Free Web NovelChapter 491: Chapter 491: Get Promoted and Make a Fortune
Although Zoe Kane was reluctant to let the Summers Family go just like that, she would never defy Caleb Summers. At his words, she could only grit her teeth and nod.
’Getting Howard Fletcher to the hospital is the priority right now,’ she thought. ’I’ll make a careful note of this score. I’ll settle it with my husband’s family, bit by bit, in the future!’
Zoe Kane picked up Chester Summers, who was wailing on the floor. As she watched the entire Summers Family crowd around the injured Nina Summers, her eyes burned with anger and resentment—
’My in-laws humiliated me like this today. I will absolutely never let Chester Summers associate with his father’s family again! Even if his grandmother cries and begs me to see her grandson, I will never let them lay eyes on Chester Summers!’
’Let them regret it for the rest of their lives!’
Caleb Summers frowned at the blood-soaked Nina Summers, his eyes showing not a trace of fatherly concern.
He simply asked in a grave voice, "Nina Summers, I’ll ask you one last time. Are you, or are you not, coming back with us today?"
His voice carried an obvious threat. Grandma, seeing this, could bear it no longer. She pointed a trembling finger toward the front door and roared, "Get out! Caleb Summers, you animal! Get out! Get the hell out of here right now!"
Caleb Summers turned a deaf ear to his mother’s roars. His mind was completely consumed with the marriage alliance to the Sheffield Family. ’Nina Summers is injured,’ he thought. ’This is a truly unexpected complication. It looks like the wedding will be off for the time being.’
’However...’ he mused, ’I remember Nina Summers’s ID and official papers are still at home. Maybe I can pull some strings and get her and Jim Sheffield’s marriage certificate issued first. As long as I have the certificate in hand, the Sheffield Family should be able to see my sincerity...’
As Caleb Summers silently plotted for his own future, he frowned and threatened, "Nina Summers, do you understand me? I’m giving you one last chance. If you don’t come back with me today, then don’t ever come back! You’d better think this through!"
Nina Summers had been on the verge of fainting from the pain, but now, hearing what Caleb Summers said, she miraculously regained a measure of clarity.
She gritted her teeth against the excruciating pain radiating from her shoulder, looked up at her father, and forced the words out: "...Of course I’ll come back. But... not now..."
"...My mom paid for that house... You take your wife and kids and move out! When you’re gone, I’ll come back..."
Caleb Summers never expected Nina Summers to say something like that—in front of so many people, she wasn’t leaving him a shred of dignity!
Caleb Summers’s face contorted with rage. "You insolent brat!" he roared. "Have you gone crazy? How dare you talk to your own father like that!"
At his words, Nina Summers gave a bitter smile. Large beads of sweat dripped from her forehead. Howard Fletcher’s blade had cut very deep. Nina was already slender, and the gash sliced deep into her shoulder.
Seeing Caleb Summers about to storm off, Nina Summers clenched her jaw and, mustering the last of her strength, cried out, "Dad, I hope you get your ’promotion and wealth’ very soon..."
After saying those words, she couldn’t hold on any longer. A ringing filled her ears, and she passed out from the pain.
Caleb Summers had no idea that Nina Summers had already set a trap for him with Zara Walsh’s help. He just found her words baffling—of course he was going to get his promotion and wealth. The Sheffield Family had already agreed to help; his rapid rise through the ranks was a done deal!
’Trading this unfilial daughter for my future? What a bargain!’
And just like that, Caleb Summers’s family of four scrambled away from the Summers Villa. Their departure was as pathetic as their arrival had been elegant.
Caleb Summers carried the unconscious Howard Fletcher on his back, while Zoe Kane cradled the perpetually crying Chester Summers. It was still raining outside, but neither of them had the mind to use an umbrella.
Rainwater trickled into the wound on Caleb Summers’s forehead, but he remained completely oblivious...
...
Back in the villa, Grace Sutton and Grandma were frantic with worry as they watched Nina Summers faint, her face deathly pale.
Grace Sutton wiped the cold sweat from Nina’s forehead and cursed through gritted teeth, "That goddamn little brat! How could he be so vicious!"
She couldn’t imagine what they fed Howard Fletcher to make him so strong at such a young age. One look at his knife and you could tell it had been sharpened beforehand—it was incredibly keen. The wound on Nina Summers’s shoulder was so deep you could even catch a glimpse of bone.
Although Grandma hadn’t raised Nina Summers herself, her eyes still reddened with heartache. "This wound needs stitches," she said urgently. "We have to get her to a hospital!"
Melody Summers pulled an "S Level Far Sea Secret Medicine" from her dimensional space and discreetly slipped it into Nina Summers’s mouth. Seeing Nina swallow it reflexively, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"It’ll be a hassle to go to the hospital right now..."
Melody Summers had seen the news earlier that morning. The floodwaters in some parts of downtown were already over three feet deep, making driving a major problem. She had no idea how Caleb Summers and his wife had managed to get through all that...
’Instead of going through all the trouble of getting to a hospital, waiting in line for stitches, and then having to go back later to get them removed, taking the Far Sea Secret Medicine is much more convenient.’
’Besides, with Nina Summers’s open wound, it’s best not to go out in the rain...’
Just then, the villa’s doorbell rang.
Melody Summers assumed it was Officer Tanner or Officer Sean Pierce arriving in response to the emergency call, so she rushed to get the door. To her surprise, when she opened it, she found Roman Rhodes standing on her doorstep.
Roman Rhodes closed his umbrella. Noticing Melody Summers’s surprise, he explained, "I was at the emergency response office for your community when the call from your house came in. I was nearby, so I came to check it out."
Melody Summers understood immediately. ’That makes sense,’ she thought. ’The government is about to set up the reconstruction zones. In my past life, Roman Rhodes was one of the directors in charge of the reconstruction department, so it’s logical he’d be here negotiating things now.’
Melody Summers showed Roman Rhodes the wound on Nina Summers and recounted the day’s events.
"Howard Fletcher is still a minor. For him to attack someone with a knife, he was most likely put up to it by an adult! Officer Rhodes, that man, Caleb Summers, was willing to sell his own daughter for a promotion. He even used Howard Fletcher as a pretext to scheme for our house. I bet he’s the one who instigated Howard to attack her with the knife..."
Roman Rhodes listened to Melody Summers’s account and glanced again at Nina Summers’s injury. He frowned. "That wound is too deep. It needs stitches. Let me take you to the hospital."
Melody Summers shook her head, declining his offer. "The roads downtown are all flooded right now. Let’s not risk it. We can handle it ourselves."
Roman Rhodes pressed, "How can you handle it yourselves? You’re not a doctor. Let me call a private physician to come over. I know one who lives nearby."
Melody Summers thought, ’I just gave Nina Summers an S Level Far Sea Secret Medicine. Based on my experience, her wound should heal very quickly.’
Afraid a doctor would notice something was off, she refused again. "Really, there’s no need, Officer Rhodes. I just gave her a traditional wound remedy that’s been in my family for generations. It should heal quickly. I’ll keep observing her, and if it’s not enough, I’ll contact you then."
Seeing Melody’s insistence, Roman Rhodes didn’t press the matter. He finished taking notes for the report and left.
******
Meanwhile, Caleb Summers rested at home for two days to recover from his head wound before going back to the office. To his surprise, the moment he returned, he was met with a tempest...
