Chapter 345
The stuffed bunny had been Calliope’s favorite, but her three brothers snatched it away and handed it over to Lisette, the girl their parents had just adopted. They scolded Calliope harshly, accusing her of being mean to Lisette and insisted she should treat her better in the future.
Calliope felt wronged and unfairly blamed.
As time went on, there were more and more instances captured on video where Lisette cunningly took everything Calliope cherished. She took her favorite toys and possessions, and no matter how much Calliope tried to explain, no one in the Jewell family believed her.
From their early years, through ages nine and ten, and into their teens, Lisette’s appetite for Calliope’s things only grew. She even began to demand Calliope’s more valuable belongings. During family photo shoots, Lisette would pull some trick, leaving Calliope out of the picture. The family portraits hung on the walls, but Calliope was nowhere to be seen.
No one in the Jewell family seemed to care about Calliope. They showered all their affection on Lisette.
The audience watching this unfold was stunned. Initially indifferent, they gradually grew more empathetic towards Calliope. They had no idea that life in the Jewell family was like this for her. Although she was the eldest daughter, her room was taken by Lisette, leaving her to live in a tiny storage closet.
Because Lisette’s birthday was just a day apart from Calliope’s, the Jewell family feared making Lisette feel left out. So they never celebrated Calliope’s birthday separately. Every year, the birthday party was always about Lisette, with Calliope being an afterthought.
Regardless of what Calliope did, right or wrong, the Jewell family always found fault with her, constantly reprimanding her.
Among the audience, some sensitive girls started to cry.
“This is just heartbreaking for Calliope,” one murmured.
“I always thought she was the pampered one!” another exclaimed.
“Doesn’t it seem like Calliope is the adopted one here?”
“My God, she endured all this without saying a word!”
“She’s not just wronged; her heart must be shattered, treated like this by her own family!”
“This is beyond terrible!”
“And Lisette, how could she be so manipulative at such a young age?”
“I owe Calliope an apology. I always thought she was the villain!”
“In her shoes, I’d probably want to blow up the whole family too!”
“That’s her own family, right? How could they do that?”
“This is just inhumane!”
“Even between real sisters, some favoritism would feel unfair, let alone this – the adopted child ge everything, and the biological child is left with nothing. The Jewell family, you really outdid yourselves!”
Everyone’s eyes turned towards Valerian and Horatio. Their expressions were a mix of disbelief and realization. No one knew whether to call them naive or simply too trusting of Lisette…
Horatio and Valerian hadn’t expected to see themselves as children. They remembered these moments, but had no idea the truth was so starkly different from what they believed – they had thought Lisette was the one being bullied by Calliope, who they assumed was the spoiled, bratty one.
16:19
