Chapter 22 The Puppet
Master
Ariana Cole sat at the head of the glass conference table, her back straight, her expression impassive. Around her, members of her design team gave their final reports on the completion of the Stirling Hotel project.
The meeting room on the top floor of Cole Interiors & Design was sleek, modern–powerful, just like the woman
leading it.
“This phase of the project has been completed without issue,” one of the senior architects, Elliot Marsh, reported. “The final installations were placed last night, and the hotel’s grand opening is scheduled for Friday.”
Ariana nodded, flipping through the documents in front of her. She had spent months overseeing this project, ensuring every detail was flawless.
It was a personal victory.
The very project she had once stepped away from for Liam was now hers–and only hers.
“And the client’s feedback?” Ariana asked, glancing up.
Elliot smiled. “They’re beyond impressed. They’ve already hinted at offering another contract.”
Ariana smirked, pleased.
As if there was ever any
doubt.
“Good,” she said smoothly, closing the file. “Then let’s make sure the launch is nothing short of perfection.”
The meeting concluded, her team filing out one by one, offering congratulations and admiration as they left.
As Ariana gathered her things, her assistant, Mila, stepped inside–her expression unreadable.
Ariana raised a brow. “Something on your mind, Mila?”
Mila closed the door behind her before stepping closer. “You’re going to want to hear this.”
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Ariana leaned back in her chair, intrigued. “I’m listening.”
Mila took a deep breath. “I found something… interesting about Sienna.”
Ariana’s lips curled slightly. “Interesting” was always a dangerous word in their world.
She gestured for Mila to continue.
Mila placed a file on the table. “I started looking into Sienna’s background–her connections, her past. You know,
the usual when someone rises to socialite status too quickly.”
Ariana opened the file, her eyes scanning the documents.
What she saw made her still.
Sienna Hayes had been manipulating Liam from the very beginning.
Ariana exhaled, flipping through emails, financial records, and old social connections.
Sienna hadn’t just fallen into Liam’s bed.
She had planned it.
From the very moment she met Ariana in college, she had worked her way into the right circles, aligning herself with powerful men and women.
And Liam?
He had been a calculated target.
Mila continued, voice calm but edged with something close to disgust.
“Sienna knew Liam’s weaknesses–his ego, his desire for validation, his inability to resist temptation. She made
sure she was always around him, always available.”
Ariana’s fingers tightened around the papers.
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“She pushed him. Mils went on the planted the Mesh yus venos per new steganotes that p didn’t need him *
Ariana’s jaw clenched.
ils euid “Xnd whim xom the ball, for dises the only thing he turns
“She made him festemali,
how to do prove he’s still in control”
By cheating
By destroying the one person who had ever actually supported him
Ariana let out a slow, controlled breath.
“So she played him,” she murmured.
Mila nodded. “Like a puppet.”
Ariana tapped a manicured finger against the table, her mind already working, already plotting
She had spent weeks dismantling Liam’s life.
But now?
Now, it was time for Sienna to fall.
She leaned back, a cold smirk curving on her lips.
“How did I not see it before?” Ariana mused, half to herself
Mila hesitated. “Because you actually cared about him.”
Ariana’s smirk faded slightly.
That was the real humiliation, wasn’t it?
That she had spent years loving a man who had been nothing more than a weak–minded fool
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“She pushed him,” Mils went on “the planted the idea that you were to power, ton jetonshire est pr
didn’t need him.”
Ariana’s jaw clenched
“She made him feel small,” Mile said “And when a man like Liam fexis small, he does the only thing he knows how to do prove he’s still in control”
By cheating
By destroying the one person who had ever actually supported him.
Arianá let out a slow, controlled breath.
“So she played him,” she murmured.
Mila nodded, “Like a puppet.”
Ariana tapped a manicured finger against the table, her mind already working, already plotting
She had spent weeks dismantling Liam’s life.
But now?
Now, it was time for Sienna to fall.
She leaned back, a cold smirk curving on her lips.
“How did I not see it before?” Ariana mused, half to herself.
Mila hesitated. “Because you actually cared about him.”
Ariana’s smirk faded slightly.
That was the real humiliation, wasn’t it?
That she had spent years loving a man who had been nothing more than a weak–minded fool.
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Chapter 22 The Puppet Master
A man who had let himself be manipulated into ruining the best thing that ever happened to him.
Ariana closed the file. “Did you find out anything else?”
Mila hesitated before nodding.
“There’s more,” she said, placing another document in front of her.
Ariana scanned it, her smirk returning.
Because this?
This was delicious.
Sienna had always acted like she was born into wealth, weaving a carefully crafted story of an old–money
background.
But the truth?
Sienna Hayes wasn’t a real socialite.
She had fabricated her history, lied about her lineage, and manipulated her way into high society.
Her “family fortune” was nothing more than well–timed business deals, borrowed influence, and stolen opportunities.
“She’s a fraud,” Mila said simply.
Ariana chuckled, shaking her head. “Of course she is.”
Mila tilted her head. “What do you want to do with this information?”
Ariana’s smile was pure, unfiltered satisfaction.
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“Let’s start with whispers,” she murmured. “Rumors that she’s not who she claims to be. That her family isn’t as wealthy as she says.”
Mila nodded. “The right circles?”
Ariana smirked. “Of course. A few socialites at the country club, a few ‘concerned friends‘ at charity events. It won’t take long before people start questioning her.”
Mila exhaled. “This is going to be brutal.”
Ariana tilted her head. “She deserves worse.”
Mila hesitated before nodding. “I’ll take care of it.”
As she turned to leave, Ariana spoke again.
“And Mila?”
Mila paused, looking back.
“Make sure she knows,” Ariana murmured, her voice dripping with quiet menace.
Mila smirked. “Oh, she will.”
And with that, she walked out, leaving Ariana alone with her victory.
She leaned back in her chair, staring out over the city skyline.
Sienna had thought she had won.
Had thought she had stolen Ariana’s life.
But she had forgotten one crucial thing.
Ariana Cole never lost.
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Chapter 22 The Puppet Master
And now, Sienna Hayes was about to learn-
What it truly meant to be ruined.
