Chapter 1051
“Callie is our daughter-our own flesh and blood!” Jett’s voice rang out, quivering with emotion. “She isn’t some orphan abandoned by the world. We lost her long ago and thought she was gone forever. Only recently did we learn the truth—our child, our daughter, has been alive this whole time p>
The words tumbled out of him in a rush. It all made sense now-why Calliope had always seemed so familiar, why he’d felt that inexplicable guilt every time he saw her. She was his Callie, his precious little girl. She was Lillian’s daughter, too. No wonder they’d always thought she resembled Lillian, especially in her youth; they’d seen traces of their lost daughter in every glance.
It was the undeniable pull of blood-there was no masking the resemblance they saw in her.
Monty and the others stared at Jett as if struck by lightning, utterly stunned. They’d always seen Calliope as little more than a stray: powerless, insignificant, ripe for torment. Now-now the truth was impossible to ignore. Calliope, the nobody they’d always looked down on, was the daughter of Jett White. The name alone was enough to send shivers down their spines. The White family was powerful, untouchable. To think that the girl they’d mocked was the heir to such a legacy p>
Zelda and the others bristled with disbelief. Deep down, they refused to accept it. To them, no matter what Calliope achieved, she was still the unwanted girl, the one no one cared about in the Jewell house. How could someone like that have parents so important, so influential? If it were true-if Calliope really was their daughter-how could she be manipulated, used, as they had always done?
Monty forced a thin, mocking smile. “You must be joking, Mr. White. Isn’t your daughter Blythe White? I mean, Ms. White is so talented—that’s the kind of child you’d have. Calliope? She’s… nothing. There’s no way she could be your daughter p>
Jett’s eyes blazed. “And why do you say Callie isn’t talented?” he countered. “She may have grown up away from us, but she has surpassed so many people—she’s extraordinary in ways you’ll never understand. Your family—the Jewell family—stole our daughter from us and kept her all these years p>
“You not only kept her from us, you mistreated her, bullied her, and now you have the nerve to say she’s worthless? Jett’s voice grew icier as he stepped forward, a towering presence, each word biting like frost.
“Did you really think our daughter was yours to torment p>
“Your family’s debts—what do those have to do with her?” he demanded.
Monty’s face twisted as he scowled. “Even if Calliope is your daughter, Mr. White, maybe you ought to rein in your tone. Did the White family ever so much as raise her for a day? We might not have treated her perfectly, but she lived under our roof for years you’re tier biological. parents, sure, but by all rights, we were the ones who raised her. It’s only fair she pays us back p>
The bitterness in Monty’s voice cut through the air; his wolfish sneer revealed his true feelings.
Calliope regarded Monty with a calm, almost pitying smile. The Jewell family was laughable, transparently self-serving.
“Pay you back?” Jett scoffed. “She’d
be justified in wanting revenge after all you did.” He gave a cold, derisive laugh. “I’ve looked into it-while she was living under your roof, you never gave her a single good day. Every one of you bullied her. Aside from the late patriarch, not a single one of you showed her the slightest
kindness p>
“She did far more for you than you ever did for her. Not once did you give her the love she deserved your eyes were only ever on your precious Lisette, your beloved adopted daughter p>