Melody Summers nodded with a sense of resignation. She knew Sylvia Lancaster had just returned to the Hayes family, so it was unlikely she was involved in Hector Hayes’s business, but it was still a shame.

Once Roman Rhodes had the full story, he slapped his thighs and stood up. He said to Melody Summers, "Alright, even though Hector Hayes’s gang has been arrested, smaller criminal groups are still cropping up everywhere, using the darkness to cause trouble. It’s still very dangerous outside. You shouldn’t go running around for the time being. Just stay put at home."

Melody Summers nodded. "Don’t worry, I promise I won’t."

’It’s going to snow in a few days,’ Melody Summers thought. ’When it does, the snowflakes will be mixed with volcanic ash, and the pollution will be just as bad as when the city was choked with ash before. Of course I’m not going to be running around.’

Just then, Winnie Summers came down the stairs.

Seeing Roman Rhodes in the living room, Winnie Summers asked in surprise, "Officer Rhodes, what brings you here? Is something the matter?"

The moment Roman Rhodes saw Winnie Summers, his body tensed. ’Oh no,’ he thought, his heart sinking. ’I’ve been working around the clock these past two days with absolutely no time to rest. I must look totally haggard, and I probably have dark circles under my eyes!’

’How am I supposed to make a good impression like this?’

At this thought, the mating instinct hardwired into his male DNA sent alarm bells ringing in his head.

He quickly smoothed down his hair and straightened his collar before speaking. "I came by to ask Summers a few questions, and I’m all done now... Are you heading to work at the supply point?"

Winnie Summers smiled and nodded. "I am."

Seeing Winnie Summers’s smile, Roman Rhodes felt his heart pound in his chest. He quickly said, "Actually, I’m heading over to the emergency management office. It’s on your way, let me give you a ride!"

Winnie Summers said, a little bashfully, "Oh, I couldn’t ask you to do that. Don’t go out of your way. I can just walk over with my neighbors from the residents’ patrol team."

But Roman Rhodes insisted, "It’s really on my way. And it’s freezing out. Please, don’t say no."

Seeing his insistence, Winnie Summers felt she couldn’t refuse any longer and nodded. "Well, thank you then, Officer Rhodes."

Winnie Summers already had fair skin, and today she was wearing a dark overcoat that made her complexion seem to glow.

As Roman Rhodes watched her approach, his palms grew so sweaty with nerves that he wiped them on his pants, forcing himself to calm down.

Melody Summers, completely oblivious to Roman Rhodes’s crush, cheerfully saw him and Winnie Summers out the door.

Standing at the front door, right in front of Winnie Summers, Roman Rhodes turned and patted Melody Summers on the shoulder. "The lead you provided was a huge help to us this time," he said formally. "Thank you for your cooperation. I’ll apply to have a commendation added to your permanent record. You’re a good kid. I have high hopes for you, so keep up the good work!"

Melody Summers: "..."

Melody Summers was completely baffled. She couldn’t understand why Roman Rhodes had changed his tune so quickly. A moment ago, he was scolding her for being too reckless, and now he was praising her?

’Not even a Sichuan opera face-change is this dramatic.’

Though she had no idea what Roman Rhodes was thinking, Melody Summers still nodded hesitantly and replied, "...Okay."

Next door, Ronan Rhodes and Sophie Thorne stood on their second-floor balcony, silently watching the scene unfold at the Summers family’s front door.

Ronan Rhodes grabbed Sophie Thorne’s arm, pointed at Melody Summers’s front door, and whisper-shouted, "See! See that? I told you! My uncle totally has a thing for Melody Summers!"

Sophie Thorne pulled her hand free from his grasp with a hint of annoyance. "...This doesn’t prove anything," she said hesitantly. "This and everything else you’ve said... it’s all too far-fetched."

But Ronan Rhodes insisted, "How is it far-fetched? When has my uncle ever cared this much about anyone else?! And most importantly, he got that brooch from my grandpa! If he isn’t trying to woo a woman, why would he take the brooch? Is he going to wear it himself?"

Sophie Thorne thought for a moment, still unconvinced. "But Melody never got the brooch. Besides, she gave the police a lead. Isn’t it perfectly normal for your uncle to come over and get more information? It’s not necessarily what you think."

Ronan Rhodes started to get agitated. "Honey, why won’t you believe me? You think I don’t know my own uncle? You haven’t seen how melancholic he’s been lately, like some love-struck fool suffering from his first crush... He wasn’t even this downcast when he was investigating that serial killer case!"

