Free Web NovelChapter 484: Chapter 484: Unwelcome Guests
Seeing the situation, a few officers stepped forward to placate her. "Mrs. Walsh, we know you’re anxious about your missing item, but we need you to calm down and not disturb people who aren’t involved."
"That’s right. We’ll head back and review the surveillance footage from the area to see if any suspicious individuals have entered the complex recently. We’ll narrow down the suspects and get back to you as soon as possible."
The police’s advice only made Zara Walsh more frantic!
She wanted to scream and tell them: ’The ring is in the Summers Villa! What are you going to find by checking the nearby surveillance footage?!’
But she couldn’t say anything right now. She couldn’t let her facade crack!
As Zara Walsh watched with a frantic, desperate gaze, the police got in their car and left.
Zara Walsh stared in the direction the police car had gone, her face a mask of bewilderment, as if she couldn’t understand why things had turned out this way.
Watching Zara Walsh’s expression, Melody Summers couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter.
Hearing Melody Summers’s mocking laughter, Zara Walsh whipped her head around.
Thinking of everything that had happened, Zara Walsh could no longer contain her rage. She raised her hand and swung it viciously at Melody Summers’s face.
Zara Walsh put all her strength into the slap, but Melody Summers blocked it firmly.
Melody Summers shoved Zara Walsh away and said coldly, "Zara Walsh, do I need to remind you? You’re currently out on bail, aren’t you? If you cause trouble at my house, I’ll call the police and have you sent right back to prison."
The bail period was a probationary period. If Zara Walsh committed another crime, she would very likely be sent back to jail.
Hearing the six words "sent right back to prison," Zara Walsh trembled, and the expression on her face twisted.
’She absolutely couldn’t be sent back... She couldn’t go back to that place!’
At this thought, Zara Walsh could only suppress the urge to attack again. She glared fiercely at Melody Summers, as if her gaze alone could inflict death by a thousand cuts.
Just then, Nina Summers quietly walked out.
Nina Summers had only dared to come out after seeing the police leave. She wanted to twist the knife in Caleb Summers’s back one more time.
When Zara Walsh saw Nina Summers, she froze for a moment.
Then, it all dawned on her. ’Nina Summers actually dared to turn on her!’
’Nina Summers really dared to betray her!’
Zara Walsh’s eyes went bloodshot with rage. She pointed a trembling finger at Nina Summers and snarled through gritted teeth, "You! How dare you? You little bitch, you actually dare to betray me!"
"Does your dad want to keep his job or not? Believe it or not, I can tell my uncle right now to have your dad fired... Believe it or not, I can make your whole family’s life a living hell!"
Nina Summers’s eyes lit up when she heard this. ’Could things really be that good?’
Afraid that Zara Walsh might be recording, Nina Summers didn’t dare say much. Instead, she replied in a voice tinged with a smile, "Ma’am, I don’t know what you’re talking about. My dad is a diligent worker. He’s about to be promoted to director based on his own merit. He has a bright future ahead of him, and it’s not something you can change with just a few empty words."
Meeting Zara Walsh’s murderous gaze, Nina Summers lifted her chin and continued, "Your uncle is just a deputy director. What can he do to my dad? With my dad’s abilities, he’ll be promoted to bureau director in a couple of years. By then, he’ll have your uncle under his thumb, and your uncle will be the one trying to stay on his good side!"
Nina Summers’s words made Zara Walsh’s face twist with rage. ’Nina Summers’s father, Caleb Summers, was a complete good-for-nothing! He was so old and couldn’t even make it to director. Who gave her the nerve to say something like that?!’
Zara Walsh was so infuriated by Nina Summers that she was speechless. She pointed a trembling finger at Nina and could only sputter, "You... you..."
Seeing this, Nina Summers rolled her eyes. She tilted her head up like a proud little peacock and continued, "You what? Stop your bragging. Just look at yourself. TSK TSK TSK, you’re like some nouveau riche trash..."
"Let me tell you, my dad is a government official. A low-class woman like you... your entire family combined isn’t worth one of my dad’s fingers!"
