Rising from the Ashes The Heiress They Tried to Erase

Chapter 434:

Sandra tried to soothe him. “Please, don’t get worked up, love. Jarrod only wants harmony for the family. However…” She turned toward Jarrod, softening her voice. “Listen, Jarrod, your father isn’t wrong. The Morgans never gave Maia reason to feel slighted. She lacked for nothing. Every comfort she enjoys is thanks to us. Without our support, she would have struggled to survive. Could she have built this life without our help?”

Jarrod’s fingers curled tightly around his fork before he asked suddenly, “Were either of you aware that Maia can play the piano?”

Richard and Sandra exchanged startled looks.

“The piano?” Sandra’s brow furrowed. “That’s unlikely. She never showed any interest, and we certainly never enrolled her in music classes. I’ve never seen her near an instrument.”

Richard let out a derisive snort. “Her academics were abysmal, and she constantly caused problems. We counted ourselves fortunate the school didn’t expel her. Mastering the piano demands discipline and perseverance, and she had neither.”

Jarrod’s thoughts churned with a chaotic mix of doubt and frustration. How could they claim to be Maia’s guardians for so long and still know so little about her?

The thought was beyond ridiculous.

He gave a low, bitter chuckle. “You keep insisting you treated Maia well… yet you don’t even know who she truly is.”

“What are you trying to say?” Richard’s brows furrowed, forming a tight knot of suspicion.

Sandra hesitated, her voice uncertain as she finally spoke. “Honestly, Maia’s been acting like a stranger lately… At times, I wonder if I ever really knew her. When did she pick up composition and fashion design? She never breathed a word of it to us.”

She sighed softly, then turned toward Jarrod. “All these years, your father and I poured ourselves into our work. I’ll admit, we didn’t devote much time to her. But everything we’ve done—every late night, every sacrifice—was for this family. How else do you think you’ve all enjoyed such comfort and luxury? She’s had the finest food, the best clothes, every possible advantage. She ought to be grateful. And yet she keeps everything close to the vest, like we’re strangers—or worse, enemies.”

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The more Sandra spoke, the more firmly she believed her own argument. In her eyes, Maia had become little more than a thankless thorn in the family’s side.

“And we’re still her family. If she has a bone to pick with us, couldn’t she just say so? Why keep it all bottled up and make everyone miserable?”

Jarrod remained silent for a moment, struck by the irony of her words.

He let out a quiet, bitter chuckle. “Family? Wasn’t it you who insisted she belonged to the Watsons, not the Morgans? Who forced her to sign that disownment agreement?”

A sharp bang rang out as Richard slammed his palm on the table, his face turning a shade redder. “Jarrod! What’s that supposed to mean? Are you taking her side now? Do you actually see that ungrateful jerk as one of us?”

Sandra, visibly confused, narrowed her eyes at Jarrod. “What’s gotten into you? You never cared about Maia before, and now suddenly you’re jumping to her defense. Has she been in touch with you? Is she trying to sow discord in this family?”

“Hmph! I knew that ungrateful brat was up to no good!” Richard growled, teeth clenched. “She’s trying to tear this family apart—piece by piece!”

Jarrod stared at the two self-satisfied figures across the table, and in that moment, the entire scene struck him as grotesquely absurd—a tragic comedy dressed as dinner.noveldrama

He opened his mouth, then closed it again. There was nothing left worth saying.

Just then, Rosanna walked in.

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