The Billionaire's Heir I Never Knew Was Mine

Riley released a heavy sigh.

"Sorry for lying to you. But I worked there because my dad wanted me to start as an entry-level employee without anyone knowing who I was." He lifted his hands defensively. "So technically... not my fault. So, you can’t blame me."

"No one is blaming you." Sienna smiled. "I’m just shocked."

"Girl, same," Ava said, grabbing the water bottle. "When I found out, I nearly choked on my own breath."

Riley laughed awkwardly and reached for the bottle after her. Before drinking, he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Sienna.

"Nice try changing the subject, but we are not done," he said.

Sienna already looked tired.

"Miss Sienna," he continued dramatically, "tell us about your relationship with my uncle."

Sienna sighed and leaned back casually in her chair.

"Riley, from now on..." she began calmly, "...you might want to stop calling me Miss Sienna. Or Sienna."

Both Riley and Ava sat up straighter immediately.

Riley frowned. "What do you mean?"

Sienna crossed her arms and tried her best to keep a straight face.

"You may have to get used to calling me Aunty Sienna. And you may start learning to call me that now—"

Instantly, Riley coughed violently.

"Cough! Cough!"

He was too surprised; the water he had just drunk splashed out of his mouth.

"AU-AUNTY?" he choked between coughs. "Y-You and My uncle..." His eyes widen in shock as he stares at Sienna.

Just like Riley, Ava’s eyes also widened so much they looked as if ready to fall out. "Wait—WHAT?! You and Zachary Sterling are married?"

Sienna calmly nods before she delivers the final words to them, "Not yet. But we are heading in that direction."

Ava gasped, unable to say anything, but Sienna could clearly see the shining happiness in her eyes.

Riley runs his hand through his hair dramatically. "No. No, absolutely not. I refuse. My youth cannot survive this. How could I call you Aunty Sienna?"

Sienna shrugs innocently. "That’s why I ask you to learn to call me that. We will become family..."

"Don’t do this to me," Riley said weakly. "I’ve respected you. I’ve trusted you."

"You still can."

"As best friends..." he protested. "Not as an aunt!"

Ava suddenly slapped the table. "Wow! This drama is truly shocking!"

Then, both of them turned toward Sienna

"Riley, you mean..." Ava leaned closer with dangerous excitement. "...my best friend might actually marry Zachary Sterling?"

Sienna pressed her lips together, utterly speechless.

Riley pointed at her accusingly. He looked at her as if Sienna had personally betrayed him.

"My uncle?" He placed a hand over his heart. "Sienna, out of all men on earth... Why my uncle?"

Sienna gave him a dry look. "Tsk! Tsk! You say that like he’s eighty years old."

"He’s still my uncle!"

"And?"

"And I’m not sure I am emotionally prepared for calling you Aunty Sienna!"

Sienna smiled sweetly.

"Well, my friend or, ehm, nephew, you’d better start practicing."

Riley stared at her for a full three seconds. Then he lifted his hands dramatically toward the ceiling. "Good Lord, give me more strength."

Ava burst into laughter so hard she nearly dropped the water bottle.

Meanwhile, Sienna leaned comfortably against her chair, watching both of them fall into chaos.

Strangely enough... For the first time since Zachary’s shocking proposal turned her world upside down, she found herself genuinely enjoying the madness.

However, the madness did not last long because Sienna quickly tried to steer them away from the dangerous topic of Zachary and herself.

"Ava, Riley... How did you know I was home?" Sienna asked, confused.

She had not told either of them that she had been released from police custody. Ever since leaving the station, she had been occupied with Zachary, and somewhere between the emotional chaos and everything else that happened, she had not even turned her phone back on.

"Riley..." Ava began before pointing casually toward the man sitting beside her. "He met Zoey Sterling and asked her about what happened to you."

Sienna was no longer surprised by that information. Riley meeting Zoey Sterling was hardly shocking when they were family.

"...And Zoey told us someone had already helped you at the police station," Ava continued. "But she didn’t explain what had actually happened to you or why you suddenly ended up there. That’s why we started looking for you."

"We tried calling you countless times," Riley added, shaking his head dramatically. "...But your phone was inactive."

Ava quickly nodded in agreement. "And we figured you might eventually come back home, so we decided to check here."

"And we nearly had a heart attack after finding a man standing at your door," Riley continued playfully, clearly trying to drag the conversation back toward her romantic disaster. "And not just any man, but Zachary Sterling."

Sienna noticed his intention immediately.

Absolutely not. She was not allowing the conversation to circle back to Zachary. Not again.

"So..." she said, smoothly shifting the topic elsewhere, "...no one at the office knows what happened to me? Not even through the company intranet?"

Her voice was soft, but loud enough for both Ava and Riley to hear clearly.

"Yeah, no one, and if there are any, I would know by now," Ava answered with a small nod. "I think, even if people know or suspect something, nobody dares to talk about it. It’s almost like someone effectively warned each and every one who knows to keep quiet if they want to keep their job."

Sienna looked at her with growing curiosity. "Are you serious?" She asked.

"Mhm." Ava frowned slightly. "That’s exactly why we’re confused. We had no idea what had happened. How did you suddenly end up at a police station in the first place?"

A quiet sense of relief slowly settled inside Sienna.

Not many people knew. That meant the people on the fourteenth floor were probably keeping what happened to her secret. No whispering behind her back. No ugly gossip waiting for her when she returned to work.

The thought eased a weight she had been carrying since yesterday.

’Zach... thank you for keeping your promise.’

Her heart softened at the thought of him.

She remembered his calm voice, his quiet confidence, and the promise he had made to handle everything related to her office situation.

And somehow...

Just thinking about him made her miss him already.