Chapter 4

For the next few days, I acted the same as I always had.

It was just that I had long since given up any hope for my so-called family and husband.

With no hope left, I no longer cared.

So when Natalie said she liked my favorite evening gown, I gave it to her.

When Natalie said she wanted to go to a private art exhibition with Ethan, I had already pressed the exhibition tickets into her hands before either of them could even ask.

Even when the family planned a day of camping and Natalie said she hadn't packed supplies or a tent for a sixth person, I immediately said I'd sit it out.

Everyone was visibly more pleased with me.

On the sixth day, Ethan suddenly announced that we were moving into the marital home.

"Let's do a family dinner this weekend. A little housewarming."

He glanced at me. "Sienna, the grocery shopping and the prep are on you. Nattie's been worn out these past few days. Let her rest."

Natalie immediately smiled sweetly. "Thanks for looking out for me, Ethan. I've always wanted to try your cooking, sis."

Watching the two of them and catching the impatient look my brother shot me, I said nothing more, which was as good as agreeing.

I was leaving tomorrow. Until then, I didn't want to stir up any more trouble.

Soon, the identity of Sienna Whitmore would disappear too.

Early the next morning, I took the list Ethan had written up and went to the supermarket.

When I finally hauled two big bags up to the door of the marital home and pressed my finger to the fingerprint lock, all I heard was, "Fingerprint not recognized. Please try again."

I froze, unable to believe it.

When we bought this house, Ethan and I had registered our fingerprints ourselves.

There was no way it could be wrong.

But for a full five minutes, there wasn't a single sound from inside.

I took out my phone and saw a message Ethan had sent two minutes earlier.

[You're taking way too long with the groceries. Nattie hasn't eaten all day and we can't wait. We already booked a table at a private restaurant downtown. Figure something out for yourself.]

Standing in the cold wind with two heavy bags of groceries, I found the whole thing a little laughable.

That private restaurant was hard to get into even with a week's notice. They'd gone on a whim, so where would they get a table?

It was just an excuse because they didn't want to bring me.

I was still thinking this when a flashlight beam swept over me and a patrolling security guard strode up. "What are you doing? You've been hanging around here forever!"

As he spoke, he used his baton to shoo me away.

"I live here. This is my front door. The fingerprint lock just won't open."

The guard looked me up and down, clearly not buying it. "The owner of this house is named Prescott. What's your name? Can you prove you live here?"

"Mr. Prescott is my husband. Just…let me make a call."

I called Ethan first, but after a few rings, the call was declined.

Then I tried Mom, Dad, and my brother, but still no one picked up.

The guard said impatiently, "Miss, either you get someone over here right now, or I'll have to call the police."

Gripping my phone, I scrolled through my contacts, and in the end, steeled myself to dial Natalie's number.

"Sis?" she answered. "What's up? Ethan was just picking the cilantro out of my food for me, so he didn't get your call."

I bit my lip, ignoring the smugness in her voice, and kept my tone low. "The lock won't open. I can't get in. Do you know what's going on?"

"Oh... I'm sorry about that. I forgot to tell you." Her voice was full of apology. "The lock can only store five people's fingerprints. Ethan said it would be a hassle every time I came over if I didn't register mine, so he had me do it. Yours got bumped..."

"Are you locked out right now?"

I was the owner of this house, and I couldn't even get my own fingerprint registered.

I took a deep breath and forced every churning emotion back down. I wanted to deal with the problem in front of me first.

"Where's Ethan? Tell him to come get me."

"Don't worry, sis, Ethan and I will be right back!"

Ten minutes later, a black sedan turned into the gated community. The door swung open, and Ethan climbed out with long strides, though his expression wasn’t exactly cheerful.

"Sienna!"

"Who told you to call Nattie? Because of your call, she was worried you'd freeze out here and rushed to leave, and she got into a car accident on the way!"