Hearing this, Sophie Thorne was swayed. Then she frowned. "If what you’re guessing is true... that’s completely inappropriate! Ronan, why are you so happy about this? Your uncle is old enough to be Melody’s father! Don’t tell me you want to play matchmaker for them?!"

Roman Rhodes was handsome, powerful, and high-ranking, with a boundless future ahead of him, but he was, after all, in his forties.

It hadn’t even been two years since Melody Summers graduated from college. They were a whole generation apart!

Ronan Rhodes froze. He carefully gauged Sophie Thorne’s expression and mumbled, "That’s true... but it’s rare for my uncle to like someone at his age..."

Sophie Thorne shook her head, her expression serious. "It doesn’t matter if it’s rare! Melody is so young, and there’s more than a twenty-year age gap between her and your uncle!"

Ronan Rhodes muttered indignantly, "My uncle’s only in his forties. He’s in his prime. That’s not old..."

’In Ronan Rhodes’s eyes, plenty of twenty-year-old girls would be lining up to marry a man with his uncle’s status, position, and family background.’

’Besides, an older man with a younger wife was standard practice for the rich and powerful. There was that one Ming Dynasty Emperor who married a woman seventeen years his senior, and he was endlessly mocked by posterity for it. But when it’s the other way around, when a man marries a woman seventeen years younger, most people think it’s perfectly normal!’

’So, Ronan felt his uncle wasn’t the one who wasn’t good enough for Melody Summers. If anyone was reaching, it was Melody reaching for Roman Rhodes. After all, the disparity in their social standing and family background was plain to see! Was a small age gap like that really a problem?’

Sophie Thorne still shook her head. "When Melody is forty and in her prime, your uncle will be in his sixties! When she’s sixty or seventy and her golden years are just beginning, your uncle will be in his nineties! How many people live to be ninety-something? Do you want Melody to spend her old age all alone?"

At this, Sophie Thorne looked at Ronan disapprovingly and demanded, "Ronan, what exactly do you think marriage is?!"

Hearing that, Ronan Rhodes knew she was getting angry. He quickly threw his hands up in surrender and tried to placate her. "Hey, honey, don’t be mad. This is all my uncle’s idea! He’s the one with the fantasy about robbing the cradle, I’ve never thought that! If you’re not happy about it, I’ll stop meddling from now on!"

Just then, Ronan Rhodes’s phone suddenly rang.

Seeing the call was from the office, Ronan Rhodes answered. His meek demeanor vanished, replaced by the mature, composed President Rhodes he was in front of his employees. "Yes, what is it?"

Ronan’s brow furrowed as he listened to the person on the other end. "...Alright, just handle it by the book. This is a critical time for our cooperation with the government. Don’t let this blow up."

As Sophie Thorne watched him quizzically, Ronan hung up and said, looking utterly baffled, "Honey, you remember Melody Summers’s biological brother, Simon Lancaster? He’s been reported for interfering in someone’s marriage and having an illicit affair!"

******

The manager at Rhodes Enterprises hung up the phone and turned to Simon Lancaster’s department head, who was waiting nearby. "Fire Simon Lancaster," he said. "Effective immediately."

An hour earlier, Ethan Sutton’s mother had come to Rhodes Enterprises to report that one of their employees, Simon Lancaster, was having an affair with her daughter-in-law and had gotten her pregnant.

Simon Lancaster’s department head was stunned as he reviewed the documents and evidence Ethan Sutton’s mother had brought with her.

’Simon Lancaster had gotten involved with his own sister, Sylvia Lancaster! And they’d had a child together!’

Once the initial shock wore off, the department head immediately went to find Simon Lancaster to verify the claim. To his astonishment, Simon Lancaster silently admitted to everything!

The department head found it all utterly unbelievable!

Normally, this kind of minor issue wouldn’t be escalated to Ronan Rhodes. But this department head was a savvy operator. He knew that Simon Lancaster’s previous demotion and transfer had been the result of a direct order from Ronan’s office. Now that this had happened, he was afraid he’d be dragged down with Simon if he mishandled it, so he immediately reported the matter up the chain.

Now that he had his order, he nodded and said, "Understood. I’ll go inform him now."

The department head returned to his office to find Simon Lancaster waiting in front of his desk, a look of utter defeat on his face.

The department head paused for a moment, then walked over to Simon Lancaster and said in a disappointed tone, "Lancaster, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but how could you do something like this? You know the standards Rhodes Enterprises expects from its employees. After something like this, I can’t protect you. Go and take care of your termination paperwork."