"Miss, please wake up. Miss."
Frank rapped on the closed door and shouted loud enough until Sienna woke up. Frowning hard, her eyes fluttered a few times as she adjusted to the light.
Her frown deepened as she glanced at the time on her phone. It was just a few minutes past seven. She had slept for less than two hours.
Sienna hadn't slept well since the day her family left her. She could barely sleep all night, and it was only in the wee hours of dawn when she had exhausted all her energy that she could sleep an hour or two, sometimes even less.
"Miss, please wake up. Please," Frank continued to plead, and Sienna wiped her eyes to remove any lingering sleep before crawling out of the bed.
Pulling up her shirt that had slid down her shoulders and exposed her collarbone, she ran a hand through her frizzy hair.
"Miss, please..."
Frank's hand paused when the door opened and Sienna stared at him, her eyes shooting silent questions to him.
"Miss, you need to come down," Frank spoke nervously, looking towards the stairs before returning to Sienna.
"What happened, Frank? What's wrong?" Sienna pushed the strands of her hair behind her ear and stepped out of the room.
"Miss, the second branch is here and they are making a fuss. They..."
"Get the guards to throw them out of the estate. They don't belong here," Sienna ordered, her expression turning hard in hatred.
"But Miss, they are threatening to file a complaint with the police." Frank didn't know what to do. Although he had seen similar situations in the past, the second branch wasn't daring enough to confront them openly. However, with the main branch gone, it was no wonder they were here to wreak havoc in the morning.
"If they wish to, let them call the police. I'd like to see who is capable enough to mess with me," Sienna declared.
Even though Sienna looked exhausted, her strong persona was impossible to cover. Her father and her brother had tutored her personally. How could she be just a flower vase? She wasn't the Chief Operations Officer of the Lawrence Empire for nothing.
Frank was taken aback by her compelling aura. He had never seen her this way. She was always gentle and as docile as a lamb. But he understood her and empathized with her. In the cut-throat world, she had to be cold and decisive. Otherwise, she would be crushed until nothing of her was left.
Right at that moment, a jarring crash resounded in the place, and Sienna's eyes constricted while Frank panicked. Hurrying down the stairs, they ran to the living room from where the commotion was coming.
"How dare you mere servant talk to me like that! Do you know who I am?" an arrogant voice yelled at Agnes. Her tone was filled with disgust as if he wasn't speaking to a human.
"Who the hell are you?" Sienna bellowed, stepping forward and nudging Agnes behind her.
"Miss, please be careful." Agnes tried to stop her but held her words in when Sienna gave her a look.
"Who do you think you are?" Sienna questioned the woman who was throwing a fit in her house. "How dare you come to my house and harm my people?"
"Your house?"
Sienna heard a scoff from nearby and turned to glare at the older woman who had interrupted her. Dressed to the nines, the woman was wearing branded items from top to bottom, as if she was worried no one would know she was rich.
However, instead of making her look fashionable and elegant, she looked tacky and cheap, and Sienna felt her eyes being maligned. To her, the woman was more ghastly than the ghosts in any movie.
The woman cowered when Sienna glared at her and lowered her eyes on instinct. What might! What aura! She sensed her tongue would be ripped out if she dared to speak again.
"Isn't it rude to glare at your elders, young lady?" The man who was calmly sitting on the couch spoke suddenly. His tone was gentle and kind as he was teaching an ignorant kid the values of life.
"Who are you referring to?" Sienna looked at him with contempt. "All I see is trash dumped into the wrong place. It seems like cleaning is in order."
"You..." The man found himself at a loss for words.
"Don't cross your line, Sienna. You don't know who you are dealing with," The old woman warned her.
"Oh, do explain who I'm dealing with."
Sienna folded her hands and looked at the family of three. She recognized them. They were her grandfather's elder sister's family.
Although they were her relatives, Sienna never considered them as such, neither did her family. Their relationship had long been estranged.
