The crowd around them continued to grow, all listening intently to the voice coming from the phone speaker The shock was palpable.
Though the Jackson family wasn’t the wealthiest in Sancho, they were still one of the most prominent. For chuldren in wealthy families, having tens of thousands of dollars or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in pocket money each month was completely normal.
But none of them had ever heard of a wealthy family’s daughter who didn’t receive a single penny in pocket money. The Jackson family was the only exception.
They thought. No wonder Camila looks so poorly dressed and doesn’t even have a decent gown for the banquet!
Even if she hadn’t been raised by them, Camila was still the Jackson family’s real daughter. Their biological child got nothing, but their adopted daughter was spoiled with 200 thousand dollars a month.
If the Jackson family allowed something like this to leak out, it was clear that they had no idea how to handle things.
Whispers spread like wildfire through the room, and Harry felt an uncomfortable heat rise at the back of his neck. His face turned bright red with shame. He couldn’t believe such an embarrassing thing was happening in the Jackson family
He thought, “We are a prominent family, rich and well–established–how can we be so stingy when it comes to pocket money for our own flesh and blood?
Harry snapped, his voice sharp and cold. “Even if the company didn’t give you money, your parents must have given you something, right?”
Camila gave him a look of mockery, then shifted her gaze to Arthur and Helinda in the crowd. “Mr. Jackson, if you want to know whether Arthur and Belinda gave me any pocket money, why don’t you ask them directly?
“You clearly don’t believe me, but I’m sure you’ll believe your own parents”
Arthur and Belinda froze, both too ashamed to look her in the eye,
“Dad, Mom, you did give her pocket money, right?” Harry asked, looking at them seriously,
Arthur looked away, his voice faltering, “I thought you would give it to her, so I…
Belinda’s eyes filled with guilt as tears welled up. She spoke softly, “I thought you were going to… Camila, why didn’t you tell me you were struggling with money? If you had told me sooner, I would have given it to you.
“It’s my fault. I didn’t notice sooner, and 1 let you suffer. But you need to believe that 1 treated you and Agnes equally
Camila looked at her with a half–smile, her gaze indifferent. Under her cold stare, Belinda awkwardly lowered her eyes.
It was only today that Camila realized it was Belinda, her own mother, who had prevented the Imance department from giving her money.
And not only that, but she had raised Agnes’s allowance to 300 thousand dollars, as if afraid her precious adopted daughter might feel slighted.
The double standard was appalling, and yet Belinda still claimed to treat them equally.
A woman who lived in luxury, with high–end clothes and accessories, couldn’t possibly have failed to notice that her own daughter was wearing clothes that added up to no more than 30 dollars.
It wasn’t that she didn’t notice; she just didn’t care. Her apology was nothing more than a shallow act i
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for appearances‘ sake.
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Chapter 4
Luckily, Camila had long seen through this family’s ugliness. Her heart had been hardened over the years, immune to their cruelty. Without any expectations left, she was unwavering.
As Camila ignored Belinda’s apology, publicly humiliating the Jackson family in front of everyone, any trace of guilt Harry had felt vanished completely
He snapped, “Can’t you speak for once? We’re not mind readers. How were we supposed to know what’s in your head? If you’d said something earlier, do you think we’d have let you go without money?”
“I said it.” Camila’s voice was soft but cold. “It’s just that you didn’t take me seriously.”
Harry frowned, about to deny it, when a memory suddenly flashed in his mind. It was an afternoon, and the four of them were sitting together on the sofa, laughing and chatting.
Camila awkwardly walked over, clutching the hem of her school uniform. Before she could speak, her face had already turned bright red. She hesitated for a long time before whispering, “Dad, Mom, can you give me 1500 dollars for my
tuition…”
Harry slammed the newspaper onto the coffee table, glaring at Camila and scolding her, “Money, money, money! That’s all you think about! You come home just to ask for money, don’t you?
“If the Jackson family had no money, would you even bother coming back? I really don’t know why your mother and I brought you back.
“If you don’t have anything else to do, just study more. Agnes got tenth place in the whole school for the first exam. Where did you place?”
“I… I got first…….
“Enough! You’re dead last, and you still have the nerve to mention it?”
He thought he had already arranged for the finance department to deposit 150 thousand dollars into her bank account every month, but she still had the audacity to ask for 15 million dollars.
He had thought. Agnes doesn’t even have that much money-
-does she even think about what she has done to deserve it?
Tears immediately welled up in Camila’s eyes, as if she had been deeply wronged.
He only felt irritated and lost all interest in reading his financial news.
Fortunately, Agnes was sensible. She shook his arm and acted cute. “Harry, I got tenth place this time. Do I get a reward?”
He could never resist Agnes, his adorable little sister. He immediately forgot about the unpleasantness caused by Camila and pinched her small face, indulgently saying, “Agnes, what do you want as a reward?”
“I saw a bag worth 30 thousands dollars. Can you buy it for me, Harry?”
“Alright, alright. As long as you like it, I’ll buy it for you. Don’t even say 30 thousands dollars–I’ll buy it even if it’s 300 thousand dollars.”
After coaxing Agnes, he turned back to Camila, clearly annoyed. “Why are you still standing there? Go back to your room and study
Camila, feeling deeply wronged, turned and ran off
Both Arthur and Relinda sighed at the same time. “If only Camila were as sensible as Agnes.
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Chapter 4
“Mr. Jackson, did you finally remember?” Camila’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and each utterance of “Mr. Jackson felt like a sharp pain in his chest.
He was her brother–her real brother, not some “Mr. Jackson. But since she was released from prison, she hadn’t even called
him “Harry” once.
His expression hardened, and he spoke through gritted teeth, “It’s still because your grades were so terrible. You ranked dead last, and you still have the nerve to ask for money. I’m too embarrassed to reward you.”
Camila’s eyes grew colder. Under such a cold gaze, Harry felt an unfamiliar sense of guilt. He gritted his teeth and snapped, “What, have anything to say?”
“For three years of high school, I was ranked first in my grade every year. How is it that, in the mouth of you, Mr. Jackson, I’ve become last in the grade?”
Seeing the disbelief on his face, Camila let out a cold laugh, a hint of satisfaction creeping into her voice. “Well, I suppose it makes sense.
“Mr. Jackson, you don’t even know which school I go to, so it’s understandable that you don’t know anything about my academic record.
Harry stood frozen, struck as if by lightning. His mind couldn’t process what he had just heard. His voice trembled with barely concealed shock. “Aren’t you attending Peroz High School?”
Peroz High School was the best elite school in Sancho, and Agnes had graduated from there. It was the school where all the children from wealthy and powerful families in Sancho were sent.
Harry had naturally assumed that Camila went to Peroz High School too.
He quickly turned to look at Arthur and Belinda, his voice shaking with panic, “Dad, Mom, when Camila came back, did you transfer her records here?”
Arthur’s face turned bright red. He opened his mouth but could only produce a few muffled sounds. It was as if all his strength had been drained, and the authority he once commanded was completely gone.
Belinda’s lips quivered, her eyes full of panic and confusion. Her carefully applied makeup couldn’t hide the embarrassment on her face.
The two of them stood there, frozen, as if the air had thickened around them.
Harry’s face turned pale. Everything he thought he knew about Camila crumbled like a collapsing building. The contempt and disdain he had felt before now seemed like sharp knives, cutting into him.
His voice faltered as he struggled to speak, his throat tightening. “Camila… where did you go to high school?”
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