Their Queen Returns – “Are you sure about this, Sienna?” Outside the airport terminal, a woman in a chic white suit clutched Sienna Hart’s hand, her own trembling. “You don’t have to go back to Solara,” she begged. Her blonde hair and blue eyes were swimming with a desperate plea. “Stay here with us, please.” Sienna, poised and elegant, met her foster mother’s gaze. She then pulled the woman into a deep, meaningful hug, her own eyes stinging with emotion. “I have to go back, Mom,” she said softly, “but I’ll be back. I promise.” But as the plane taxied down the runway, Sienna knew this was a promise she might not be able to keep. Three days ago, the dam of her memory had broken. She finally knew who she was. She remembered she was Sienna Hart, the eldest daughter of the prestigious Hart family of Vallaris. At eighteen, a trip abroad ended in a fiery plane crash. By some miracle, she survived, only to be found by a kind couple who, believing she had no one, adopted her and raised her as their own. Now, at twenty-eight, the past had come rushing back.
Her family was still alive, and she couldn’t abandon them. Morality left her no choice but to return home. The flight was long, but sleep was a distant stranger. Sienna spent the hours piecing together the fractured memories of her family. It all felt like a bizarre, vivid dream from another lifetime. ***** At 10:10 p.m., Sienna finally arrived in Vallaris. She hailed a cab, and the driver greeted her with a thick Vallaris accent. “Where are you going, Miss?” A faint smile touched her lips. “88 Maplecrest Avenue, please.” The driver said, catching her accent, “Miss, you don’t look local. I thought you were a tourist.” Sienna’s smile widened. “I’m from here. It’s just…” The smile faltered, a shadow of old pain and fresh hope passing through her eyes. “It’s been a long time.” It had been ten years. Everything she knew was gone. She found herself thinking about her three little sisters. ‘Where are they now?’ she wondered. ‘Are they doing well?’ As she sank into her memories, the driver kept chattering on about how kids these days didn’t visit their parents enough. When they arrived, Sienna paid and got out of the car. Frowning, she stared at the place in front of her. ‘Since when was this here?’ she thought. “Charmvale.” The word escaped her lips. Nothing was the same anymore.
Just as she turned to leave, a heated argument outside the club caught her eye. The guy had his hands in his pockets, looking cocky and cold, with a face that screamed heartbreaker. “Get it through your head,” he spoke to a young girl in her simple dress. “You’re a substitute. Do I have to spell it out for you?” The girl’s eyes were rimmed with red, her pretty face blotched with tears. “Mason, I told you,” she replied. “I’m not feeling well, so I’m not going to the hospital to donate blood today.” “Not feeling well?” Mason Quinn let out a cruel laugh. He grabbed her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Then why do you come to sell booze at a place like this? Vivian, are you selling drinks or selling yourself?” Vivian Hart’s jaw tightened. With a sharp crack, her hand flew across his face. “You’re a monster, Mason,” she spat, her voice trembling with rage. “I’ve paid my debts. We’re done. Now get away from me!” “You think you’re done with me? Vivian, you’re not the one who gets to decide. Three years ago, that engagement saved your family. You want to break up with me? Go ask your dad and see if he’ll agree.” “You!” With that, Mason grabbed her arm and started dragging her toward his car. “If you want to keep playing the part of my fiancée, you’ll do as you’re told. Chloe needs your blood. It’s the only thing you’re good for, after all.” A wave of utter despair washed over Vivian. She closed her eyes, defeated. To her, it had always been this way.
Three years ago, she’d believed he was her savior. She’d thought he truly cared. But it was all a lie. Mason had only seen her as a walking, breathing medicine cabinet for Chloe Zalton, the one he actually loved. After the engagement was set, she had to go every month to donate blood for Chloe. And when she tried to put a stop to it, her dad slapped her for even bringing it up. Just as Vivian was about to be pushed into the car, a cold, cutting voice sliced through the night. “Let her go.” Mason froze and turned. The woman before him was gorgeous, but her gaze was deadly. “Who are you?” Mason scowled. “This is a private matter. Get lost!” But when Vivian heard that voice, the world seemed to shift beneath her feet. It was a voice that she recognized deep in her soul, a voice from a life she believed had vanished forever. She looked up, her body rigid with disbelief. The face, so familiar, so regal, so achingly missed, sent a tremor through her heart. A trembling hand reached out, her own face a mask of shock. Her lips parted, and a single, fragile word escaped, a name she’d only dared to whisper in her dreams. “Sienna?” she mumbled. “Is that you?” Sienna’s gaze softened as she looked at the broken girl before her. Vivian, her second sister, had been just fifteen when Sienna left. Now grown, she still carried that same spark in her eyes. “It’s me, Vivian,” Sienna said, her voice a gentle balm.
