Ethan Sutton continued smugly, "I suggest you be obedient after you come home with me. If you dare disobey... let me tell you, the people at The Crestview Hotel have a hundred ways to ’train’ you. I guarantee they’ll make you wish you were dead!"

Melody Summers remained silent. Ethan Sutton thought his threat had worked, that she was scared.

So he changed his tone, speaking in a coaxing voice, "But you don’t have to worry. As long as you’re obedient, I promise I’ll treat you well. If you give me a child or two in the future and take good care of my parents, I might consider giving you a formal status."

’I am, after all, a deeply affectionate and faithful man,’ Ethan Sutton thought. ’As long as Melody Summers is obedient, I can still treat her well.’

Ethan Sutton waited patiently for Melody Summers to agree, but to his surprise, the voice on the other end of the line said, "Ethan Sutton, shut up. You’re disgusting me."

Upon hearing this, Ethan Sutton’s face darkened.

He said through gritted teeth, "Melody Summers, I told you, don’t play hard to get with me. It won’t do you any good! Can you really bear to watch your parents suffer because of you?"

He then shot a look at Elaine Hughes and Robert Lancaster, signaling for them to start persuading Melody Summers.

Seeing this, Elaine Hughes quickly said into the phone, "Daughter, your big brother can’t be fired! If he is, Mom and Dad won’t be able to go on! ...Please, I’m begging you. Will you help your mother, please?"

Robert Lancaster chimed in, "That’s right, daughter. You’re your father’s only daughter. Please, just help your mom and dad!"

Robert Lancaster and Elaine Hughes were incredibly nervous. They were terrified that Ethan Sutton would go to Simon Lancaster’s workplace and cause a scene. The entire family depended on Simon’s job for their livelihood!

On the other end of the line, Melody Summers felt she had been far too easy on these people.

’Since they’re determined to be disgusting, they can’t blame me for what I do next.’

So, Melody Summers replied, "Ethan Sutton, since you put it that way... I actually have an idea that should solve your current predicament."

Ethan Sutton asked doubtfully, "What kind of idea could you possibly have?"

Melody Summers said, "Since the Lancasters owe you money, why don’t you just sell Robert Lancaster and his two sons to that hotel you mentioned? Let the hotel staff ’train’ them well. Once they’re properly ’trained,’ they can earn money to pay off the debt."

Melody Summers’ words left everyone in the hall stunned. Ethan Sutton opened his mouth but was at a loss for words.

Robert Lancaster was the first to snap out of it. Melody Summers’ words had made him so angry his face turned beet red.

He roared into the phone, "Melody Summers! How could you say such a thing! I’m your own father! You... you’ve really disappointed me!"

Melody Summers immediately retorted, "And I’m disappointed in you! Those are your own sons, yet you’re not even willing to make this small sacrifice. How can there be such a selfish father like you in this world!"

"You!" Robert Lancaster felt the world go dark and nearly passed out.

Elaine Hughes rushed forward to steady him, helping him sit on the sofa and trying to calm him down.

Ethan Sutton also stared at the phone in disbelief. He never in a million years thought Melody Summers would say something like that.

’Is this something an unmarried young woman should be saying?!’

He was stunned for a good ten seconds before he came to his senses and said in disbelief, "You’d actually talk about your own family like that? That’s your father and brothers!"

Melody Summers replied in a sincere tone, "That’s right. By blood, they are my father and brothers. So don’t worry, I’ll help drum up business for them in the future. I’m sure if they’re willing to work hard, they’ll be able to pay back the money they owe you in no time."

Hearing this, Ethan Sutton was so shocked he just kept shaking his head.

He stared at the phone, dumbfounded, and muttered, "To think a venomous, black-hearted woman like you could exist..."

Melody Summers did not like hearing that.

She asked, feigning confusion, "How am I venomous and black-hearted? You don’t like my idea? Why not? Don’t tell me... are you afraid Robert Lancaster and the others will steal your business?"

Without giving Ethan Sutton a chance to speak, Melody Summers continued, "No wonder you’re in such a hurry to get money from the Lancasters. It must be because the Sutton Family is struggling, so you’ve had to go out and sell yourself too."

