Calliope and her friends made their way to the charity auction in no time.


    Meanwhile, after some hushed debate, Monty''s family decided to show up as well.


    After Calliope and her group spent some time mingling and making small talk with the other guests, they were more than a little surprised to bump into Monty and his whole n.


    The moment Portia spotted them, she couldn''t help but roll her eyes and mutter to Calliope, "Callie, when are you going to tell them the truth? They''re like a bad penny. No matter what, they always turn up!"


    "It''s honestly getting out of hand," added Mavis, barely bothering to hide her annoyance.


    The whole Jewell family had been trailing them all evening, and Zelda, in particr, had said some truly outrageous things, enough to make anyone''s blood boil.


    Thank God Callie wasn''t actually her biological daughter. If she were, with that kind of attitude, Zelda would have driven even her own child insane.


    Calliope just shrugged, her expression calm and collected. "I already told Ulysses. Looks like he didn''t bother sharing with the rest of the family, maybe just Horatio."


    She''d noticed Ulysses and Horatio seemed to treat her a little differently now, but not Valerian, and certainly not the Jewell parents.


    But honestly, the Jewell parents wouldn''t care even if they knew the truth. In their minds, as long as someone was even remotely connected to them, they were entitled to that person''s help, no questions asked.<fnacbb> Readplete version only at find~novel</fnacbb>


    Who cared about biological ties? If you were part of their orbit, that was reason enough for them to im you owed them something.


    Calliope shrugged again. “That''s exactly why I haven''t bothered exining."


    From Zelda''s perspective, even if Calliope wasn''t actually their daughter, she''d still lived under their roof, been raised by their family, so she should work herself to the bone for them, noints.


    In Zelda''s mind, Calliope and Lisette were on the same level, and Calliope should be more like Lisette-obedient, grateful, and forever indebted. She''d probably always be asking, Why is Lisette so well-behaved, and why can''t you be more like her?


    "Yeah, if the Jewells ever found out you weren''t really their blood, they''d just double-down on trying to squeeze you for everything you''re worth," Portia scoffed, wrinkling her nose. "If anything, they''d start whining about how much they spent raising you, and now you owe them even more."


    "What kind of backwards logic is that?" Mavis muttered, clearly exasperated.


    Calliope just gave a nonchnt shrug. The Jewells were a piece of work, that was for sure.


    Deciding not to waste any more time thinking about them, Calliope wandered off to chat with a few other guests.


    The auction hadn''t started yet, but the ce was packed with high-profile socialites from all over-celebrities, business moguls, even a few minor royals. This was the kind of event you didn''t just waltz into; you needed real connections to get an invite.


    Frankly, Monty''s family had no business being here. No one had a clue how they managed to slip past security, but somehow, they had.


    In fact, they''d had to pull a few strings for their golden tickets.


    But once they stepped inside, it dawned on them just how out of their league this was. The guest list was a who''s-who of both domestic and international power yers. Even if they weren''t movie stars, their names alone carried serious weight.


    When they reached the grand ballroom, Monty couldn''t stop warning Zelda and the rest to keep a low profile. Their real goal was to talk to Calliope, no more, no less.


    The actual auction? Forget it. There wasn''t a single item up for bid they could dream of affording.


    Monty nced nervously in Calliope''s direction, hoping she wouldn''t get them all kicked out. But there she was, absolutely in her element, flitting from group to group, chatting andughing with ease.


    The thing that really shocked him was that she seemed to know everyone. She wasn''t just some girl tagging along after Ss, either. She was holding her own,pletely independent, and totally unppable.