Chapter 187: Chapter 187: One Stone, Three Birds

Once the door was closed, the friendly smile on Zoe Kane’s face slowly faded.

Her eyes darted around. With a hint of displeasure, she said to Nina Summers, who had just walked into the living room, "Nina, you’re a grown woman now. Why are you still pulling this ’running away from home’ stunt? Do you have any idea how angry your father is? I may not be your birth mother, but I have to say, you’re being far too thoughtless!"

With that, she looked Nina up and down, her displeasure growing as she took in her filthy state. "How did you get so dirty? Your father gets a government water subsidy every month, but even that can’t handle this kind of waste."

"Your little brother needs a bath every day, so our water consumption is already high. Even if you can’t help out around the house, at least don’t be a burden!"

Normally, Nina Summers would have gotten into a huge fight with Zoe Kane, but the Nina of today had no energy to deal with her.

After surviving a near-death experience at The Crestview Hotel, she had finally made it home. Nina felt like she was in a dream and just wanted to lie down and be alone for a while.

Nina Summers walked back to her room without a word, locked the door, and collapsed on the floor. In the most familiar and safest of environments, she could finally close her eyes in peace.

******

After dropping off Nina Summers, Melody Summers and the other two saw that it was getting late and quickly drove home.

On the way back, Winnie Summers sighed. "I can’t believe their family has been through such a huge change in just one short year. The last time I saw Mindy Walsh was during the heatwave last year. I never thought she’d just be... gone."

Human life was so fragile in the face of these cataclysms. Winnie knew that people were dying every day for all sorts of reasons, but when it happened to an acquaintance, someone she knew personally, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness.

Colin Summers added, "Yeah, and come to think of it, didn’t we last see Mindy Walsh last July or August? It’s been a year at most since she passed away. It takes ten months for a baby to be born, so Caleb Summers must have married his new wife almost immediately after Mindy died..."

Caleb Summers had gotten to his current position thanks, in no small part, to the connections of Mindy Walsh’s father.

To think that Caleb would remarry at lightning speed right after Mindy’s death. They probably hooked up while Mindy was still alive!

At this thought, Colin’s expression darkened. He was losing whatever respect he had left for Caleb Summers.

Winnie Summers, however, recalled Zoe Kane saying that Caleb Summers had taken their son to the hospital. She couldn’t help but frown.

If their son had a serious illness, Zoe, as his mother, would never have stayed home. She definitely would have gone to the hospital with them.

Since Zoe didn’t go to the hospital, it meant the child’s illness wasn’t serious—probably just something minor.

This was the second year of the cataclysm, and private hospitals were astronomically expensive. Rushing to the hospital for a minor ailment showed just how much Caleb Summers doted on his young son.

Recalling Zoe Kane’s attitude toward Nina Summers, Winnie sighed and said, "Sigh... They say that when there’s a stepmother, the father becomes a step-father too. I can’t believe Caleb didn’t even go pick Nina up after what happened to her. And from the way his new wife spoke to Nina, I don’t think things are going to be easy for her from now on..." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Colin Summers nodded in deep agreement.

He thought, ’If Caleb Summers could rush into a new marriage before Mindy’s body was even cold, how could he possibly care about Nina’s feelings?’

Although they felt sorry for Nina, they knew that everyone has their own fate. They had always stayed out of Caleb Summers’s family affairs and couldn’t really help Nina anyway.

Besides, with the cataclysm ongoing, they didn’t want to get involved in other people’s business.

Melody Summers was sprawled on the back seat, listening drowsily with half-closed eyes to the conversation between her mother and uncle, not saying a word.

She had spent the entire afternoon in a tense and thrilling atmosphere. Now that she was out of danger, the quiet, peaceful mood in the car was making her drowsy. She really couldn’t stay awake; her eyelids felt like they were fighting a losing battle.

Just as she was drifting in and out of sleep, a familiar notification sound echoed in her mind—

[Peach Blossom Value +20. Current Peach Blossom Value: 42.]

Melody Summers jolted and her eyes flew open!

Her Peach Blossom Value, which hadn’t budged in ages, had just shot up by twenty points!

Melody suppressed her excitement! ’What caused the increase in Peach Blossom Value this time?’ she wondered.

’Was it because I helped the police deal with Flynn Adler and his crew? Or because I rescued Nina Summers?’

Melody wasn’t sure, but she felt more and more that her risky trip to The Crestview Hotel hadn’t been in vain!

Not only had she acquired two handguns and dealt with Flynn Adler, her enemy from her past life, but she had also increased her Peach Blossom Value!

’Talk about killing three birds with one stone!’

Melody was delighted. She wasn’t even sleepy anymore. She decided she would eat an extra bowl of rice for dinner!

******

Meanwhile, in a dim alley behind the Oceanus Hotel.

Panting for breath, Austin Hale carried the injured Kenneth Adler into a one-story house and immediately turned to lock the door.

The two of them had just escaped a police dragnet and were now in a sorry state.

