Chapter 338
The moment those words echoed down the stairs, Sienna subtly arched a brow.
Right on cue. Flawless timing.
This was what Celeste did best—seizing the absolute perfect moment to play the ultimate victim.
She was a master at painting herself as the tragic, bullied innocent.
Too lazy to cast another glance toward the second floor, Sienna casually picked up her clutch from the sofa and signaled to her bodyguards. “We’re leaving p>
Before she could even take a single step, a warm, powerful hand firmly clamped around her wrist.
Jarred’s deep voice drifted down from above her.
It sounded careless, yet it carried an unmistakable tone of command. “Stay with me. Don’t forget what you promised p>
Sienna knew he was referring to her agreement to accompany him on a specific task tonight.
A fleeting shadow of impatience crossed her eyes, but she didn’t struggle.
She looked up, her gaze lightly skimming his tense jawline, before calmly turning to her men. “You guys head out first p>
The bodyguards immediately complied and retreated, not daring to speak out of turn.
Sienna let Jarred drag her along as they made their way to Celeste’s room.
The exact second they pushed open the master bedroom door, the Sterling Private Medical Taskforce arrived.
In the center of the massive bed, the bodyguards had already lifted Celeste onto the mattress.
The frail figure was now completely curled up beneath the heavy blankets.
She looked like a fragile butterfly whose wings had been shredded by a storm, utterly shattered and broken.
The doctor greeted Jarred and rushed straight to the bedside without another word.
When Celeste realized the man examining her wasn’t her usual physician, but the specialist Jarred had called in, her heart pounded wildly.
She instinctively shrank back, her entire body rigid.
But the sheer, ungodly agony tearing through her legs made it entirely impossible to protest.
She could only lie there helplessly as the doctor pulled back the blanket, exposing her severely swollen, bruised legs.
It was a truly horrifying sight.
Everything below her knees was massively swollen, the skin a sickening, unnatural purple-blue.
It looked as though immense internal pressure had ruptured her capillaries, leaving massive pools of dark blood right beneath the surface.
Around her calves, there were several tiny puncture marks surrounded by angry red halos.
Her legs looked as if they had been subjected to some medieval torture.
Leaning against the doorframe, Sienna swept her gaze over the gruesome sight, a faint, almost invisible smile curling her lips.
That tiny smirk didn’t escape Jarred’s notice.
He stood at the foot of the bed, one hand casually slipped into his pocket.
His eyes lingered on Celeste’s legs for a fraction of a second before snapping back to Sienna’s face.
The dark hostility in his eyes began stacking up layer by layer.
It felt like storm clouds gathering right before a hurricane, so heavy it was practically suffocating.
Just then, Celeste weakly lifted her head.
Her once-bright eyes instantly filled with tears, massive drops continuously falling onto the sheets.
Her entire body tensed as she masterfully portrayed the most helpless, thoroughly victimized, and entirely isolated woman in the world.
“Jarred p>
She choked out his name, her voice so weak and raspy it was barely a whisper.
But the sheer, overwhelming grievance in her eyes was impossible for anyone in the room to ignore.
The villa’s maids and security guards had already made up their minds.
They had watched Sienna forcefully breach the house, lock herself in the room, and then heard the endless.. agonizing Screams radiating through the door.
In their minds, they were entirely convinced that the true mistress of the house had just sadistically tortured the poor, defenseless Celeste.
The atmosphere in the room plummeted to an icy, suffocating pressure.
The maids and guards huddled in the corner, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
Every look they shot Sienna was packed with raw terror.
The doctor stood up straight, his expression incredibly grim. He turned to Jarred, his voice heavy. “Mr. Sterling, Ms. Carlyle’s leg meridians have suffered extreme physical trauma coupled with severe acupuncture overstimulation.
“There is massive subcutaneous hemorrhaging in the superficial vessels; and the deep nerves have undergone rapid necrosis. The muscular tissue is critically overloaded and damaged.
“As of now, the functional capacity of her legs is severely compromised. She has essentially lost all mobility p>