Before Melody Summers could say a word, Robert Lancaster viciously kicked Silas Lancaster and snapped, "Shut up! I told you, Melody is your sister. You will respect her! If you dare say another goddamn word, I’ll disown you!"

Robert Lancaster didn’t notice the vicious glint in Silas Lancaster’s eyes. He quickly turned to Melody Summers and said, "Sylvia and Ethan have already registered their marriage. She’s a married woman now, and she won’t be contacting us anymore."

"Melody, from now on, you’re the only daughter Mom and Dad have. Let’s have New Year’s Eve dinner together tonight. We can take our time getting to know each other, how about it?"

They had barely any money left, and no one knew when this heatwave would end. ’No matter what,’ Robert Lancaster thought, ’I have to move into this villa today.’

He put on a benevolent smile and said to Melody Summers, "My dear daughter, I know your adoptive mother raised you all by herself for so many years. You never had a chance to feel a father’s love. The main reason I want to move in is to make it up to you and spend more time together."

This appeal to emotion might have worked on the Melody Summers of her past life, the one who had lost all her family. But the Melody of this life only found it nauseating.

She couldn’t be bothered to dance around the issue with this shameless family any longer. Her face went cold as she replied, "I don’t need it. I’m not lacking for love. That act of yours is useless on me."

As Robert Lancaster’s smile froze on his face, Melody Summers continued, speaking to all three of them. "All three of you, get the hell out of my house. Now. And let me be perfectly clear: none of you Lancasters will ever set foot in here. Not in this lifetime. If you really can’t survive, go find your ’good’ daughter, Sylvia. They say adversity reveals true character. This is the perfect opportunity to see just how deep your family’s love runs!"

Robert Lancaster felt a rush of blood to his head.

He stumbled, his head spinning as his vision went black.

Seeing this, Elaine Hughes rushed forward in a panic to hold him up.

Silas Lancaster, however, couldn’t take it anymore. Seizing the moment while no one was watching, he whipped a knife out of his pocket and lunged, aiming straight for Melody Summers’s face—

’The thing Silas hated most was that mocking smirk on Melody’s face. I’m going to ruin that face today!’

But before he could even get close, Melody took two steps back, drew the Kestrel crossbow from behind her, and fired a bolt into Silas Lancaster’s thigh.

Silas Lancaster felt a violent impact in his leg. His center of gravity shifted, and he crashed to the ground.

An excruciating pain immediately shot up from his thigh, and he let out a guttural scream:

"AHHH—!"

The Kestrel crossbow Melody Summers used had been specially modified. While not as powerful as a handgun, it could still easily pierce human flesh.

The bolt was embedded in Silas Lancaster’s thigh. It hadn’t gone clean through, but about three-quarters of its length was buried in his leg, with only a quarter of it sticking out.

Seeing her precious son writhing on the ground in agony, Elaine Hughes gasped. She immediately dropped Robert Lancaster and rushed to Silas Lancaster’s side.

Seeing the bolt stuck in her son’s leg and the wound gushing blood, Elaine Hughes was beside herself with panic. She was a wealthy socialite; when had she ever witnessed such a gruesome scene?

Completely losing her head, she acted on pure impulse and yanked the bolt out!

To her horror, this only made Silas Lancaster let out an even more bloodcurdling scream:

"AHHH—! AHH—!"

Silas Lancaster screamed, thrashing on the ground as blood spurted from the wound, spraying across the stone tiles of the courtyard. It was a terrifying sight!

Elaine Hughes glared at Melody Summers, her eyes blazing with fury, and shrieked, "You shot your own brother! You’re completely lawless! I... I’m going to call the police and have you executed!"

Just then, Officer Tanner pushed the gate open and walked in. Seeing the scene, he immediately moved to shield Melody Summers and asked, "What’s going on here?"

When Elaine Hughes saw the police officer, she rushed forward, grabbed Officer Tanner’s arm, and yelled, "Officer! This woman shot my son! Arrest her! Throw her in prison!"

Roman Rhodes walked in behind Tristan Tanner. Taking in the chaotic scene, he frowned. "We received a report that you people were causing a disturbance at someone else’s residence. What’s this all about?"

