The two of them returned to The Metropolis Residences. Sophie Thorne kept looking at Melody Summers, clearly wanting to say something but hesitating.

Just as they were about to get out of the car, she finally spoke up. "Melody, are you going to call the police? If what we suspect is true, then Lily Adler switched you and then abandoned you. That constitutes human trafficking."

But Melody Summers just shook her head. She had no intention of calling the police.

First, they were in an era of natural disasters. Robberies and kidnappings were rampant. Why waste police resources on a cold case from so long ago?

Second, Melody Summers found the current situation quite amusing. Clara Hayes was so fond of Sylvia Lancaster, always defending her and accusing Melody of stealing Sylvia’s family.

Now, Sylvia Lancaster had turned out to be Hector Hayes’s daughter and had also gotten involved with Clara Hayes’s fiancé, Flynn Adler. Melody wondered what kind of expression Clara would have when she found out Sylvia had stolen her family *and* her fiancé.

Hector Hayes, the triad boss; Lily Adler, the mistress who skipped town while pregnant; Clara Hayes, whose fiancé was stolen by her illegitimate half-sister; Sylvia Lancaster, who had been pregnant with her good friend’s fiancé’s child; Flynn Adler, who was playing both sisters; and Raymond Hayes, the legitimate son and heir...

With a group like that, all festering in the Hayes Family like vipers in a pit, Melody Summers was rather curious to see which one would be the last one standing.

She almost regretted killing Hugh Hayes so soon. With his talent for stirring up trouble, he could have really fanned the flames in that viper’s pit!

Since Melody put it that way, Sophie Thorne didn’t press the issue. She even thought that perhaps Melody didn’t hate Lily Adler. After all, compared to the freakshow that was the Lancaster Family, the Summers Family were clearly a much better family to have.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Sophie Thorne said, "Oh, right... I only heard this a while ago, but Sylvia Lancaster’s miscarriage... I’m afraid Ethan Sutton’s parents had something to do with it."

Melody Summers was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Sophie Thorne answered, "The Sutton Family fired some of their maids, and the story came from them. They said that ever since Ethan Sutton’s younger brother, Elias Sutton, died, Ethan’s parents invited a charlatan into their home. He performed rituals over Sylvia Lancaster every day, trying to get Elias to reincarnate in her womb."

Seeing Melody’s shocked expression, Sophie Thorne added, "According to the Suttons’ maids, the charlatan claimed he could make a dead soul reincarnate. So they tormented Sylvia Lancaster day after day, even forcing her to drink Talismanic Water daily."

Melody Summers was so stunned she was speechless for a long moment. She mumbled in disbelief, "Have the Suttons gone completely mad...?"

The whole thing was so outrageous that Melody Summers almost felt a flicker of gratitude toward Lily Adler. ’If she hadn’t swapped me with Sylvia Lancaster, I might have been the one who married into the Sutton Family and endured that torture...’

After saying goodbye to Sophie Thorne, Melody Summers was about to head home when a notification sound echoed in her mind:

[Peach Blossom Value +1. Current Peach Blossom Value: 22.]

Melody Summers: "???"

Seeing no one around, Albus leaped out from the pocket dimension, landing lightly on Melody Summers’s shoulder.

Melody Summers scooped Albus up in her arms, asking in astonishment, "What was that for??"

’All I did was listen to some juicy gossip. Why did my Peach Blossom Value inexplicably increase by one?’

Albus tilted its head, looking at her. It didn’t know, either.

’Could it be because I found out about Hector Hayes and Lily Adler’s sordid affair?’

Melody Summers shuddered and immediately shook her head, dismissing the disgusting thought.

She thought about the day’s events...

’Was it because I used the Far Sea Secret Medicine to save Brianna White, and her condition has now stabilized, so my Peach Blossom Value went up?’

’Or was it because the specialized medicine for volcanic ash I helped develop was launched, so my Peach Blossom Value went up?’

Melody Summers was completely baffled. But either way, an increase in her Peach Blossom Value was a good thing. It meant she was one step closer to unlocking a new space.

