Page 62 of Vendetta Crown

Once the door closes behind us, Sienna's carefully constructed Hollywood facade crumbles completely.

"The day before I revealed your identity." Her voice cracks, "I was taken from my home. Two men broke in while I was sleeping. They put a bag over my head and drove me somewhere."

My stomach twists. "Taken where?"

"I don't know. Some house. When they removed the bag, I was sitting in front of the most terrifying woman I've ever seen." Sienna shivers visibly. "Blonde, ice-blue eyes, perfect skin that didn't move when she spoke. It was as if she's wearing a mask for a face. But her eyes… they saw me and theyhated."

I know who she's talking about. Tamara.

"She showed me the picture I posted of you from Nikoforov weeks ago. The one I deleted after Ruslan blackballed me from the rest of Hollywood." Sienna continues, her voice shaking. "She asked me if I knew who you really were. When I said I didn't, she told me that your name was Jamie, and that you were just pretending to be a woman named Aurora Castellanos. She told me that I had two choices: either I post the photo and tell the world who you were or..."

Sienna's voice falters.

"She told me that they'll kill me. She told me exactly how they'll kill me. That they'll make me hurt first. I had no choice."

I should feel sympathy for her. She was threatened, forced to choose between her life and mine. But all I can think about is how her Instagram post set everything in motion. The attack on the mansion. Hannah's kidnapping. Kristofer's hands on me.

The bruises and bite marks that still haven't fully healed.

"Do you have any idea what your post did?" My voice comes out barely above a whisper. "Do you know what happened to me because of it? What happened to Ruslan?"

Sienna stares at her hands. "I know that Ruslan was shot when this mansion came under attack, but… that's all I know."

"Let me show you exactly what your post did." I finally say, my voice eerily calm despite the storm raging inside me.

I tug at my collar, yanking the fabric down to expose the ugly bite mark on my shoulder. It's faded somewhat, but the imprint of human teeth remains unmistakable.

"You exposed me to the world. You helped my stalker, the same man who murdered my family seven years ago, find me. And this is what happened when he did."

Sienna's hand flies to her mouth. "Oh my god?—"

"I'm not finished." I cut her off, my hand moving to my face where I dampen my finger with saliva and rub at my cheek, revealing the bruise beneath my carefully applied makeup. "He kidnapped my best friend to lure me out. He forced me into his car at knifepoint. Then he drove me to Las Vegas where he intended to marry and rape me."

The words pour out of me like poison that's been festering too long. I pull back my sleeve to show the fading finger-shaped bruises still on my wrist.

"He forced me onto the bed." My voice cracks. "Held me down. Ripped my clothes. Hurt me while I begged him for mercy. He was on the verge of raping me before someone broke the door down."

Sienna's face has gone ghostly pale.

"You were afraid of dying. I was living my nightmares." I step closer, my eyes locked with hers. "But do you know what the worst part of this all was?"

Sienna shakes her head, a tear rolling down her cheek.

My hand moves instinctively to my belly, cradling it protectively.

"I didn't even know I was pregnant at the time." The words come out as barely more than a whisper. "My baby was growing inside me when that monster's hands were on me, when he bit me and bruised me."

"I'm so sorry," Sienna whispers, her makeup streaking as tears run freely down her face. "I didn't know?—"

"Your words can't undo what he did," I snap, anger boiling over. "Sorry doesn't erase the bite marks he left. Your apology won't make the bruises heal any faster. And your tears won't help me forget that awful moment."

My hands are shaking now, and I ball them into fists at my sides.

"For seven years, I ran, hid, and never stopped looking over my shoulder." I tell her. "And just when I finally found something good, someone who made me feel safe, you helped nearly destroy it all."

I wipe angrily at my eyes. "So forgive me if I don't rush to absolve you of your guilt."

"I understand," she whispers.

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