Chapter 76: Who Is She?
But of course, the silence didn’t last long.
Halfway through his meal, Riley suddenly spoke again.
"Sienna," he said, his tone more careful this time, "I know you’re against that idea, right?"
Sienna didn’t need to ask what he meant. "Of course," she replied simply, giving a small nod.
Riley paused before voicing the question that had been on his mind. "But... aren’t you worried? What if those gangsters resort to violence?"
The words immediately changed the atmosphere.
Mia stopped eating.
Ava’s fork paused mid-air.
Both of them looked at Sienna, their expressions tightening, waiting.
Sienna, however, remained calm.
"No need to worry," she answered, her tone steady. "They don’t know I work here. And they don’t even know where my apartment is."
"That’s good to hear..." Riley exhaled, visibly relieved.
Mia nodded quickly. "Yes. That’s... very good. You are safe..."
Ava didn’t say anything, but her shoulders relaxed just slightly.
The tension slowly faded.
And just like that, the conversation shifted.
They started chatting about work, about guest complaints, about the mess in the hotel’s kitchen, and anything but Sienna’s family problems.
Sienna laughed softly, shaking her head as she listened to them. For a moment, everything felt normal again. However, beneath that calm, beneath that laughter and smile, her thoughts didn’t stop.
Because even as she smiled, even as she responded to their jokes, even as she finished her lunch, a question lingered quietly in the back of her mind.
’What if those gangsters really found me?’
Her fingers tightened slightly around her glass.
...
At the Sterling Family House.
Zoey Sterling stepped inside. She was here to visit her mother.
After all, a one-night hospital stay—no matter how minor her mother’s health—was still enough to make any daughter appear promptly the next day.
But as she walked deeper into the house, following the quiet hum of stillness, she found someone.
Zoey slowed her steps as she approached one of the family rooms, her gaze landing on a small figure seated on the sofa. Skylar, her nephew.
He sat there with his back to the entrance, completely still, his posture slightly hunched forward, as if in deep focus. Whatever had captured his attention was clearly more important than the world behind him.
Zoey’s lips curved into a small, amused smile.
Curious, she approached him silently, her steps light and careful, almost playful but natural. It wasn’t often she found her nephew so completely absorbed in something.
And naturally, she wanted to see what it was.
When she finally stood behind him, leaning slightly forward to peek over his shoulder, her smile widened.
’Ah... of course, photography.’
Skylar was holding his iPad, carefully editing photos with a seriousness that didn’t belong to a six-year-old.
His small fingers moved with surprising precision, adjusting light, color, and detail as if he had been doing this for years.
Zoey didn’t interrupt. She simply watched.
And as the images shifted on the screen, one after another, her expression softened as she saw beautiful insects, flowers, and all kinds of wildlife in the pictures.
Tiny details most people would overlook. But through Skylar’s lens, they looked... alive. It looks stunning.
Her gaze lingered as he zoomed in on a close-up of a dragonfly, its wings glowing softly in filtered sunlight. The composition, the angle, the focus, it was far beyond what she expected from a child his age.
’Sky... Sky... You are only six,’ she thought quietly, pride warming her chest. ’And you can capture something like this... You take photos like a pro!’
Zoey’s smile deepened.
’You really are a genius, aren’t you?’
She stayed like that for a while, simply watching, enjoying the quiet moment and the rare sight of her usually composed nephew completely lost in his own world.
Then, just as she was about to reach out and tap his shoulder to surprise him, her hand stopped mid-air, and her eyes narrowed slightly.
The image on the screen had changed. This time, it wasn’t an insect or scenery, and it wasn’t related to nature at all. It’s a person.
Zoey held her breath, leaned in just a little closer, her curiosity instantly piqued. She could clearly see her brother Zachary on the screen. Beside him, sitting so close, was a woman. A young woman, looking beautiful.
She immediately caught on to something unusual in Zachary’s expression. He was smiling. Not his usual polite, distant smile. Not the controlled expression he wore in front of business partners or acquaintances. But this one was softer, warmer, and felt different.
Then Zoey’s gaze shifted to the woman beside him. That woman was smiling too, her expression relaxed, natural, completely at ease as she sat next to Zachary, as if they had already known each other for too long.
Zoey’s brows lifted slightly.
’Who is she?’
She leaned in further, trying to get a better look, but before she could, the image changed.
Skylar had already moved on to the next picture.
"Sky, wait—!" The words slipped out louder than she intended.
Skylar flinched slightly, startled, and quickly turned around, his eyes widening when he saw her.
"Huh? Aunty?" he said, clearly surprised. "How long have you been standing there?"
Zoey didn’t say anything. Instead, she hurried over, walking around the sofa and sitting down next to him with a sense of urgency that wasn’t her usual calm vibe.
"Let me see the picture again," she said, pointing directly at the iPad.
"Which one?"
"The woman sitting beside your daddy," Zoey clarified without hesitation.
"Ah," Skylar nodded slowly, understanding dawning on his face. He turned back to his iPad, scrolling through the images, then handed it to her. "She is Aunty Sienna..."
Zoey took it immediately. Her eyes focused on the screen, studying the woman carefully.
And the more she looked, the more something felt... off. Not wrong. Just unfamiliar.
Because in that photo, Zachary didn’t look like himself. Or rather, he looked like a version of himself Zoey had never seen before. He appears relaxed, soft. And almost... gentle.
Zoey’s gaze shifted between the two faces in the photo. Then she leaned back slightly, her mind already racing ahead.