Novel Square
Chapter 72
"Jade, what on earth did you do to make the kitchen smell so awful?" Lisa barked as she descended the stairs, glaring down at Jade and Chloe. Jade quickly replied, "I made some of Chloe's favorite cheese pastries. I just cleaned up. The kitchen doesn't smell anymore."© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.
Lisa's face twisted with disdain. "Chloe is a murderer's daughter. She's not one of the Meadows family. Jade, remember, there's only one Miss in this family, and that's me. Got it?"
Jade's face fell. At seventy, she'd raised two generations of the Meadows family, and even Jacob the master treated her with respect. But since Lisa's return, she'd been nothing but dismissive and cruel.
"Jade, throw those stinking pastries away. From now on, it will be banned from this house," Lisa commanded.
Jade's voice trembled. "But these are Miss Chloe's favorite..."
"Do you still want to work here, or do you want me to send you packing back to your hometown tomorrow?" Lisa threatened.
Tears welled up in Jade's wrinkled eyes, and her lips quivered. She looked helplessly at Chloe. "Miss..."
Chloe whispered to Jade, "Just put them in my car."
Jade nodded and left.
Lisa stepped closer to Chloe, her expression smug. "Heard you got suspended from the TV station?"
Chloe smiled faintly. "Seems like my little sister cares a lot about me."
"Your scandal has been trending on social media for days. It's hard not to know. Chloe, don't pretend you're still the Meadows family's daughter. You lost your job, and now you're trying to get sympathy from my parents?"
"They're my parents, not yours. You're just a murderer's daughter, unfit for any glory. You should stay in the shadows where you belong," Lisa sneered.
Chloe's smile deepened. "It's one thing for outsiders to say that, but why does my dear sister always calt me a murderer's daughter? Unlike me, who barely knew Ann, you were her daughter for twenty years. Your bond should be deeper."
Lisa's face darkened at the mention of Ann. "She's nothing but a murderer and a human trafficker. She ruined the bright future I should've had. She doesn't deserve to be my mother."
"So, you refused to testify in court, turning her self-defense case into a conviction for premeditated murder just so she got a life sentence?" Chloe asked.
Lisa went pale. "What are you talking about?"
"Nothing at all," Chloe said, trying to head upstairs.
But Lisa blocked her path. "Chloe, what do you mean? What exactly do you know?"
Chloe had indeed uncovered some
truths. On the night Ann committed the murder, Lisa had also been
there. A neighbor had seen the victim, John, assaulting Ann and her daughter and had called the police. But when they arrived, they only found Ann and John's body, with a knife in his heart.
Ann was charged with murder, but if the neighbor's account was true, it could have been excessive self-defense. Lisa, however, never showed up in court to defend Ann.
Lisa's face turned deathly pale, clearly panicking. She feared Chloe knew something but then thought it was impossible. If Chloe had known, she wouldn't have stayed silent for three years. Chloe must've hated her, too.