******

「Inside a luxury suite on the 13th floor of The Crestview Hotel.」

On the king-size bed, the once pristine sheets were now a ravaged, chaotic mess, every wrinkle a testament to the previous night’s wild abandon.

The light in the room was dim and soft, as if veiled by a thin gauze, lending the entire space a hazy, ambiguous atmosphere that stirred one’s deepest desires.

Beside the luxurious leather sofa, several empty liquor bottles lay strewn about. The pungent stench of alcohol still permeated the air, not having fully dissipated overnight.

Ethan Sutton had an arm around each of the two women beside him. His usually refined and handsome face was now puffy with drunkenness.

He had been drunk all night, rambling incessantly to the two women beside him and letting out the occasional drunken burp.

The stench of alcohol on his breath washed over the women’s faces. They were utterly disgusted. That, combined with the foul reek of cigarettes, was enough to make them gag.

But they suppressed their nausea and leaned meekly against Ethan Sutton. Their expressions were gentle and demure, and their eyes, fixed on his, were filled with a tenderness as deep as a pool of spring water.

The women’s sweet, gentle act successfully soothed Ethan Sutton. He slurred intermittently, "I... I’m gonna buy your freedom... You... you girls are too pure... You sh-shouldn’t be in this line of work..."

Then he let out another drunken burp, and as if remembering something, he scowled and cursed, "Fuck... Th-this world... Women are all unfaithful... They should all be out selling themselves... *BURP*..."

The two women beside him showed no reaction, but inwardly, they both rolled their eyes.

’Men like Ethan Sutton are just so disgusting,’ the two women thought.

’On the one hand, they urge women of the night to go straight, showing off their magnanimity, acting like they’re some kind of savior rescuing women from the darkness. They completely forget that this whole market only exists because of men like them.’

’On the other hand, they curse all women as no-good whores, saying decent women should be out selling themselves.’

’It’s their own inability to control their desires, their brains nothing more than puppets for their dicks. Yet they have to put on this act, pretending they’ve become depraved because of a broken heart—as if women were the ones forcing them to come out and pay for sex.’

They had been listening to Ethan Sutton whine for days about how heartbroken he was and how his true love had been betrayed. Their ears were about to bleed.

’They really didn’t get it. Why did these men insist on coming to a brothel to play the romantic martyr? Was there no other stage for their performance?’

After finishing his complaints, Ethan Sutton planted a kiss on the rosy lips of each girl beside him, letting out a sigh of satisfaction.

Ever since the paternity test revealed that Sylvia Lancaster’s child wasn’t his, he had been wallowing in sorrow.

He was convinced he had been completely devoted to Sylvia Lancaster, head over heels in love, but he never imagined she would betray him and even try to trick him into raising another man’s child.

He was hurt. He was sad. He felt wronged. He just couldn’t understand it.

Ethan Sutton felt that his life as a rare, great romantic had come to an end. He had to let loose. He had to take revenge on all women. And so, he had been frequenting places like this ever since.

What’s more, after learning the paternity test results, Mr. Sutton had fallen ill with rage, and Mrs. Sutton had been busy taking care of him. Not only were they in no mood to comfort Ethan Sutton, but they also constantly blamed him for choosing a wife like Sylvia Lancaster.

Mr. Sutton even called him an unfilial son, saying it was all his fault for insisting on marrying Sylvia Lancaster in the first place, which had caused this whole mess.

Ethan Sutton pinched the bridge of his nose and draped himself over the two women. "D’you... d’you know... That... that bitch... Every single cent of my money she spent, I’m gonna make her cough it all back up... She’s not getting a single damn penny from me..."

"A-Amy... Louise... You wait for me. When I get my money back, I’ll buy both of your freedoms... I’ll get you out of here..."

He planted one sloppy kiss after another on the women’s faces, and then, before long, he passed out completely.

Seeing that he was dead to the world, Amy and Louise shoved him away in disgust.

The two of them exchanged a look. Their time was up anyway. They hurriedly got dressed, opened the door, and walked out.