CHAPTER 521: THE SHOW BEGINS

Angela was so much better than Selina. If he hadn’t come to City A in the first place, he would never have met Selina. Maybe in the future, Angela would have been his only daughter...

With that thought, Joe actually said it out loud.

Selina let out a soft laugh. "Chairman Morris, if you only want Angela as your daughter, isn’t that easy enough?"

For some reason, that one line hit Joe like a slap in the face. He felt utterly humiliated. "Still unrepentant!"

It was as if Joe’s body was being controlled by rage. He lost all reason and snapped, "Selina, I’ve tolerated you long enough! If you don’t hand over the Fortune Jade, I’ll sever all ties with you as my daughter!"

...

The room erupted in shock and then fell into dead silence.

The man who was rumored to have stayed loyal to Victoria for twenty years, the father who supposedly cherished his daughter like a precious jewel, was now publicly disowning her?

Wasn’t this... going too far?

But to everyone’s surprise, Selina smiled.

Her gaze was cool as she lifted her eyes. "And may I ask, Chairman Morris, in what way exactly have you ’tolerated’ me? Was it when you supported Angelica’s kidnapping of me? Or when you allowed Angela to impersonate me? Or perhaps when you helped your current wife steal my mother’s work?"

The crowd fell silent at once.

What she said... sounded true.

Even those who moments ago thought Selina was being unreasonable now shut their mouths. From Selina’s perspective, Joe had never once protected her. Instead, he had stood by while person after person hurt her. A father like that? Better not to have one at all.

Selina’s voice was steady, faintly mocking. "Chairman Morris, let me return your own words to you. I’ve tolerated you enough. Since you want to sever ties, let’s sever them."

With each word, Joe’s face darkened further.

He might have been weak, spineless, and a mama’s boy, but one thing he could not tolerate was his daughter talking back to him and challenging his authority as a father. His fingers trembled with fury. "Fine, fine... so be it! I declare from this day forward, Selina has nothing whatsoever to do with the Morris Family. You are not my daughter!"

Selina arched a brow. Her first goal of the day was achieved.

Joe, oblivious to the shifting looks around him, was consumed with only one thought: how to appease the Turner family. Even if he dumped all the blame on Selina, would the Turners really let it go? What was he supposed to do... what could he do...

Angela bit her lip, then suddenly stepped forward. "Daddy, you don’t have to worry so much. I actually have a solution."

Everyone immediately turned to look at her.

Angela cast Selina a subtle glance before hesitating, as though reluctant to speak. "Yesterday, at the auction, I accidentally came across a Fortune Jade with the Turner family crest carved on it. After thinking it over, I paid a very high price to buy it. I never imagined..."

"...I never imagined that it would turn out to be the very Fortune Jade my sister had sold off. Even though there was a mishap, at least I was able to recover it. I believe that once the Turner family knows, they won’t blame you."

The entire venue went still.

Chairman Joe Morris’s face lit up. "Angela, really? You truly are Daddy’s good daughter!"

Angela leaned slightly closer to the microphone so her words carried clearly to every corner of the hall.

"In fact, I wasn’t sure at first that this was the same Fortune Jade my sister had sold. But I couldn’t bear the thought of the Turner family’s treasure being lost, so I spent a fortune to buy it back... never realizing that, by chance, I’d helped save our family."

"The only reason I didn’t bring it out earlier was because I thought my sister still had the Turner heirloom safe in her hands. If I had shown mine then, it would have stolen her spotlight. That’s the only reason I kept quiet until now..."

Angela’s eyes welled with tears. "But I never expected something like this to happen. Thank goodness I went to the auction yesterday, thank goodness I bought the Fortune Jade. Otherwise, how would today have ended?"

The crowd sighed in unison.

Now, the truth seemed crystal clear—

Young Master Turner had entrusted the Fortune Jade to Selina, but Selina, greedy for money, had sold it off.

Angela happened to discover it, paid a steep price to buy it back, and originally planned to give Selina one more chance. If Selina hadn’t lied, Angela would have quietly returned the Fortune Jade, intact.

But Selina had let her down again. Unable to bear seeing the Morris Family suffer, Angela had brought the Fortune Jade forward.

They were sisters by blood, yet while Selina deceived, Angela didn’t fight for credit, didn’t seek glory. Instead, she tried to guide her elder sister back onto the right path, even paving the way for her.

The contrast couldn’t be clearer.

Joe’s heart felt like it was riding a rollercoaster—just when he thought all was lost, a miracle appeared. His voice trembled with excitement. "Angela, are you certain this is the Turner heirloom, the true Fortune Jade?"

Angela smiled sweetly. "Don’t worry, Dad. I locked it in a safe. I’ll send someone to bring it over right now."

Joe let out a sigh of relief, then turned a cold glare on Selina. "Selina, do you see? It’s not that I favor Angela—it’s that you’ve gone too far!"

His eyes fell on the jade in Selina’s hands, the one carved from green glassy jadeite. All the humiliation of the day came flooding back, and his voice turned harsh. "Someone, throw that thing out before the Turner family sees it!"

The bodyguards stepped forward but faltered under Selina’s aura, unable to move closer.

Selina chuckled. "Chairman Morris, are you sure? What if this one is the real one? And how can you be so certain... Angela isn’t the one lying?"

Before Joe could speak, Angela stepped forward with a helpless look.

"Selina, everyone knows you went to Young Master Turner’s studio. And I saw the Turner heirloom at the auction myself. What does that tell you? I think everyone here can put two and two together. Stop trying to deny it."

Her tone and demeanor made it seem as though the guilt lay entirely with Selina, as if she herself had never schemed. Even if it had been Angela who snuck into the studio and took the Fortune Jade, who would ever believe Selina now?

Joe, moved by Angela’s thoughtfulness and chilled by Selina’s cold stare, grew even angrier. Memories of Victoria rejecting him years ago resurfaced in his mind. First Victoria, now Selina—mother and daughter, always rejecting him!

His male pride boiled over. He felt despised by them, looked down on, and he was determined to prove his authority. His voice thundered: "Angela is right! Selina, how could Victoria have given birth to something like you? Fine. Others may not dare, but I will!"

Joe lunged forward, snatched the Fortune Jade from Selina’s hand, and smashed it to the ground with a resounding crack!

The jade shattered before everyone’s eyes, breaking into three jagged pieces.

Only then did Joe feel some measure of satisfaction. He didn’t even look at Selina as he answered his ringing phone. Moments later, his expression froze in horror. "Angela—the Turner family is sending someone here! Where’s your Fortune Jade?"

Angela, glowing with triumph, presented a wooden box. She opened it, revealing a warm, white jade Fortune Jade, gleaming under the lights.

Joe practically rushed forward. "Yes, this is the real Turner heirloom! Angela, thank heavens for you!"

Selina, meanwhile, found herself almost eager—eager to see Joe’s face when he finally learned the truth.