Melody Summers was momentarily surprised to see Roman Rhodes, but she quickly put it together. ’They must have been on patrol nearby,’ she thought. ’When the call for my address came in, they probably came over together.’

Melody Summers took out her phone, pulled up the security footage from the courtyard, and said to the two officers, "They forced their way into my home, and he tried to attack me with a knife. I was defending myself."

The footage clearly showed Silas Lancaster lunging at Melody Summers with a knife. Tristan Tanner frowned at the Lancasters. "This constitutes breaking and entering and assault with a deadly weapon. You are entirely at fault. Come with us to the emergency response office to get this sorted out. The three of you will be issued a formal warning."

Hearing this, Elaine Hughes frantically shook her head. "No! She’s my biological daughter! This is a family dispute. The police have no right to interfere in our family matters! On what grounds can you take us away? On what grounds can you give us a warning?"

Elaine Hughes knew that two warnings would go on their permanent records, restricting their eligibility for supply rations and possibly even jeopardizing her son’s future. ’I can’t let that happen.’

Melody Summers scoffed. "Who’s your family? Mrs. Lancaster, weren’t you the one just demanding they lock me up? What happened to all this ’family’ talk now?"

Melody Summers quickly summarized her history with the Lancasters, including how they tried to force her to marry a mentally disabled man and extorted eight million from her.

Tristan Tanner and Roman Rhodes frowned as they listened, finding it hard to believe such parents could even exist.

Roman Rhodes frowned at Elaine Hughes. "Since you aren’t on the same household registry, she has no legal obligation to provide you with aid. What gives you the right to move into her home? And breaking into someone’s home to commit assault with a knife hardly qualifies as a ’family matter.’ Take them away."

Ignoring Elaine Hughes’s screams, Roman Rhodes motioned for the officers waiting outside to come in. They dragged the three of them out and into the police vehicle.

Silas Lancaster, already on the verge of passing out from blood loss, was whimpering on the ground. He was unceremoniously dragged away as well.

After the three of them were dragged away, Melody Summers looked at the blood pooled on the stone tiles and felt a wave of disgust. She muttered under her breath, "Shedding blood on New Year’s Day... such bad luck."

Roman Rhodes glanced at Melody Summers, shaking his head with a smile. "So young and already so superstitious. Don’t worry about it. Fending off a knife-wielding attacker on New Year’s Day is a good omen. It means you’ll be unstoppable in the coming year, overcoming any difficulty you face."

Melody Summers smiled. "Thank you, Officer Rhodes. I hope you’re right. Please, both of you, come in and have a seat."

Officer Tanner smiled as well. "We can’t. We just received a report about a robbery in the community plaza. Officer Pierce is already on his way, and we need to get over there to see what’s happening. Who was it that made the call? We need you to come and sign the report."

Melody Summers quickly went into the main hall to get Miss Lowell.

The moment she pushed open the living room door, she saw the entire Summers family waiting anxiously inside. Silas Lancaster’s screams had drawn them out earlier, but Miss Lowell had stopped them from rushing outside. Thankfully, the police had arrived not long after, allowing everyone to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Melody, how could you face that all by yourself? Next time something so dangerous happens, let your uncle handle it," Colin Summers said, his face stern.

Melody Summers brandished the Kestrel crossbow and said with a smile, "Uncle, a crossbow doesn’t have eyes. You all being out there would just distract me. I’d hate to miss and accidentally hit one of you."

Then, Melody Summers turned to her family. "It’s over now. The police took those three Lancasters away. Mom, Grandma, Auntie, you can all go back to preparing New Year’s Eve dinner."

With that, Melody Summers led Miss Lowell out into the courtyard to sign the report.

After Miss Lowell finished signing, she handed the report back to Officer Tanner. He, in turn, passed it to Roman Rhodes before addressing Melody Summers and Miss Lowell, "Alright, we won’t disturb you any further. Happy New Year. We need to get back to our patrol."

But as Roman Rhodes glanced at the signature, he froze. He turned back to look closely at Miss Lowell again. The face before him gradually merged with his memory of a young university professor. In astonishment, Roman Rhodes asked, "Florence Lowell? You’re... Professor Lowell?"