Free Web NovelChapter 476: Chapter 476
Miss Lowell comforted Grandmother, saying, "Don’t be so angry. It’s not worth ruining your health over."
Grandmother wiped her red-rimmed eyes and said through gritted teeth, "I just don’t understand. How could he treat his own flesh and blood this way! Does he really not have a heart? Did I work so hard to raise a monster in human skin?"
Grandmother knew Caleb Summers was a selfish egotist who placed little value on family. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have disowned his own mother.
But she never imagined that Caleb Summers could be so cruel to his own child!
Miss Lowell patted Grandmother’s shoulder and replied, "Haven’t you figured it out yet? Caleb has a new wife now. He’s counting on her to run the household, so of course, he has to be mindful of her feelings."
"Now that his new wife’s family is dead, he’s giving Nina a hard time to appease his new wife and prove his loyalty to her!"
"This way, he doesn’t have to spend any money or time to appease her. All it takes is making Nina suffer, so of course he’s happy to do it."
For some reason, hearing Miss Lowell’s words made Melody Summers suddenly recall a group chat she had seen a few days ago.
At the time, someone in the group chat named "Lil Howell" had said that in Building 5, four members of a family of five had died. She suspected he had been talking about Zella Kane’s family.
Zella Kane’s family had died tragically, leaving only Howard Fletcher. Zoe Kane had most likely decided to blame the Summers Family for it.
Zoe Kane believed the Summers Family’s refusal to shelter them had led to her relatives’ tragic deaths. But since she didn’t dare to hate Caleb Summers, she took it out on Nina Summers—who shared the same last name—tormenting her in various ways.
And Caleb Summers, knowing full well what was happening, let Zoe Kane torment Nina in order to appease his new wife’s resentment.
Thinking of this, Melody Summers couldn’t help but sneer. ’Birds of a feather really do flock together,’ she thought. ’That couple is truly a perfect match.’
******
「The next morning, at the Sheffield residence.」
A knock on the door interrupted the couple’s tender moment in the bedroom.
Winston Sheffield sat up, his face a mask of resentment. He muttered in discontent, "...Who is it? Talk about ruining the mood..."
Beside him, a displeased Sylvia Lancaster gave him a light push. "Hurry up and get the door! What are you waiting for!"
Annoyed at being interrupted, Winston Sheffield grudgingly went to open the door, only to find his sister, Wendy Sheffield, standing outside.
Seeing Wendy’s face, Winston let out an impatient "Tsk!" and asked, "What are you doing here? Something wrong?"
A worried expression crossed Wendy’s face. She asked Winston, "Bro, Mr. Summers just called. He said Nina hasn’t been home for three days. Is she here with you?"
Hearing Nina Summers’s name, Winston’s brow furrowed. "Of course not. What does Nina have to do with me? Didn’t I tell you we broke up ages ago? Don’t mention her in front of me again, you’ll give your sister-in-law the wrong idea."
Wendy froze. ’Sister-in-law?’
’What sister-in-law?’
’Isn’t Nina my sister-in-law? How could there be another one?’
Just then, a soft, delicate female voice drifted from behind Winston—
"Is that Wendy? It’s been a while."
The voice was familiar, making Wendy pause for a moment.
She looked toward the source of the voice and saw Sylvia Lancaster, dressed in pajamas.
Sylvia looked much more haggard than she had two years ago. Her once full, round cheeks were now thin and drawn, which gave her the frail, tragic air of a sickly beauty.
Although she was smiling at Wendy now, there was no real warmth in her eyes. Instead, they held a faint, almost imperceptible hint of mockery.
The moment she saw Sylvia, Wendy’s eyes widened. "What are you doing here?!" she exclaimed in shock.
Wendy never in a million years expected to run into Sylvia Lancaster here!
Ever since the Lancaster family went bankrupt, Wendy had gradually distanced herself from Sylvia and Clara Hayes’s little clique. She hadn’t been in contact with Sylvia for a very long time. Sylvia had even reached out to her for help before, but Wendy had simply ignored her. She couldn’t understand why Sylvia was now in her brother’s home.
As Wendy stared in shock, Winston walked over, put his arm around Sylvia’s shoulders, and announced proudly, "Perfect timing. Sylvia and I are together now. From now on, she’s your sister-in-law-to-be. Soon enough, her name will be on our family register!"
A few days prior, the Anworth Government had organized post-disaster reconstruction efforts. Winston had taken an assignment to inspect a mountainous region, which was where he happened to run into Sylvia Lancaster wandering nearby.
At the time, Sylvia had looked absolutely pitiful. Her clothes were ragged, her frame was gaunt, her cheeks were hollow, and her skin was marred by frostbite.
It was then that Winston learned how terrible things had been for Sylvia after the Hayes family’s downfall. She had returned to her own family, but the Lancasters had lost everything. Her entire family had nearly perished in the recent blizzard.
Winston’s heart ached for Sylvia after hearing her story, and he immediately offered to take care of her.
Sylvia knew Winston had a crush on her. In the past, she never would have given someone from a family like his the time of day, but things were different now. She was desperate.
The Lancaster family was destitute, left with nothing but a dilapidated, half-collapsed villa. And no matter how hard she searched, she couldn’t find the giant white granite boulder from her past life.
Just when it seemed she wouldn’t be able to survive, Winston Sheffield had unexpectedly delivered himself right to her doorstep. Of course, Sylvia wasn’t about to let an opportunity like this slip away.
So, she feigned acceptance of Winston’s advances. Her plan was to use him to get through this difficult period, then dump him as soon as she found her "space."
Winston was overjoyed to learn that the goddess he’d had a crush on for years had agreed to date him. He immediately went to his father, Mitchell Sheffield, and announced that he wanted to break off his engagement with Nina Summers and marry Sylvia Lancaster!
Hearing Winston’s words, Wendy’s mind reeled. It felt as if her whole world was collapsing.
’How could Winston be with Sylvia Lancaster?!’
Wendy had been one of Sylvia’s lackeys for years; she knew exactly what kind of person Sylvia was.
Sylvia was selfish, cunning, and ruthless. She loved to play the innocent, fragile victim. As an adopted daughter raised by the Lancasters, she’d shown no gratitude and had even harmed their biological daughter. That alone was a testament to her vicious nature!
Wendy could tolerate being superficial friends with a woman like that for personal gain, but she would absolutely not accept her as a sister-in-law!
If they brought Sylvia Lancaster into the family, the Sheffields would never know a moment’s peace!
In contrast, Wendy was very fond of Nina Summers. Nina came from a respectable background and was a genuine person. She could be a bit naive at times, but she wasn’t stupid—the perfect candidate for a sister-in-law.
With this in mind, Wendy frowned and protested, "Bro, how can you be with her?! She’s not right for you at all!"
Winston was not pleased. He glared at his sister and said with a frown, "What’s that supposed to mean? I thought you and Sylvia were good friends. How can you say that about her?!"
Hearing her brother say that, Wendy felt a massive headache coming on.
’My brother is usually so sharp,’ she thought. ’Why is he acting like a complete idiot when it comes to Sylvia?!’
Wendy shot a harsh glare at Sylvia before turning back to her brother. "Don’t you get it? Her family is bankrupt! The Lancasters have nothing left!"
The unspoken warning was clear: marrying Sylvia wouldn’t bring any benefit to the Sheffield family. On the contrary, they would be saddled with the burden of supporting the rest of the Lancasters.
