"Calliope is only a waitress at that diner. Why would she be waiting tables if she were the brains behind Pearl Tiger Club?" Zelda sneered, her voice dripping with disdain.


    Horatio frowned at her.


    "That diner? It''s hers too," he replied, his voice steady but firm.


    Zelda hadbeled Calliope as a jinx since they were kids. As Calliope''s mother, Zelda''s disdain had spread to the rest of the family, poisoning their opinions of her over time.


    Monty was starting to panic. "What do we do now? How do we fix this?" He was kicking himself for not treating Calliope better when he had the chance. It finally dawned on him that she was the real powerhouse in their family.


    Ss must have known how remarkable she was; why else would a man of his stature choose to marry her, especially after she was rejected by Gideon?


    "We can''t seriously give her 50% of the shares and hand thepany to her, can we?" Valerian asked, lifting his gaze from the floor. "She''s probably using her skills to manipte us into agreeing."


    "If we don''t, it could mean the end of thepany," Horatio said thoughtfully.


    Monty took a deep breath, steeling himself. "We need to apologize. Beg for her forgiveness if we have to. It''s our only option. If she really is as talented as we think, she could save us and even take thepany to new heights."


    "Yeah, but if she does, it won''t benefit us in the slightest," Zelda snorted. "I''ve been saying it all along that she''s a curse. No matter how capable she is, she''ll only bring us bad luck."


    "Would you just be quiet for once?" Monty snapped, ring at Zelda. "We don''t need you making this any worse."


    "Even if I stay quiet, it won''t change the fact that she won''t help us," Zelda huffed. "She has no heart."


    Monty couldn''t take it anymore. Furious, he pped Zelda across the face.


    She clutched her cheek, eyes wide with shock, tears brimming. "I can''t believe you hit me! It is all her fault, you know."


    After saying that, Zelda stormed upstairs, heading straight for her jewelry box, her face flushed with anger.


    Back in the living room, Monty, Horatio, and the others began plotting how to win Calliope over.


    ying the family card seemed their best bet. After all, Calliope had always valued family above everything else.


    ...


    Meanwhile, Calliope was blissfully unaware of the Jewell family''s scheming, That evening, she sat on the couch with Ss, her head


    resting against his shoulder. She his


    gazed up at him, admiring a


    handsome features, no matter the angle.


    "So, what did they say today?" Ss asked gently, brushing a stray lock of hair from her forehead.


    "Nothing much," Calliope chuckled.


    She couldn''t help but grin when she thought about how Million had devoured nearly everything at the table, leaving Monty and the others with nothing.


    "Something funny?" Ss asked, noticing the sparkle in her eyes. His smile matched hers, soft and affectionate.


    Calliope recounted the scene of Million''s enthusiastic eating, knowing full well that Monty and the others could never have imagined such a thing.