Melody Summers hadn’t been idle these past two days. She’d been constantly searching online for apocalypse stockpiling tutorials, identifying and filling any gaps in her family’s supplies.

Winnie Summers and Colin Summers, who were supervising the renovations, were also very diligent. Winnie suggested installing security cameras all around the villa, while Colin added numerous iron spikes and sharp glass shards to the top of the walls.

After lunch, Melody Summers was watering the crops in the Arcadian Fields when she received a call from Elaine Hughes.

Melody Summers was a little confused. After Sylvia Lancaster’s stunt of running away from home a couple of days ago, the Lancasters hadn’t contacted her at all. ’Why are they calling now?’

She thought for a moment before answering. "What is it?"

"Melody, it’s Mom," Elaine Hughes’s voice came through the phone. "Can you come over for dinner tonight?"

Melody Summers thought for a moment and replied, "Okay."

Elaine Hughes breathed a sigh of relief. "Where are you living now? I’ll have the driver pick you up."

"That won’t be necessary." Melody Summers didn’t want to reveal her address. "I’ll take a cab myself."

She hung up as soon as she finished speaking.

The last time she was at the Lancaster’s, Melody Summers had carefully controlled her attitude to get the money. Perhaps that gave the Lancasters the false impression that she would come back home.

Afterward, Melody Summers had been busy buying and selling property, stockpiling supplies, and tending to the crops and animals in the Arcadian Space. She never had time to deal with the Lancasters.

Now that her stockpiling was more or less complete and the space was running smoothly, Melody Summers had more free time. She planned to use this visit to the Lancaster’s to make things clear once and for all, to make a clean break so they would stop bothering her.

’In my last life, I took meticulous care of them during the apocalypse, which should count as repaying them for giving birth to me. They, in turn, indirectly caused my death. In this life, I’ve scammed them out of 6.4 million. It’s best if we just leave each other alone.’

’The Lancaster family will go bankrupt in less than a year. I don’t need to lift a finger for them to suffer.’

Melody Summers worked in the Arcadian Space until evening. Seeing it was about time, she changed her clothes and went downstairs, preparing to head to the Lancaster’s.

Her mom and grandma were just about to start making dinner. Seeing her come downstairs, her mom smiled and asked, "Melody, how about we have grilled fish tonight?"

"Mom, I won’t be eating at home tonight. The Lancasters asked me over for dinner. I’ll be back as soon as I can," Melody Summers said before heading out the door.

Winnie Summers froze for a second, her expression turning sorrowful. Her grandma patted her shoulder and comforted her, "Don’t worry. Melody is a good kid."

Winnie Summers forced a smile and nodded.

*

「The Lancaster Villa.」

Returning to this place again, Melody Summers felt a wave of nausea for no reason. She took a deep breath and walked inside.

Silas Lancaster was in the courtyard. When he saw Melody Summers walk in, he snorted coldly. "Finally done playing hard to get?"

Melody Summers walked past him without a glance, retorting, "And you’re still putting on the same old act of being uncivilized and poorly raised. Good thing we’re not family, or I’d be utterly humiliated."

"You!" Silas Lancaster instinctively wanted to grab her hair and drag her back for a lesson, but the thought of the guests inside made him hold back. Annoyed and furious, he kicked a stool in the courtyard, sending it flying.

Seeing that he didn’t attack her, Melody Summers regretfully loosened her grip on the stun gun in her pocket. She had deliberately provoked Silas Lancaster, hoping to test the stun gun’s power on him. She had bought it at an outdoor store; it was the type outdoor enthusiasts used to drive away wild boars. Melody Summers had bought several for self-defense.

Melody Summers walked into the living room. When she saw who was there, she was a little surprised—

It wasn’t just the Lancasters in the room; the Suttons were there too.

’This is just...’

’What awful luck.’

Mr. Sutton placed extreme importance on bloodlines. In her past life, after Melody Summers returned to the Lancaster family, Mr. Sutton had immediately forced Ethan Sutton to change his fiancée to Melody.

Mrs. Sutton’s attitude, however, was more nuanced. She preferred Sylvia Lancaster’s gentle, proper demeanor and many talents, but she didn’t dare defy Mr. Sutton’s decision. So, she was always trying to find a balance between the two girls.

