The family’s daughter, were now heartbroken. Some of them had tears in their eyes, unable to believe just how much she had endured.
Chapter 272
This recording hit Maddox like a punch to the gut. His chest tightened, and an unbearable ache settled deep inside him. He had always known that Phoebe hadn’t been treated well by the Jenkins family, but hearing it like this, laid out so clearly, so cruelly, was something else entirely. It was worse than he ever imagined.
His jaw clenched, his hands curled into fists, and his furious gaze locked onto Cain and Jamar.
“Are you even human?” Maddox spat, his voice shaking with anger. “You’re supposed to be her brothers, her family. Even complete strangers wouldn’t treat her this horribly!”
His eyes burned into Cain, sharp and unyielding. “All those years of education, and this is what you learned? To twist the truth until it fits whatever selfish narrative you’ve built?”
“Phoebe got her rightful spot from Mr. Scott, fair and square. Now Sienna wants it, and suddenly it’s Phoebe who’s in the wrong? Your entire family is unbelievable. You’re actually trying to make it seem like she needs to step aside and make up for Sienna’s loss? That’s got to be the most ridiculous, backwards logic I’ve ever heard.”
“Tell me something,” he sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Wasn’t Phoebe supposed to be the real heiress of the Jenkins family? The way you’re talking, it’s like she’s the outsider trying to steal a spot that doesn’t belong to her.”
“If that’s how you see it, then why the hell did you even bother bringing her back? Just to use her as a pawn? Just to make Sienna look better in comparison? Was that the plan all along? You people are disgusting. To have relatives like you must be hell for Phoebe.”
Maddox turned his icy glare to Jamar. “And you. The one who lost Phoebe in the first place. Instead of blaming yourself for what happened, you actually have the nerve to tell her to step aside for Sienna?”
“You joined in with the rest of them, forcing her to give up what was hers, taking advantage of her again and again. And for what? To make yourself feel better? To shift the blame onto her instead of taking responsibility for your own failures! But tell me, shouldn’t she be the one blaming you?”
His voice dropped. “Do you even understand what could have happened to her? If she hadn’t met Percival, she would’ve been trafficked and sold off to god-knows-who. And yet, you still have the audacity to act like she’s the one who wronged you!”
“Still, Phoebe never cared that you all clearly favored Sienna,” he snapped. “The only reason she held back was because she still cared about you. And what did you do? You took her kindness and threw it right back in her face.”
Maddox shook his head, his disgust palpable. “Do any of you even realize how much Phoebe has done for this family? I’ve heard the stories. She personally made herbal meals for every single one of you. How much she’s sacrificed. Joshua, his throat’s been an issue for years. Phoebe spent half a year crafting a special lozenge just for him, something that not only soothed his throat but actually relieved the pain. And how did he repay her! By running his mouth on a dan variety show, slandering her like she was nothing.”
“Those lozenges?” Maddox let out a harsh laugh. “Might as well have been tossed to a pack of stray dogs.”
Maddox let out a sharp breath, shaking his head. “Phoebe danced with you once, and the paparazzi caught it on camera. That was all it took for your fans to tear her apart online. They dragged her name through the dirt, and you just sat there and let it happen. You didn’t defend her, didn’t even say a word.”
His voice turned mocking. “But then, when you and Sienna got photographed having dinner together, and she got the tiniest bit of criticism, you immediately jumped in to protect her, stepped up, cleared the air, made sure everyone knew the truth. Funny, but it… Where was that energy when it was Phoebe being ripped to shreds?”
Tut’s what we know. Makes you wonder how much worse is the stuff we don’t know!
“Phoebe gave everything to the Jenkins family. She genuinely wanted to be part of it, to hold onto the bond she had with you all. And what did you do? You used her, betrayed her, and pushed her out. Now, you have the nerve to act like she’s the one at fault? Like she was trying to take something that wasn’t hers!”
Chapter 272
He scoffed, his voice dripping with disbelief. The so-called ‘making up’ you talk about was nothing but cruelty. You ignored her, isolated her, took what was rightfully hers, and then turned around and accused her of stealing from Sienna. You left her with no choice but to walk away, just so she could protect what little she had left.
