A few sharp words from Calliope, and suddenly the room full of journalists and onlookers looked like they''d just bitten into a lemon.


    Just minutes ago, everyone had been squarely on the Jewell family''s side. Honestly, most folks thought Calliope had gone too far, that she was some kind of con artist pulling a fast one.


    But what if that wasn''t the truth? What if the Jewell family was just using everyone as pawns?


    I mean, if the family really had irond evidence, they could do what Calliope suggested and go straight to court, right? But they didn''t. Instead, they called a press conference and put on a show for the cameras.


    Ande to think of it, not a single shred of proof had been shown. Nothing. Just a lot of tearful words and sad faces, acting like they were the victims. But where was the evidence?<fn94d0> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n find·novel</fn94d0>


    There wasn''t any. Not a damn thing.


    "Everybody heard that, right? The Jewell family''s got nothing! You''re all being yed!" Portia called out from the crowd, her voice dripping with sarcasm and mock sympathy.


    "Man, I almost feel sorry for you guys. The Jewell family''s treating you all like circus monkeys!"


    "What, do they think you''re that easy to fool?"


    "Come on, we''re all seasoned reporters here! We''re supposed to chase the real story, not just swallow whatever sob story the Jewells are selling!"


    "Seriously, the Jewell family sure knows how to work the media. If you''re not thinking for yourself, you''re just letting them pull your strings!"


    Portia''s tone bounced between teasing, scornful, and almost pitying, and it left everyone in the room feeling pretty ufortable.


    The truth was, the Jewell family really did know how to tug on heartstrings. Watching them up there, sniffling into their tissues, you couldn''t help but feel sorry for them.


    But were they really as pitiful as they seemed?


    Let''s be honest the fact that


    Calliope was actually abandoned by her own parents said enough. How could you just walk away from your own daughter? So what if she was born after a difficultbor? Like a newborn baby could control that? And in the end, Zelda survived, didn''t she? She was fine.  s


    But instead of letting go of their grudge, they dumped their daughter off in the backwoods with Uncle Kermit. That was just cold.


    Once folks started piecing it together, the mood shifted. People began demanding answers from the Jewells.


    At the very least, they wanted to know if Calliope had ever actually scammed the family, and if so, where was the proof? Had she ever even spent the Jewell family''s money?


    Valerian stayed silent. He''d never given Calliope a dime, so he had nothing to say, no evidence to offer.


    "Cat got your tongue, Valerian?" someone called. "Never gave her any money, did you? So you can''t say a word."


    Ulysses jumped in, "Let me help you


    out, Valerian. You never gave hera


    cent, and know cause


    never did either. I was the one who


    said not to give Callie any money."


    s


    "I was wrong back then. I was harsh. I admit it—I told everyone not to give Callie anything."


    "Because I thought she was embarrassing,ing from the sticks."


    "I didn''t think she was good enough to be my sister, not when Lisette was so much smarter and prettier."


    "You know what they say—''the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Lisette knew how to pry and get what she wanted Callie never di She just took whatever came her way, neverined."  s


    "Callie was always trying to please us, to make us happy. Her love was just too easy so we didn''t value it."


    "But Lisette was different. She never tried to win us over, so we cherished her more."


    "In the end, we couldn''t even tell who really cared about us."


    "All this time, Lisette was lying to us, using our trust, taking credit for everything Callie did for us."