Chapter 256

“Seriously, I didn’t? Think back to what I said at the amusement park,” Calliope said with a hint of indifference.

“Calliope, stop pretending. You never said a word. If you had, do you think I wouldn’t have checked it out? Do you think I wouldn’t know where she is?” Valerian’s face was stormy. “If the Miracle Doctor hadn’t been off the grid all these years, we wouldn’t be turning to you for help!”

Zelda glanced at Calliope, trying to soften her tone. “Callie, as your mother, I’m begging you. Please help your brother.”

Calliope met Zelda’s eyes. “I already told you, twenty percent of the company shares.”

“Do you really want me to get on my knees and beg?” Zelda fumed, humiliated.

“Why can you give shares to Lisette but not me?” Calliope asked. “I’m not asking you to beg. My terms aren’t unreasonable, are they?”

“You don’t know the first thing about running a business. What use are shares to you?” Valerian snapped, irritation lacing his voice. “Shares should be in the hands of someone who knows what they’re doing. You’d just get conned out of them.”

“Calliope, I’m asking you again. Will you help us?” Zelda took a deep breath, her demeanor turning more assertive.

“I’ve already stated my terms.”

“Callie, I’m begging you to save your brother,” Zelda implored, desperation creeping into her voice. “He was so good to you when you were little. He adored you! Do you want me to kneel before you as your mother?”

“Callie, family means something. It’s your brother and your sister. Are you going to turn your back on them?”

Suddenly, Zelda sank to her knees right before Calliope, tears streaming down her face.

They were in front of the hospital, with relatives of patients bustling around. When Zelda knelt, it drew a crowd. “What’s going on here?”

“Why is this woman kneeling?”

“What’s she begging for? The girl looks kinda heartless, doesn’t she?”

Calliope thought, are you kidding me? She never expected Zelda to pull the ‘moral guilt’ card on her like this. And Valerian was joining in, too?

“Callie, that’s your mother. She’s on her knees asking you. Are you really going to ignore your brother? You have a way to help them. Why won’t you?”

“Everyone, come look! A mother is kneeling, begging her daughter just for a doctor’s name, and the daughter won’t even do that much! This daughter is going to drive her own mother to despair!”

Calliope sighed inwardly. This was too much.

She looked at Zelda kneeling before her, kept her expression calm, and chose not to engage.

“Calliope, your mom’s kneeling, and you won’t even help her up? Have you no conscience?” Valerian was losing it as she remained unresponsive.

The crowd began to murmur and point fingers at Calliope.

“I told you what I wanted. If you don’t believe me, what can I do?” Calliope said with a cold detachment. “Not all mothers deserve the title.”

“Besides,” Calliope continued, “I said my terms. You can give the shares to your adopted daughter. If you want to use the ‘real daughter’ card against me, at least match what you gave her.”