Sienna remembered what her mother had told her. Her grandfather wasn't well-off by birth. His parents were washed away in the flood, leaving him and his sister alone.
With great effort and hard work, he got his sister married into a better family. Once her life was settled and he was stable enough, he married the love of his life three years later.
However, four years later, his first son was diagnosed with pneumonia and he didn't have that much money to bear the heavy expenses. He had immediately sought his sister and her family, who were capable enough to lend him the money.
But what did he get? Rejection and humiliation. They didn't even allow him to enter the house. His sister had even gone as far as to bang the door on his face. By the time he managed to collect the money somehow, his son had passed away. Since then, her grandfather had broken ties with his sister.
Although Sienna hadn't heard her grandparents speak about their first son, she knew they kept a photo of him in their wardrobe and missed him every day.
Her father hadn't seen his elder brother for he was born three years after his death. However, just like his parents, he too held great resentment for his aunt's family. If they had helped in time, maybe he'd have an elder brother.
Sienna blinked her eyes a few times to clear her head while maintaining her cold facade. She knew that the three people in front of her were merely puppets. The puppet master was the old witch who had shunned her brother away when he needed her the most.
"We are the rightful owners of the Lawrence estate now," the young woman before her asserted, and Sienna let out a laugh in ridicule.
"You? Owner of the Lawrence estate?" Sienna looked at her as if she was dumb.
The woman nodded her head arrogantly.
"You wish." Sienna sneered.
The man narrowed his eyes and stood up and Sienna gave him a bored look.
"Young lady, you don't know what's good for you. Leave quickly while I'm being merciful. Otherwise..."
"Frank, call the police," Sienna intercepted him and commanded Frank, who took action immediately.
"Yes, Miss."
"What do you think you are doing?" The young woman before her screeched and tried to stop Frank. But he was quicker than her and the call went through immediately.
"Miss." Frank then handed the phone and stepped forward, protecting Sienna behind him.
"Hello, I'm Sienna Lawrence and I wish to make a report," Sienna spoke loud and clear as she darted her gaze towards the three people one by one. "Trespassers have entered my estate and I'm being threatened. The trespassers even injured my cook."
The shattered vase was enough evidence to send the family of three to the police station for a few hours.
"Sienna, don't test my patience," the man warned and tried to grab hold of her. But Frank was quick to stop him and even twisted his arm, making him holler in pain.
"What's that noise, Mam?" the operator questioned.
"The trespasser tried to attack me and my butler stopped him," Sienna replied, not giving a damn about the man's screams of pain. Frank was a trained butler. He could ward off three capable men at once. The despicable man was nothing before him.
"Do you recognize the trespassers, Mam?"
"I do," Sienna answered. "But I don't know their names."
Not just the operator, but even the three people in the living room were rendered speechless. The family of three glared at her, hoping to burn her to ash.
Meanwhile, Agnes stifled a laugh, finding her young miss absolutely lovely and adorable. She knew what she was doing and also that she wasn't lying. She didn't remember their names at all.
Sienna had three registers in her brain to store people and their names. One - to store absolutely important people's details. Two - people who weren't that important but necessary. Three - people who could be considered so-so and remembered only when she saw their photos.
The family of three, however, belonged to the fourth category, where she remembered who they were but didn't know their names. After all, they were unimportant and no less than garbage. It wasn't necessary to store their details in her brain. They were just trash.
"The police are on the way, Mam. Please try to stay safe until then," the operator finally got his voice back and cautioned her.
"I will. Thank you."
Sienna ended the call and looked at the three people who were yet to react.
"So, are you leaving on your own, or do you want the police to escort you out?"
"You..."
"And mind you, I'll not be taking back my complaint. So, be prepared to hire a lawyer." Sienna didn't hold back and threatened them blatantly.
"You... I'll take care of you later." The man huffed and left the place, forcing the two women too to leave after him, but not before glaring at her.
Sienna waited until they were gone before she turned towards the stairs. "Frank, fire the guards who allowed the three to enter the estate. There is no space here for people who betray us."