The Scorned Heiress: No More Mercy novel Chapter 457

Tara had tried to warn him. Over and over again, she had pointed out the red flags, but Jake had dismissed her words as nothing more than petty jealousy. Now, looking at his mother and brother, he sees the exact same blind, foolish loyalty that used to cloud his own judgment.

Part of him wants to keep his mouth shut. He has a dark urge to sit back and watch just how long it will take for them to figure it out on their own. But the suffocating weight of being dragged into another one of Jade's scandals kills that impulse. He is more than ready to lay all the ugly truths bare.

"What... what are you talking about?" Deanna stammers, her face paling.

"I'm talking about the facts," Jake snaps, his gaze piercing. "Look at everything that has gone wrong in this family recently. Is there a single disaster that doesn't trace back to her? Tara was forced out of her own home and still refuses to speak to us—and we have Jade to thank for that. Mom, you grew up in a wealthy family. Don't tell me you are completely oblivious to basic manipulation. Ask yourself: when Tara left, who benefited the most?"

Jake's relentless barrage of questions leaves Deanna utterly paralyzed. It is true that she grew up in high society, but she was always sheltered, treated like a cherished princess. She rarely had to navigate the vicious, backstabbing politics of the elite. But her son's words chip away at a dam in her mind, threatening to unleash a flood of terrifying realizations.

Who benefits the most from Tara leaving?

Is it... Jade?

Deanna's mind races. Even when Tara was still at home, she never mistreated Jade. Why would she do this?

Alec stands there, thoroughly offended. Did his mother really just call him stupid to his face?

Upstairs, Deanna sits at her vanity, staring blankly at her reflection. Her mind is a chaotic storm, desperately piecing together memories of Jade's interactions with her brothers over the years. Slowly, the fragments begin to align.

She remembers how Jade would always run straight to her brothers the second she got home, clinging to them and acting relentlessly helpless. Whenever they watched television or ate fruit in the living room, they were always pressed tightly together. More than once, Deanna had walked in to find Jade sleeping with her head resting on one of their laps. But the moment Jade noticed Deanna, she would immediately jump up and run over to hug her, effortlessly distracting her from the intimacy of the scene.

There were movie nights where Jade would use a jump scare as an excuse to bury herself completely into her brother's chest. At the time, Deanna thought it was just a normal reaction to a horror film. She even recalled walking in on Jade meticulously peeling apples and feeding them directly into their mouths. Back then, Deanna had dismissed it. They were young, still students, and she simply assumed they had a remarkably close sibling bond. She never thought twice about it.