“After hearing this recording, it’s even clearer, this is just how your family operates. When it comes to Sienna, you’ll twist the truth, cover up anything, and justify any kind of mistreatment toward Phoebe. It’s like second nature to you. You gang up on her, blame her for things she didn’t do, and then act like she’s the one causing problems.”
He turned to Sebastian, a knowing smirk on his face. “Let me ask you something, was Phoebe always meant to be the permanent guest on this variety show! And Sienna only got added later?”
Sebastian, who had been visibly shaken from the recording, suddenly looked hesitant. After a beat, he let out a slow sigh and nodded. “Yeah. Everyone knows Phoebe is a horoscope master. She actually saved my wife’s life before this show was even a thing.”
“When the show finally came together, she never once asked for anything in return. But I felt like I owed her, so I personally invited her to be a permanent guest.”
His expression darkened slightly. “As for Sienna? Her manager, Leon, came to me with Jamar. He told me Jamar was willing to join our show without taking a single cent, but only if we agreed to bring Sienna along too. Since Jamar is a top celebrity, I couldn’t really say no, so I went along with it.”
He wasn’t sugarcoating anything, just laying out the facts.
Maddox nodded, his voice firm but calm. “Thanks for being honest.”
Then, he turned to Cain, his tone sharp. “Alright, let’s hear it. How exactly did Phoebe steal Sienna’s spot and resources? Go ahead. Lay it all out for us because I’d love to understand the logic behind this accusation.”
Cain’s face turned all sorts of shades, clearly caught between anger and embarrassment. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. “L…” he started, only to stop just as quickly because he had nothing. He had spoken in the heat of the moment, acting on pure instinct and emotion, never thinking he would actually have to back up what he was saying. His only goal was to make Phoebe drop the issue, to stop bringing up the past and just let Sienna be. However, he never expected Phoebe to actually have receipts, to pull out a recording that laid everything bare. And now, after hearing it all, there was no way to argue against it. No way to twist the narrative in Sienna’s favor.
Maddox let out a scoff. “Huh. Funny how that works. A minute ago, you had plenty to say when you were telling Phoebe to let things go. All that confidence gone, huh! Where did that go?”
His voice turned sharper, more pointed. “Let’s get one thing straight, Phoebe is the one who wants to move on. She’s been trying to mind her own damn business, but you people keep dragging her back into this mess. From the moment you showed up, you’ve been picking at her, throwing accusations around, trying to paint her as the villain. And now, the truth comes out, you suddenly have nothing to say?”
“First episode, Jamar walks in and immediately jumps down Phoebe’s throat telling her not to bully Sienna. Second episode, before the live stream even starts, Joshua storms over, all riled up, accusing her of being out of line, of targeting Sienna. And now, here we are again, same story, different day. Another episode, another round of people dumping the blame on Phoebe like it’s some damn tradition.”
Maddox let out a humorless chuckle. “You know what’s crazy? If Phoebe hadn’t had that recording just now, if she didn’t have actual proof, you’d all still be sitting here, twisting the story, making her out to be some manipulative, power-hungry villain. You’d still be acting like she stole Sienna’s spot, and people would eat it up without question.”
His gaze locked onto Cain and Jamar. “What exactly did Phoebe do that was so unforgivable? Did she actually wrong you in some way? Or is this just some deep-rooted resentment you’ve been holding onto?!”
Phoebe crossed her arms, exhaling slowly as she looked at Cain and Jamar. “I really don’t get it. What exactly did I do to deserve this kind of treatment from you two?”
She scoffed, shaking her head. “You’re standing up for Sienna, right? Fine. But do you really have to come after me to do it? What? Is that part of some unspoken rule in the Jenkins family? That defending Sienna automatically means attacking me?”
Chapter 272
“We’ve never gotten along, and we’ve already cut ties a long time ago. I’m not going to fake it for the audience. If that makes me rude, then fine. I’ll…”
She let out a weary sigh. “Come on, can you just let me go already! Stop dragging me into this. I don’t want to be involved. I don’t want to keep playing this game with you. Wouldn’t it be easier if we just stayed out of each other’s way! Doesn’t it sound better to just be strangers?”
She glanced at Maddox, and for the first time in a while, she felt a little relief. He had laid everything out so clearly, hitting every key point from the recording and shutting down their nonsense without hesitation.