Chapter 774
Even though his sudden outburst was strange, what he said made a lot of sense.
It really did seem that way. They’d all been hurting Callie, whether they meant to
or not.
Horatio fell silent, lost in thought. He started to replay Ulysses’ words in his mind, his brow furrowing deeper the more he considered them.
They’d always brushed it off, because Callie never complained. It was always Lisette who made a scene. So, naturally, all their attention was drawn to Lisette.
No matter how they treated Callie, she never spoke up. Maybe that’s why it became almost instinct to push her around.
For Lisette’s sake, they often let Callie take the fall. And since Callie never said a word, it just became… normal. As if she was supposed to take it all in stride.
But was she really supposed to? Did she deserve that?
Horatio’s face turned grim.
Of course she wasn’t born to bear it all. She was their sister. She was the Jewell family’s child. And they’d been hurting their own flesh and blood for the sake of someone adopted.
Thinking about it like that made Horatio’s chest tighten with guilt. He looked up at Ulysses, brow creased. “I guess we really have been jerks p>
“Right?” Ulysses gave a short, bitter laugh. “We have. And it’s not just that, we never even realized it. That’s the worst part p>
Horatio let out a heavy sigh. He hated to admit it, but it was true. Even when they did notice they’d crossed a line, it was like they’d forget about it five minutes later. They always took it for granted that Callie wouldn’t leave, no matter how far they pushed her.
So they just kept demanding more and more, making her sacrifice without a second thought.
“Horatio Ulysses glanced over. “If Callie wasn’t our real sister… what would you do p>
“What?” Horatio blinked, then tried to laugh it off. “Come on, there’s no way she’s not our sister p>
“I mean, what if… she wasn’t Mom and Dad’s biological daughter?” Ulysses pressed.
Horatio shook his head, a nervous chuckle escaping. “No way. She’s Dad and Mom’s kid. Grandpa raised her, remember p>
“But I just talked to her.” Ulysses fixed Horatio with a serious look.
“What?” Horatio’s smile faded. “You talked to her p>
Ulysses nodded. “She told me herself. She’s not really a Jewell. She’s not related to us by blood p>
“That can’t be,” Horatio said, shaking his head. “No way p>
“That’s what she said,” Ulysses replied, “She wasn’t joking,
She said the real Calliope either
real sister is gone.
Horatio stared at Ulysses for a
moment, clearly struggling to
proces’s it. After a moment’s
long
hesitation he asked, “Youre not
messing with me, are you?
“Horatio, I might be clueless sometimes, but I wouldn’t joke about something like this p>
Ulysses sighed. “When I talked to Callie, she said it straight out. She even suggested I get a DNA test if I didn’t believe her p>
It was hard to believe. But now that he thought about it, Callie was
them
honestly, she didn’t look much like
Jewell, either.
always different l
The way she acted toward them now-so cold, so distant-maybe it made sense.
Maybe it was because she wasn’t really family after all.