On one hand, Mrs. Sutton would act close to Sylvia Lancaster while denying any romantic relationship between Sylvia and her son, claiming she only saw Sylvia as a goddaughter. On the other hand, she would support Melody Summers as her daughter-in-law while secretly sneering that Melody, having grown up in the countryside, was not as talented as Sylvia.

As for Ethan Sutton, he didn’t dare oppose his parents. After all, he wasn’t the Sutton family’s only child. If pushed too far, Mr. Sutton could replace him as the heir at any time. So, he could only take his frustrations out on Melody Summers.

Ethan Sutton put on a show of being deeply in love with Sylvia Lancaster while complaining to his circle of rich friends about how disgusted he was with Melody Summers for supposedly throwing herself at him.

Ethan Sutton was from a privileged background, handsome, and had an outstanding presence. Many wealthy young ladies admired him. When he spread rumors that Melody Summers was pestering him, these young ladies took it upon themselves to teach Melody a lesson on his behalf, causing her to be targeted everywhere she went.

Looking at this family that seemed to bring nothing but bad luck, Melody Summers’s mood soured even further.

"Melody’s back! Come, let me introduce you. This is Mrs. Sutton and Mr. Sutton," Elaine Hughes said, quickly pulling Melody Summers forward to make the introductions.

When Mr. and Mrs. Sutton saw Melody Summers, their eyes lit up. She was much better than they had expected.

Melody Summers was slender and tall, half a head taller than Sylvia Lancaster. She had also inherited her biological mother Elaine Hughes’s beauty. Dressed in a simple shirt and jeans, she stood there looking tall and graceful.

In that instant, Mr. Sutton had already made up his mind to choose Melody Summers.

Mr. Sutton never cared for things like playing instruments, chess, calligraphy, painting, singing, or dancing. For a daughter-in-law, the most important thing was her background; she had to be the legitimate, biological daughter of a prominent family. Second, her figure and looks had to be presentable, someone he could show off. As for talents like the arts, those were unimportant.

So, Mr. Sutton said to Ethan Sutton, "Ethan, go and say hello."

Ethan Sutton glanced at Sylvia Lancaster’s instantly pale face and muttered in displeasure, "Father!"

Although he too was surprised by Melody Summers’s appearance, that was the extent of it. Moreover, seeing Sylvia so upset, he couldn’t bear it.

Mr. Sutton shot Ethan Sutton a glare filled with menace. At home, his word was law, and he wouldn’t allow anyone in the family to challenge his authority.

"That won’t be necessary," Melody Summers suddenly said.

In her past life, Mr. Sutton had forcibly demanded the engagement be switched to Melody Summers. Despite Melody’s repeated refusals and her best efforts to avoid Ethan Sutton, Mr. Sutton had colluded with Robert Lancaster to publicly announce their engagement.

As the main culprit who dragged Melody Summers into this clichéd love triangle, Mr. Sutton had turned a blind eye whenever Ethan Sutton humiliated her. Not only that, he even blamed Melody for not being able to please Ethan the way Sylvia Lancaster did.

When Melody Summers asked her biological parents for help, Elaine Hughes and Robert Lancaster also blamed her for failing to capture the Suttons’ hearts, which led to the Sutton Family refusing to continue investing in the Lancaster Group.

Later, Elaine Hughes and Robert Lancaster directly blamed the Lancaster Group’s bankruptcy on Melody Summers. That period had been agonizing for her.

Melody Summers had grown up surrounded by the love of her adoptive family. In her mind, family was very important, which was why she had given herself to the Lancasters without reservation, only to be left bleeding and raw by them.

Melody Summers continued, "I came today to make things clear with you. I have my own family, and I’m very happy in my own home. Mr. Lancaster, Mrs. Lancaster, I will never return to the Lancaster family."

"At first, I had hoped Mr. and Mrs. Lancaster would cooperate with me to obtain a legal certificate of severed ties from the court. But on second thought, that’s not necessary. Your daughter has always been Sylvia Lancaster. To the outside world, I have no connection to the Lancaster family anyway. Making such a declaration would only entangle me with you, and I don’t want that."

"From now on, let’s just pretend we’ve never met. I don’t want to have the slightest connection to the Lancaster family."