Chapter 232: Sienna Remained Silent for a Long Moment

Sienna remained silent for a long moment before finally responding. “When she wakes up, she must go live and apologize. In front of all her followers and the press. She has to confess everything she did and apologize to me directly.” Vanessa had been hiding in that hospital room, pretending to be sick, lying in that bed. She thought she could just avoid the whole mess. Did she really believe that after everything, she could just stay quiet and wait for people to forget? Not a chance.

Helena hesitated. Vanessa wasn't in a good place mentally. What if seeing all the hate online made her faint again, just as she was starting to recover? She was so fragile. How could she possibly face a public apology, knowing she'd be torn apart? And sleeping with your sister's fiancé… that was a deeply shameful act. No one would want to admit to that.

“Is there… no other way?” Helena couldn't help but ask. “This condition seems rather…”

“Mother, are you still protecting her?” Sienna's voice was cold. “When has she ever apologized for anything? How can I help her if she won't even admit she was wrong? Would you hesitate like this if it were me? If I had seduced her husband and tried to steal everything from her?”

Helena felt a sharp pang of guilt. If it were Sienna, she wouldn't hesitate at all. Sienna was just the adopted daughter. When she made that mistake five years ago, the whole family cast her out immediately. Helena was having second thoughts. Sienna did grow up with them, even if she wasn't blood…

“I know I was adopted,” Sienna continued, her voice steady. “That's why I've never asked for anything. But she ruined my wedding. She tried to steal what was mine. I'm not a saint. All I want is an apology. Besides, she'll only learn from this if she admits her mistakes. Don't you agree?”

Helena finally relented. “Alright. I'll talk to her. I'll make her apologize. Please… say a few good words for her when you can.” A cold smirk touched Sienna's lips as she ended the call. She knew Vanessa better than anyone. Vanessa could fake tears and play the victim beautifully, but it was always for sympathy. Asking her to actually admit her fault? To take responsibility? That would shatter her entire carefully constructed image. It would be pure agony for her.

But what was that agony compared to what Sienna had endured? Being raped, giving birth to a dead child, being thrown out to Africa to die a slow death? What comparison was there? And if Sienna had remained the foolish girl she was five years ago, they would have killed her and taken everything. They deserved every bit of this.

Meanwhile, in the hospital room…

Helena put her phone away and walked back to Vanessa's bedside. She looked at her pale, fragile daughter. “Don't worry. Your sister has agreed to speak on your behalf tonight. If she forgives you, the public will eventually move on. She is the victim, after all.”

“Really?” A flicker of hope lit in Vanessa's eyes.

Helena nodded, sitting down beside the bed. “However… she has one condition. You have to go live. You have to apologize to her, and to everyone.”

“What?” Vanessa's face instantly froze.

A live stream? An apology? God, she loathed even leaving her room after what happened. Every time she remembered people had seen her like that, she wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. And now Sienna wanted her to apologize publicly? To bring it all up again? Why was she forcing her to face this humiliation?

Seeing the outright resistance on her daughter's face, Helena spoke with solemn firmness. “Vanessa, you need to face this. You do owe everyone an apology. And Sienna is trying to help you. You get back up where you fell. Only by facing your mistakes can you truly change and become a better person. Don't you understand?” Hah! How noble. So inspiring. Vanessa screamed internally.

Sienna helping her? A bitch like Sienna would do anything to destroy her completely through this. Why would she help? And why make her face it? If this had happened to anyone else, who would ever want to mention it again? They'd already taken her five percent share. Now they wanted to destroy her completely? Did she have to die for them to be satisfied?