Sadie did not refute Natalie, seemingly acknowledging her words
She dipped her brush into the palette to mix her colors. “Please just leave. I won’t help you. Don’t come back again.”
If her relationship with Sienna were purely transactional, it’d be easy to get her on Natalie’s side. But it wasn’t.
Sienna had leverage over Sadie simply because Sienna had helped her once,
Sadie was born lame. Shortly after her birth, her parents had died in a car accident together, and Sadie was raised by her grandfather. When she was ten years old, her grandfather married Priscilla, only to die a few years later due to cancer.
When he passed, everyone thought that Priscilla would abandon Sadie and live with her own biological children. After all, there was no blood relation between them, and Priscilla had no reason to care for her.
To everyone’s surprise, Priscilla stayed.
Because of this, her own children cut ties with her. A few years ago Pricilla had fallen gravely ill, and her children had refused to pay for treatment. That was when Sienna had found Sadie and offered to cover all of Priscilla’s medical costs.
Since then, they’d come to an unspoken agreement–Sienna would buy her paintings under the condition that Sadie would keep quiet about the arrangement.
Benjamin had visited Sadie several times, but neither threat nor cajolery could persuade her to expose Sienna.
Natalie remained calm and watched Sadie work in silence. About ten minutes later, her phone buzzed with a text message.
She smiled slightly. Benjamin had never let her down before, and this time was no different.
Benjamin had already investigated Sadie’s past, but something in the report felt off to Natalie. Therefore, on her way here, she’d told Benjamin about her suspicions and asked him to verify her hunch.
She carefully read through his text, which confirmed what she suspected–Sienna had had a hand in escalating Priscilla’s
financial crisis when she was ill.
After reading the text, Natalie spoke softly, “Sadie, did it never strike you as odd that Sienna just happened to show up when you needed money for your grandmother’s hospital bills?
“She had two daughters and a son–why did they refuse to pay for any of it? Do you really believe in such coincidences?”
Sadie’s hand froze. Uncertainty flashed in her eyes. “What do you mean?”
Natalie stood up and placed her phone in front of her, showing her the text that Benjamin had just sent her. “What you thought was kindness was simply a trap from the start,” she explained. “She planned all of this from the moment she saw your talent.
“The evidence is clear. Your grandmother did have a minor heart condition, but it’s actually manageable with medication and proper care. She didn’t actually need surgery. Sienna also bribed her children so that they would refuse to pay the medical bills.
“She wanted to force you into desperation so that you would be grateful to her and thus easier to manipulate.”
Sadie stared at the medical records on the screen, alongside the video from Priscilla’s children detailing exactly what had happened. Her eyes widened with shock and rage.
“She lied to me,” she gritted out. “It was her all along!”