That afternoon, Kenneth Adler had just seen off a group of foreign clients at his company when he received a message from The Crestview Hotel.

The subordinate who sent the message said the police had surrounded The Crestview Hotel and all their men had been arrested.

The informant also said that when they realized they were surrounded, they had rushed to inform Flynn Adler, only to find him already dead! His body was covered in wounds—knife wounds, arrow wounds—as if he had been tortured to death...

Kenneth Adler stared at the message in disbelief. He wanted to ask for more details, but the other end went silent, likely because they had been taken into custody.

Upon suddenly learning of his son’s death, Kenneth Adler was overcome with grief. Before he could even investigate the specifics, Adler Enterprises’ offices and factories were surrounded by armed police!

The armed police ordered Kenneth Adler to cooperate with their investigation, but he knew they were coming in strong. They must have already obtained solid evidence from The Crestview Hotel. If he was caught, there would be no chance of a comeback!

So he ordered his men guarding Adler Enterprises to draw their guns and exchange fire with the armed police, while he himself, under the cover of darkness, fled in a panic with a few of his personal bodyguards.

During the escape, Kenneth Adler was careless for a moment and his leg was grazed by a stray bullet. Fortunately, Austin Hale was there. Austin hauled him into a car, shook off their pursuers, and escaped to the area around the Oceanus Hotel.

As the saying goes, a sly rabbit has three burrows. This alley behind the Oceanus Hotel was one of Kenneth Adler’s secret hideouts.

He also kept a group of thugs here who usually staked out the area, preying on lone individuals under the cover of night.

Austin Hale helped the limping Kenneth Adler into the living room, rummaged through cabinets and drawers to find a first-aid kit, and began to treat the wound on his leg.

Fortunately, Kenneth had only been grazed by the stray bullet; it wasn’t lodged in the wound. After a simple bandaging, the bleeding stopped, and Austin Hale finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Austin was genuinely terrified of something happening to Kenneth Adler. After the cataclysm began, he had been living a life worse than a dog’s. It was only thanks to the Adler Family that he could enjoy his current comfortable lifestyle.

Flynn Adler had treated him well. He had meat and fish with every meal and could sleep with plenty of gentle, compliant women... He didn’t want to lose this life! He had to protect Kenneth Adler. He believed Kenneth had the ability to make a comeback and lead him back to the good life!

With a grim expression, Kenneth Adler sized up Austin Hale. As he watched Austin diligently dress his wound, a sharp glint flashed in his murky eyes.

After a long moment, Kenneth spoke in a deep voice, "Hale, I owe you for getting me out this time. What do you want as a reward?"

Hearing this, Austin Hale gave a fawning smile and replied, "I wouldn’t dare ask for anything. I worked for the Young Master. Saving you is my duty."

He was being sincere. Right now, no one wanted anything to happen to Kenneth Adler more than Austin Hale did.

Kenneth nodded in satisfaction and mused, "Very good. You’re very loyal, and I suppose we were fated to cross paths. Now that my only son has been murdered, how about I adopt you as my godson? From now on, you will be the heir to Adler Enterprises."

Austin was stunned at first, but the shock quickly gave way to utter ecstasy. He rubbed his bald head and shouted excitedly, "Godfather! Dad! From now on, I’m your real son! I’ll be sure to serve you well!"

Seeing Austin’s ecstatic expression, Kenneth Adler nodded in satisfaction. Then he asked, "You were with Flynn before the incident today. Did you notice anything unusual?"

Kenneth couldn’t figure it out. Ever since the "business" at The Crestview Hotel had started, he had roped in plenty of protectors. Those sanctimonious figures were frequent visitors.

He’d been reported before, but his protectors would always cover for him. The higher-ups could never get solid evidence, so they couldn’t touch him.

Who on earth provided Roman Rhodes with the evidence this time?

When did this person even start their investigation?

How did they bypass the moles and protectors I have inside the police force during their investigation? Why didn’t I receive even a whisper of a warning?

And... how exactly did my son, Flynn Adler, die? All those wounds on his body—that wasn’t the police’s handiwork!

Austin Hale watched Kenneth Adler’s expression carefully as he tried his best to recall the events before he left The Crestview Hotel that day, reporting them one by one.

"...Dad, the last time I saw the Young Master, he was with Yates. They were in Room 1108, getting ready to... have their way with a woman..."

Kenneth’s pupils contracted at his words. ’Room 1108!’

His subordinate had mentioned in the message that Flynn Adler had died in Room 1108!

Kenneth immediately pressed, "What woman?! Where did they get this woman?"

Austin Hale replied, "All I know is that her name is Melody Summers and she lives at The Metropolis Residences. The Young Master probably saw her somewhere and had her abducted."

As Kenneth listened to Austin’s words, his face grew so dark it seemed like it could drip water. His murky eyes filled with hatred.

Gritting his teeth, Kenneth Adler pulled out his phone and ordered one of his surviving subordinates, "Go to The Metropolis Residences and investigate a woman named Melody Summers. Find out what her relationship is with Roman Rhodes!"