Chapter 15 - THE DEPOSITION OF GWEN MERCER
*Two months prior to that fateful July afternoon, a private family session had been recorded by Christian’s family therapist—a session Gwen had demanded to "straighten Sienna out."*
Victoria Sterling sat in her office, reviewing the digital transcript of that session with Sienna.
"We will introduce this transcript into the civil trial next month," Victoria explained, pointing to page twenty-two.
Sienna looked at the words Gwen had spoken under the assumption of confidentiality:
*“Sienna doesn't need to feel loved. She needs to feel useful. She is an executive machine. God didn't give her warmth or beauty, but He gave her an earning capacity. It is Christian’s duty as a Mercer man to harvest that capacity for the family’s legacy.”*
Sienna closed the binder.
For years, she had wondered why Gwen had hated her so intensely from the very beginning. She had thought it was because she worked too much, or because she hadn't given them a grandchild yet, or because she was too independent.
Now she understood.
Gwen Mercer never saw Sienna as a human being. She saw her as an oil well to be pumped dry, a machine to be discarded the moment its gears ground down.
"Victoria," Sienna said, looking up. "What is the status of the Scottsdale Fashion Row commercial injunction?"
Victoria looked at her watch. "The sheriff’s department served the writ of commercial closure thirty minutes ago. The boutique is locked. The inventory is tagged."
"And Elena Vance?"
"She’s inside the store right now, refusing to leave. She locked herself in the back office with two of her private security guards, claiming she has an unrecorded commercial sub-lease."
Sienna stood up, smoothed her ivory blazer, and picked up her purse.
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"Let’s go open the doors," Sienna said.
***