The Scorned Heiress: No More Mercy novel Chapter 130

Eleanor treats Marian like family, and everyone knows Marian would rather die than see harm come to her.

"Wait. You're saying Grandma drank a bowl of restorative tonic every day since she returned? And Jade was the one preparing it?" Tara interrupts, instantly catching the fatal anomaly. The poison had to be in Jade's homemade soup.

"What exactly are you implying?" Jade's eyes instantly turn bloodshot, her voice quivering with absolute devastation. "Is it a crime for me to prepare a healthy tonic for our grandmother? I just wanted to show my respect! I want her to live a long, healthy life." Outwardly, she looks like a victim of a cruel witch hunt, but internally, she is drowning in blind panic.

Still, she is a master manipulator. She forces down her terror, perfectly adopting the posture of a wrongfully accused martyr. Stay calm. Do not let her see you crack.

"That is enough! You have zero evidence, so stop slandering Jade right now!" Charles barks, his patience entirely depleted. The others might view Jade as an adopted charity case, but Charles knows she is his own flesh and blood. Why on earth would his own daughter poison her grandmother? What could she possibly gain?

"Exactly. You just want to watch the world burn."

"This family hasn't known a single day of peace since you moved back in."

Smug triumph flares in her gut, though she maintains her innocent, wounded facade. She deliberately pivots, showing off her status. "Mom loves me so much. She personally slow-cooks these restorative broths for me every single day to ensure I stay healthy." She shoots a loaded, pitiful glance at Tara, desperately trying to rub salt in her rival's emotional wounds.

Then, dripping with fake concern, Jade casually redirects the focus to Tara's custom pills. "I heard the medicine you've been giving Grandma doesn't even come from a licensed pharmaceutical company, nor was it prescribed by a real doctor. Is that safe?" She pauses, pretending to hesitate. "I remember Grandma being perfectly healthy before she left. But ever since she came back and started taking your pills, she just..."

She never explicitly says the word "poison," but her calculated hesitation and meaningful stares loudly broadcast the accusation to the entire room. She is heavily implying that Tara's unregulated, homemade pills are the true cause of the collapse. Right on cue, the gullible family members, previously confused by the medical jargon, latch onto Jade's venomous insinuation. With the sole exception of Aunt Kellen, every single pair of eyes in the room turns to glare at Tara with deep, hostile suspicion.