. All we need is a few words, and she's still an idiot. "She released photos to prove that you and William are having an affair, then I'll create proof that she's a promiscuous woman. Later, you'll spread some blood on yourself and lie down upstairs after they've injected the psychotropic drug in her." Natalie laughed, imagining that the news tomorrow would shake the world, too. "So what if she's alive? She's still not a match for me, and I'll even send her off to jail." Gleeful smiles hung on their faces, and they pressed their ears against the door to eavesdrop. "Why is it quiet now?" Julia frowned. "Are they recording a video?" She was sure that a weak lady couldn't overwhelm two grown men. Just then, the door swung open suddenly.