Hearing her words, Ethan Sutton felt a vein throb violently in his forehead.

He ground out through clenched teeth, "Melody Summers! Don’t test my patience. I really will go to your big brother’s company and cause a scene!"

Melody Summers had no patience to argue with him any longer. She replied, "Then go! Don’t tell me you don’t dare to? Oh, Ethan Sutton, Ethan Sutton... you have no guts and no brains. You deserve to be a cuckold for the rest of your life!"

With that, Melody Summers hung up the phone.

She had plans with Sophie Thorne today to pick up Brianna White from the hospital and couldn’t be bothered to waste any more time on Ethan Sutton.

Ethan Sutton stared deadly daggers at the disconnected call, Melody Summers’ mocking words still echoing in his mind.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he slammed his phone violently onto the floor!

Ethan Sutton came from a respectable and wealthy family. In his entire life, he had only ever been the one to humiliate others. When had he ever been subjected to such insults?

Melody Summers was the first woman to ever insult him like this.

He clutched his head and paced back and forth in the Lancaster family’s hall, feeling a torrent of rage spreading through his chest that just wouldn’t dissipate.

So he strode forward, grabbed Elaine Hughes as she was calming Robert Lancaster on the sofa, and roared, "Sylvia Lancaster came back to our Sutton Family pregnant with Simon Lancaster’s child, and now Melody Summers dares to talk to me like this! How did the two of you raise your children? You’d better give me an explanation today!"

Before Elaine Hughes could reply, a shout came from upstairs, "What nonsense are you spouting! How could my sister possibly do something like that!"

Elaine Hughes and Ethan Sutton were both startled. They turned to see Silas Lancaster walking down the stairs.

Seeing him, Elaine Hughes rushed forward, grabbed his arm, and said urgently, "Silas, why did you come down? Didn’t I tell you to stay in your room and not come out today!"

Too much had happened at home recently. The Lancasters felt that Silas Lancaster was young and impulsive, so they had hidden most of these matters from him.

Ethan Sutton’s arrival today had been abrupt, so a helpless Elaine Hughes and Robert Lancaster could only instruct Silas Lancaster to stay in his room. They never expected him to find out anyway.

Silas Lancaster pushed aside Elaine Hughes, who was blocking his way, and glared at Ethan Sutton. "What nonsense were you just spouting? On what grounds are you slandering my sister and my big brother!"

Hearing this, Ethan Sutton sneered. He looked at Silas Lancaster with a cold smile and replied, "Sylvia Lancaster and Simon Lancaster got together and made a baby, then had the nerve to claim it was mine. Which part of that is slander? I even had a paternity test done. Want me to show you?"

At his words, the veins on Silas Lancaster’s neck bulged. He roared furiously at Ethan Sutton, "I don’t believe you! You’re lying!"

Seeing Silas Lancaster’s furious reaction, for some reason, the fire in Ethan Sutton’s heart subsided a little.

He snorted coldly. "Don’t believe me? Go ask your parents. See what they have to say."

Silas Lancaster quickly grabbed Elaine Hughes and asked, "Mom, it’s not true, right? He has to be lying, right? My sister and brother would never do something like this!"

Faced with Silas Lancaster’s frantic gaze, Elaine Hughes averted her eyes. She answered in a small voice, "Silas, stop asking. Go back to your room for now. Mom and Dad will explain it to you later."

Seeing Elaine Hughes’s guilty expression, how could Silas Lancaster not understand?

His eyes widened in disbelief. In that instant, he felt his entire world collapse.

His big brother, whom he respected and trusted...

His pure, gentle sister...

How could they... How could they...

Silas Lancaster shook his head, muttering, "No... It can’t be..."

Under Elaine Hughes’s worried gaze, a devastated Silas Lancaster pushed her aside and ran out the door.

"Silas!" Seeing Silas Lancaster run out the door, Elaine Hughes grew frantic. Forgetting all about Ethan Sutton and Robert Lancaster, she quickly got up and chased after him.