CHAPTER 14: CHAPTER 14: SCHEMES AND MANIPULATION

The following morning, a batch of acrylic boards ordered by the art museum arrived, and Sienna Monroe, as the curator, needed to inspect them.

The late autumn rain had been pouring for two days, without a break.

Caleb Sinclair knew she didn’t like driving on rainy days, so he offered to drive her there, and Sienna didn’t refuse.

The car had just parked and hadn’t turned off yet. She unbuckled her seatbelt and saw a somewhat familiar white BMW pull into the parking spot across from her.

It was Vivian Nash.

She was in a daze for a moment before remembering that Vivian’s half-month vacation had ended, and today was the day she returned to work.

She didn’t look at Caleb but instead concealed her emotions, grabbed her bag, got out of the car, and smiled, "Morning, Vivian, back to work?"

Vivian was slightly stunned. Upon seeing her, the panic in her eyes vanished instantly. She glanced at the man in the driver’s seat, closed the car door with a smile, and walked over. "Yes. Good morning, Sienna."

Caleb, inside the car, rolled down the window, nodded at her, then looked at Sienna, saying gently, "Honey, I’m leaving."

Sienna turned to look at him. "Okay, drive safely."

"Send me a message when you get off work, and I’ll pick you up."

"Alright."

As the black Cayenne drove away, she brought back her gaze and caught a fleeting glimpse of jealousy in Vivian’s eyes. Her brows slightly furrowed, but Vivian had already changed to a teasing expression. "Wow, I’m so envious, you even have a ’chauffeur’ to drive you."

She saw through it; Vivian’s words were sincere.

It was just said in a joking manner.

She smiled, "What’s there to envy? Don’t you also have a ’chauffeur’? Have him drive you tomorrow."

Vivian snorted, pretending to be angry, "He’s so busy, he doesn’t have time to drive me."

While they talked, Sienna’s gaze froze, noticing the sapphire cat’s eye necklace around her neck.

Exquisite, elegant, and undeniably luxurious.

She recognized that necklace because she had an identical one.

The price was 890,000.

It was a Valentine’s gift from Caleb this year.

"Then this necklace..."

She suppressed the turmoil in her heart and forced a playful smile.

Vivian shyly smiled, but her eyes were full of confidence and arrogance, with a touch of smugness, "My boyfriend gave it to me yesterday. Is it pretty?"

Although she had guessed it was from Caleb, hearing it confirmed still gave her a jolt.

Her eyes grew cold, but her gentle voice maintained a smile, "Wow, your boyfriend is generous indeed, even if he’s busy, making it up through material gifts is nice."

Vivian nodded, as if recalling something, "I remember... don’t you also have a necklace like this?"

"Yes." Sienna paused, then said lightly, "Caleb gave it to me this Valentine’s."

"Oh, I see." Vivian elongated her tone, her eyebrows involuntarily lifting.

Sienna glanced at her car and curiously asked, "When did you change your car?"

Vivian sighed helplessly, "He gave it to me too. I actually liked my old Toyota, but he insisted on getting me a new one, saying it would be more comfortable."

Sienna gave her a sidelong glance, "Are you bragging or just showing off?"

"Not at all." Vivian hooked her arm affectionately, "Do I need to show off? It’s not like you lack anything. Caleb... is quite generous."

"Yes, very generous."

Sienna let out a self-mocking laugh.

Walking to the elevator, she casually pulled her arm back to press the elevator button.

Suddenly, her phone beeped.

[Vivian Nash has listed her 900,000 apartment on a real estate platform for 1.5 million.]

As Sienna entered the elevator, she glanced at the message and her eyes darkened.

When Vivian leaned over again, she calmly turned off the screen and tossed the phone into her bag.

Vivian’s apartment was bought four years ago, 80 square meters, one bedroom, one living room, in a mediocre location, a 30 to 40-minute drive from Serena Art Museum.

She paid a 600,000 down payment, plus 400,000 for renovations.

At the time, she was short on cash, so Sienna lent her 300,000, for which Vivian wrote an IOU, but she hasn’t repaid it to this day.

Sienna valued their friendship, so she never mentioned the 300,000.

After all, with her two to three hundred square meter mansion, why would she even care about the small 80-square-meter apartment?

Thoughts preoccupied, the surrounding sounds grew clearer, "Having rested for half a month, I feel rusty in my work. I saw in the group chat that Audrey’s solo exhibition is going smoothly?"

Audrey was a well-known figure in the art circle. This year, two of her paintings were auctioned in Valois for 5 million and 8.4 million respectively.

She had a striking yet dignified appearance, with an abstract impressionist style that captured mysterious yet profound beauty with every seemingly casual stroke.

This exhibition was her first solo show in the country.

She chose Serena Art Museum because Sienna’s mother was her teacher.

"Yes, it’s going well." She replied softly.

"When is Audrey returning from Elysia?"

"I don’t know."

"Didn’t you ask?"

Sienna exited the elevator and said nonchalantly, "She’s always been carefree. She’ll definitely be back in time for the exhibition, no need to worry. I’m heading back to the office."

She left Vivian and walked straight into the office. It wasn’t long before Nora Joyce came in with a stack of documents, reporting on the progress of the exhibition layout.

Sienna worked until 8 PM when Caleb came to pick her up.

Returning home, she had just gotten out of the car when she received a text: [No matter what your mother-in-law, June Ewing, says tomorrow, don’t believe her! She’s deceiving you, only coveting the Serena Art Museum and your wealth, as well as your uncle’s Hughes Group background. Despite its appearance as a beauty salon, Radiance Beauty Spa is secretly a socialite training school, also involved in male escort services.]

Sienna stopped abruptly, her body swaying.

The message was like a thunderbolt, striking her hard.

Her heart numbed to a standstill.

Tomorrow was her mother-in-law June Ewing’s birthday.

Since she started dating Caleb, every time she visited June, she brought lavish gifts, tens of thousands worth of bags, jewelry, skincare products were the norm.

June doted on her like a daughter, even siding with her if she and Caleb had minor disagreements, scolding Caleb on her behalf.

Caleb often joked that he felt like the son-in-law rather than the son.

The Monroe Family was renowned as a cultured family in Imperial City.

Old Mr. Monroe and Old Mrs. Monroe, in their time, were master modern writers of the literary world, and Sienna’s father was a history professor at Crestwood University, her mother a famous painter.

Even her brother Shane Morgan, after graduating from The Diplomatic Academy, smoothly entered The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, young and promising.

Her uncle’s family, the Hughes Group, was a notable name in Imperial City’s elite circle, focusing on finance and foreign trade.

With her background, she was more than a match for the third son of The Sterling Family.

Last March, June suddenly expressed a desire to open a beauty salon, but she only had a little over a million in liquid assets. Her position in The Sterling Family was not high, and most of Isaac Sinclair’s money was controlled by Rhonda Garrison, his original wife.

Sienna suspected her intentions at the time but didn’t think much of it and, out of trust, felt it would be good for her mother-in-law to have her own side business, giving her a way to pass the time.

She immediately provided 3 million as a startup fund.

June was thrilled and generously made Sienna the legal representative.

Thus, she became a shareholder of Radiance Beauty Spa.

Since its opening, Radiance Beauty Spa had been operating for almost a year with considerable profit. This year, June had given her 4 million in dividends.

But she never expected the truth to be like this.

If Radiance Beauty Spa ever got investigated, the first to suffer would be her, the legal representative.

How absurd it all was.

Her husband, who loved her so dearly, had deceived and betrayed her, and even her mother-in-law, who had always treated her fondly, would scheme and take advantage of her.