In her Los Angeles penthouse, Sienna Sterling hurled a silk cushion across the room. It hit a minimalist white vase, which wobbled but didn't fall. She wanted to scream.
Her phone buzzed with a message from her publicist. The narrative was lost. All anyone was talking about was the damned AstorBrothers. Her moment of triumph, her grand entrance into the Astor dynasty, had been hijacked.
An encrypted call came through. A name she dreaded seeing flashed on the screen: The Collector. He was the shadowy figure who ran the troll farm she'd hired to build her narrative.
"The game has changed," his synthesized voice buzzed. "The target is now a ghost, and the conversation has shifted. This requires a more... robust response. My fee has doubled. Wire it now, or our previous arrangement becomes public record."
Sienna's breath caught in her throat. Blackmail. She felt a surge of pure hatred for the anonymous commenter, for Julian Astor, but most of all, for Chloe. It had to be her.
"Fine," she hissed, and authorized the transfer. The money was a painful dent in her savings, a fund she'd been building for her life as Mrs. Astor.
She ended the call and took several deep, calming breaths, staring at her reflection in a large, gilt mirror. She watched her face transform. The hard lines of anger softened, her eyes welled with manufactured tears, her lower lip began to tremble. By the time the doorbell rang, she was a masterpiece of victimhood.
Ryan Astor found her curled on the sofa, her face buried in a cushion, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
"Sienna? Baby, what's wrong?" He rushed to her side, gathering her into his arms. "I told you my PR team would handle everything."
She looked up at him, her eyes red and swimming with tears. "Oh, Ryan," she choked out. "It's not working. It's all my fault. I've made everyone hate you. They're all taking her side, saying I'm a homewrecker."
She angled her phone so he could see a curated selection of comments sympathetic to Chloe.
"How can they say that about you?" Ryan's face darkened with anger.
Sienna shook her head, burying her face in his chest. "They're right, Ryan. As long as she's your wife, I'm the other woman. And now... now they've dragged your cousin into it. I heard he's... ruthless. What if he thinks I'm trying to damage the family name?"
She had expertly planted the seed. She made it sound like Chloe wasn't acting alone, that she had a powerful force-Julian-in her corner.
"Chloe doesn't have the brains for that," Ryan scoffed, but the mention of Julian had hit a nerve. "But she's good at playing the victim. The elders have always had a soft spot for her."
"The elders?" Sienna asked, her voice a soft, innocent whisper. "You mean... Mr. Astor? Your grandfather? I heard he's quite fond of Chloe."
Bullseye. Ryan's jaw clenched. His grandfather, Cornelius Astor II, was the one person whose approval he craved and never truly had. The thought that Chloe, in her quiet, unassuming way, had charmed the old man while he was seen as a disgrace, was intolerable.
He felt the narrative of his own life slipping from his grasp. Julian was the respected heir, Chloe was the beloved granddaughter-in-law, and he was just the embarrassing fool in the tabloids. And it was all her fault.
Sienna saw the shift in his eyes. She knew she had him.
"Maybe... maybe we should just give up," she whispered, her voice breaking. "I don't want you to lose your family because of me."
It was the final, perfect move. The feigned self-sacrifice ignited Ryan's misguided sense of chivalry.
"No," he said, his voice low and fierce as he clutched her tighter. "I will never give you up. I'll handle Chloe. I promise. I'll make this right."
He was no longer just a man trying to get a divorce. He was a man on a mission to punish the person he blamed for his own humiliation.
Sienna leaned into his embrace, a tiny, triumphant smile playing on her lips, hidden from his view. The pawn was in position.