“I’m back.” “Sienna!” Vivian ripped her arm from Mason’s grasp and threw herself into Sienna’s embrace, sobbing as if her heart would break. Years of pain, loneliness, and quiet suffering all came flooding out. She grabbed Sienna and wouldn’t let go, shaking, terrified that this was another cruel dream. Sienna held her tight, stroking her back. Her voice was a steady, warm anchor in the storm. “It’s okay,” she murmured. “I’m here now. I’m back, and I’m not going anywhere.” Vivian cried until Sienna’s shoulder was soaked, finally pulling back with a sniffle of embarrassment, her eyes puffy and red. “Is this real?” she whispered. “You’re really here? Am I still dreaming?” Sienna’s heart ached. “It’s real, Vivian. I’m really back.” She would never leave either of them again. Meanwhile, Mason, who had been ignored for so long, was now utterly confused. ‘Sienna?’ he wondered. ‘Vivian didn’t have a sister. She was the eldest daughter of the Hart family, wasn’t she?’ “Vivian, are you done with this melodrama?” he chimed in. “We’re leaving now.” But before he could finish the sentence, another sharp smack echoed in the night air. Mason stumbled, his head whipping to the side. Sienna had hit him hard, without holding back. She’d been listening to his vile performance, her fury coiled like a snake in her gut. ‘What a joke,’ Sienna thought. ‘A substitute? Forced blood donations? What kind of sick, primetime drama is this?’ Then Mason called out Vivian’s name, and Sienna strode forward. Though ten years had passed, she recognized Vivian instantly.
Her pitiful, vulnerable look tugged at Sienna’s heart. Bullying her family right in front of her was the last straw for Sienna. Mason might as well have been asking for trouble. “What are you doing? Do you have any idea who I am?” cried Mason. The slap had left him dazed. His cheek was numb and painful. “I’m Vivian’s boyfriend! Who do you think you are?” Mason glared at the woman before him, but his bravado quickly faded. The woman standing there radiated a genuinely terrifying power. A cold dread crept over him. “I’m her sister.” Sienna pulled Vivian behind her, her voice deadly calm. “And you just laid a hand on my family. So, tell me. Do you want to leave here walking or crawling?” Vivian sniffled, the fear instantly replaced by a surge of strength. Sienna was a fortress, and inside her walls, nothing could touch her. “Sienna, I hate him,” she whimpered, clinging to Sienna’s arm. “He’s a bully.” That was all Sienna needed to hear. She drove her foot into Mason’s stomach, sending him sprawling to the pavement again. “You… you’ll pay for this!” Mason gasped, yet he could do nothing but scramble away. Chapter 2 A Gilded Cage No More Steering Vivian away from the chaos, Sienna stopped at a quiet corner and gently dabbed at the lingering tears on Vivian’s cheeks. Vivian was not so short, but next to Sienna with those heels on, she looked as fragile as a porcelain doll. “Don’t cry, Vivian,” Sienna said softly. “Tell me what happened.
Tell me everything.” Vivian’s shoulders shook with silent sobs. She didn’t want to cry, but the injustice was overwhelming. Everyone had told her Sienna was dead. Sienna had gone for ten years, a full decade of silence. Seeing Vivian so upset, Sienna took her to a cozy diner and ordered steaks for both of them. As the hot food arrived, Vivian’s storm of emotions began to calm. “Sienna… where were you these years?” Vivian wiped her face clean and finally asked the question that had been haunting her for years, “They all said you were dead…” Vivian never believed it. Neither did the other sisters. They didn’t buy the official story about the plane crash either. But after ten years of silence, even the strongest hope started to fade. A wave of guilt washed over Sienna. “I thought I was dead, too,” she admitted. “But I somehow survived. A kind family took me in. I had amnesia for ten years. Three days ago, my memory came back. I came straight here to find you.” Amnesia! That one word erased ten years of resentment. All the anger Vivian had carried, for being left behind, for being alone, just melted away. “It’s our fault. We should’ve found you sooner…” Vivian’s voice cracked as she looked across the table at Sienna, scared she might disappear like a ghost. “Enough of that,” Sienna said gently but firmly. “Now, tell me about that Mason.” “He’s my ex. But we’re over now,” Vivian said, a little too quickly. “Speaking of that, how about staying with me tonight?” She couldn’t bear for Sienna to know the whole, humiliating story.
Sienna didn’t push. If Vivian didn’t tell her, she’d find out on her own. And anyone who had hurt her family would learn the true meaning of regret. After dinner, they talked for a while and then left the restaurant. When they got to the address Vivian gave, Sienna stopped. The building was old and run-down, in a bad part of town. “Vivian, you live here?” Disbelief filled her voice. ‘Our home is a sprawling villa at No. 1 Southlake. Why is Vivian living here? Is this some misguided attempt at independence?’ Sienna felt a knot of confusion tighten in her chest. Vivian couldn’t meet her eyes. She had been thrown out of her home seven years ago. She didn’t know how to explain it to Sienna. “It’s not that bad. Come on. Let’s go up!” she said, leading Sienna upstairs. Sienna followed silently, swallowing her questions. Just as Vivian reached for the door, a portly, greasy-looking man stepped forward, blocking their way. “Vivian! You’re late on this month’s rent again,” he boomed. “You’re six months behind! With utilities, you owe me 2,000 dollars! And now you’re bringing guests? Pay up!” Vivian froze, her face a mixture of panic and shame as she glanced between the landlord and Sienna. She prayed he would just shut up. “I’ve been going easy on you because you’re a young girl,” the landlord continued. “But you’re pushing your luck! A girl who looks like you can’t scrape together 2,000 dollars? What a waste.” His eyes roamed over Vivian with a possessive leer that sent a chill down Sienna’s spine. It was clear that he expected payment of a different kind, not money.