Chapter 253


    Jacob was in the hospital, and Chloe had no clue. She drove over to Saint Ryan Hospital, heading straight to the VIP section where Jacob''s room was. The whole floor was eerily quiet.


    Chloe walked down the long corridor and finally reached the door of his room. It was slightly ajar, and she could hear Jacob''s angry voice spilling out.


    "Lisa, how could you be so stupid? Why did you giarize in such a bigpetition with the world watching? I''d rather see youe inst than make a spectacle of yourself and drag us through the mud.


    "Do you even understand what Belle époque is facing now? Our stocks have tanked, the inte is boycotting us, and the empire I''ve built over decades is crumbling because of you.


    "The biggest regret of my life, Lisa, is having a daughter like you. You''re nothing but a curse on the Meadows family, aplete disaster.


    "If you had even a fraction of Chloe''s talent-no, a tenth-we wouldn''t be in this mess...


    "Why couldn''t Chloe be my daughter instead of you..."


    Jacob''s voice softened as he uttered thosest words, almost a whisper-a mix ofment and self-pity. But Lisa heard every word. She could tolerate many things, but mentioning Chloe always set her off.


    "Yeah, why isn''t Chloe your daughter? Why did it have to be me? Why did you bring me into this world only to lose me? If I had grown up here, had the education Chloe had, hadn''t been abused by John, and had everything I needed, maybe I''d be just as exceptional as Chloe.


    "This is your fault. You owe me."


    Jacob was shaking with anger. "Lisa, you''re hopeless."


    "Dad, do you really think Chloe is your perfect daughter? If she was, she wouldn''t have exposed me at thepetition. If she truly cared about the Meadows family,


    would have put our repu get


    not have me get caught in


    first,


    giarism scandal. Doesn''t she get that I represent Belle époque?"


    Jacob fell silent, then sighed deeply after a moment. "Yeah, why couldn''t she see the bigger picture?"Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Chloe, who had been eavesdropping


    outside, couldn''t help butugh at the absurdity. She had harbored a sliver of hope that Jacob had changed. But no, he was still the same-selfish as ever.


    He didn''t care about her or Lisa. All he cared about was his own reputation.


    Chloe pushed the door open. "Lisa, you stole someone else''s work, and you think you''re in the right?”


    "And how is your giarism scandal my fault? Didn''t I do everything I could at thepetition to uphold Belle époque''s dignity, to salvage our reputation?


    "You did something despicable and shameless, and now you''re ming me?"


    Jacob suddenly snapped back to reality. "Yeah, Chloe and you were both at thepetition. Chloe didn''t report your giarism. How can you me her?"


    But Lisa was seething, pointing


    angrily at Chloe, "You really think this has nothing to do with you? Aren''t you friends with Miss Y? Would she havee forward to expose me without your encouragement? She''s the chief jewelry designer at QUEEN now. She left fashion design years ago. Everything has been fine for so long. Why did she choose thepetition to use me of giarism?"