Perhaps Nina Summers’s words were too vicious. Zara Walsh became so enraged that she started to laugh, a sinister, venomous glint in her eyes. She gritted her teeth and said, "Fine. Fine! You just wait!"
With that, she flung her arm down, turned, and strode away.
After driving Zara Walsh away in a rage, Nina Summers let out a long sigh of relief.
’She had said so much, hoping Zara Walsh would be absolutely ruthless and drag Caleb Summers, his wife, and son to hell with him. She hoped Zara wouldn’t show any mercy...’
Seeing her like this, Melody Summers shook her head helplessly and reminded her, "Don’t get too pleased with yourself. With Zara Walsh’s temper, do you really think she’ll let you off the hook?"
It was true that Zara Walsh would retaliate against Caleb Summers, but she definitely wouldn’t let Nina Summers go either.
Nina Summers gave an awkward laugh at her words, and her shoulders slumped. She knew Zara Walsh wouldn’t let her go, but she hoped that before Zara dealt with her, she would deal with Caleb Summers’s family first!
******
Early the next morning, just as the Summers family was finishing breakfast, an unexpected guest arrived.
Melody Summers opened the door and was surprised to see Roman Rhodes standing there. "Officer Rhodes, what brings you here?"
Roman Rhodes smiled and pointed to a few boxes on the ground. "Just brought some things over to see you all."
’Melody Summers understood immediately. It seemed Officer Rhodes was here to visit Miss Lowell again. Those grain coupons Miss Lowell had used back then were really worth it; now Officer Rhodes was repaying her a thousand times over.’
Looking at the fruits and vegetables in the boxes, Melody Summers recognized at a glance that they were from the Arcadia Store.
The recent downpours had been continuous, flooding many areas, including the facilities of indoor farming and aquaculture companies.
Those companies were working overtime to move their facilities to higher ground up the mountain. In the meantime, they had to suspend sales, leaving only the Arcadia Shop still selling in the city.
Because of this, many people were speculating that the Arcadia Shop’s facility was at a high altitude. Some mystery-solving enthusiasts had even circled a bunch of locations on satellite maps, saying they would check them one by one to uncover the truth about the Arcadia Shop.
Melody Summers and Roman Rhodes carried the fruits and vegetables inside. The Summers family was happy to see Roman and came forward to greet him, all except for Winnie Summers, who looked a bit awkward.
Winnie Summers kept her head down, avoiding Roman Rhodes’s gaze. She quickly stood up, grabbed her windbreaker from the sofa, and said in a low voice, "I’m heading to the emergency management office."
Roman Rhodes had just sat down on the sofa. Hearing what Winnie said, he immediately stood up and said to her with a smile, "I’ll give you a ride."
Winnie Summers shook her head and replied, "...There’s no need... I can walk there myself."
But Roman Rhodes just smiled and insisted, "It’s raining so hard outside, it won’t be convenient for you to walk. Let me drive you. I happen to have some business to check on over there anyway, so it’s on the way."
Seeing she couldn’t refuse, and with everyone else in the living room watching them, Winnie Summers could only lower her head and reply softly, "...Alright, thank you for the trouble."
Nina Summers had been sitting on the sofa, watching the two of them in a daze. When they left, she also got up and went to the kitchen.
Melody Summers was in the kitchen washing fruit. Just as Nina Summers was about to say something, Melody beat her to it, waving her over with a smile. "Come on, we’ve got freshly picked peaches!"
’She had just packed and shipped these yesterday. They were picked less than 24 hours ago, absolutely fresh!’
Nina Summers’s eyes lit up. ’She hadn’t eaten a peach in over two years!’
She completely forgot what she was about to say, immediately picking up a washed peach and taking a bite. The rich aroma and sweet juice of the peach filled her mouth.
Just as Nina Summers was blissfully savoring the peach, the doorbell rang again.
Grace Sutton, who was in the living room, thought it was Winnie Summers and Roman Rhodes, who had just left, returning for something they’d forgotten. She hurried over to open the door.
The moment the door opened, the smile on Grace Sutton’s face vanished—
She hadn’t expected the visitors this time to be Caleb Summers and Zoe Kane!
