Chapter 245: Chapter 245: I Don’t Dare Anymore

Simon Lancaster wanted to flare up in anger at her words, but when he looked up at Ian Summers, who was a head taller than him, he forced himself to hold it back.

Suppressing his anger, Simon Lancaster asked as pleasantly as he could, "Your family already has a villa in this complex. You can all live there, so why do you have to fight with us over this apartment?"

Sylvia Lancaster nodded repeatedly. "That’s right, that’s right. You already have a villa, why are you so fixated on this apartment? If you’re really that upset about it, I’ll pay you to buy it back. That should be fine, right?"

The thought of giving Melody Summers money was the last thing Sylvia wanted to do.

But she could also see that the Melody Summers of this lifetime was nothing like the pushover from her past life. Even Simon Lancaster’s words had no effect on her. It seemed impossible to get the apartment back directly.

Looking at Sylvia and Simon Lancaster’s desperate expressions, Melody Summers shook her head. "Not for sale. Sylvia Lancaster, this apartment is already mine. I will absolutely not sell it to you."

Hearing this, Sylvia Lancaster grew anxious and blurted out, "How can you not sell it?! I already told you, my mother and I picked out all the furniture and decorations in this apartment together! It has special meaning to me!"

Melody Summers just looked at her with an expression that said, ’So what?’

Seeing that Melody Summers was unmoved, Sylvia Lancaster gritted her teeth and added, "I can pay more to buy it back! I’m willing to add twenty thousand to the price you paid! No! Fifty thousand!"

Before Melody Summers could speak, the middle-aged woman in the red down jacket who had been watching the spectacle from the side suddenly chimed in. "I remember no one has been living in 1606... Young lady, if you’re not living here, leaving it empty is just a waste. Why not just sell it to them!"

Melody Summers looked at her, confused, and asked, "And who might you be?"

The middle-aged woman in the red down jacket smiled and said, "Me? I live right below you in 1505! My surname is Vance. You can just call me Mrs. Vance!"

Mrs. Vance had run into Sylvia and Simon Lancaster at the main gate of The Metropolis Residences.

After Sylvia and Simon Lancaster arrived at The Metropolis Residences, Simon remembered that he had been blacklisted by the complex during the heatwave last year. When the security guard saw his registration information, he stopped him and refused to let him in.

Just as Sylvia and Simon Lancaster were standing at the gate trying to figure out what to do, they ran into Mrs. Vance, a resident who was on her way home.

Upon learning that Mrs. Vance was a resident, Sylvia Lancaster took a head of cabbage and half a chicken from her tote bag. She handed them to Mrs. Vance and asked her to escort the two of them inside.

Seeing the head of cabbage and the chicken, Mrs. Vance’s eyes lit up with excitement!

After all, she hadn’t eaten things like that in over half a year!

So, Mrs. Vance told the security guard that Simon Lancaster was her relative, here for a visit.

With a resident vouching for them, the guard reluctantly let them in.

The three of them walked into the complex, and Sylvia Lancaster was delighted to learn that Mrs. Vance lived in Building 4, Unit 1505.

As they walked, Sylvia Lancaster tearfully complained to Mrs. Vance, saying that Unit 1606 in Building 4 was a gift from her family, and that she and her mother had picked out every piece of furniture and decoration, but it had unfortunately been foreclosed on and auctioned off.

She said she had deep feelings for the apartment and had now saved up enough money to buy it back.

As the saying goes, accept a gift and you’re in their debt.

Carrying the cabbage and chicken from Sylvia Lancaster, Mrs. Vance smiled at Melody Summers and said, "Young lady, I live in 1505. I know nobody has been living in this apartment. Since that’s the case, why not just sell it to them!"

Sylvia Lancaster nodded along. "That’s right, Melody Summers. You don’t even live here. Rather than letting it sit empty, you should sell it to me at a higher price! I’ll add fifty thousand. You won’t lose out!"

Melody Summers sneered. She had bought the apartment when the heatwave hadn’t yet subsided, and the prices for high-rise residences had plummeted across the board. For Sylvia Lancaster to think she could buy it back for so little was utterly delusional.

So, Melody Summers shook her head. "Unfortunately, we’ve already moved in. Sylvia Lancaster, if you have the money, you’d be better off buying a different place!"

Sylvia Lancaster frowned at her words.

’Buy a different place?’

Ever since the temperatures had dropped, the prices for high-rise residences had recovered quite a bit. With the money in her account, she probably couldn’t even afford the smallest unit in The Metropolis Residences, even if she wanted to buy new.

Before coming, she had checked the foreclosure auction website for this apartment’s sale price. She knew that because of the heatwave at the time, it had sold for a pittance.

Her plan today was to play the sympathy card and buy the apartment back at that same rock-bottom price!

The most crucial reason was that Sylvia Lancaster knew Unit 1606 was fully equipped, with even the doors and windows reinforced. If she had to buy another place on short notice, the balance in her account probably wouldn’t even be enough for renovations!

At this thought, Sylvia Lancaster forced a sad and helpless expression onto her face, deciding that if being firm didn’t work, she’d try being soft.

She looked at Melody Summers with tear-filled eyes and said with feigned helplessness, "Melody, why must you have this apartment? Mom had everything in here designed according to my tastes. This home represents Mom’s love for me. Do you really have to snatch it away?"

If the Melody Summers of her past life had heard this speech from Sylvia Lancaster, she would have probably felt hurt.

And in her sorrow, she might have actually given in.

But the Melody Summers of this lifetime couldn’t care less about Elaine Hughes.

So Melody Summers waved her hand dismissively. "Then who’s to blame for your family being so incompetent that you let such an important house get foreclosed? Telling me all this now is useless."

Hearing Melody Summers say this, Simon Lancaster said with displeasure, "Why are you so fixated on this apartment? Mom and Dad originally bought this for Sylvia. Are you just jealous of her, so you’re deliberately targeting us?"

Melody Summers found this amusing. "Me, jealous of her? What would I be jealous of? That she has a bunch of good-for-nothing family members like you?"

Simon Lancaster’s face turned ashen at her words.

Melody Summers continued to taunt him, "Simon Lancaster, right now, you’re the ones begging me to sell you the apartment. Is this how you beg? A whole family of incompetents, and you still expect to beg with your dignity intact? If you ask me, a family of trash like yours should go live in a dumpster together. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about buying a house."

Simon Lancaster flew into a rage. He stared at Melody Summers in disbelief and roared in a low voice, "How can you talk like that! We’re your family! Don’t you have any sense of kinship? I’m going to teach you a lesson on behalf of Mom and Dad!"

With that, he took two steps forward, reaching out to grab Melody Summers.

However, before he could even get close to Melody Summers, Ian Summers anticipated his move.

Ian Summers moved quickly. Before Simon Lancaster could even react, Ian seized him, twisted his arms behind his back, and slammed him against the wall!

Facing the wall, the pain shooting from his shoulders made Simon Lancaster struggle frantically. "Let me go! Let me go! How dare you lay a hand on me!? I’m calling the police!"

But no matter how he struggled, Ian Summers’s hands were like steel bars, pinning him firmly to the wall, making it impossible to break free.

Ian Summers snorted. "Even if you don’t call the police, I will. You’re the ones who started trouble, and you even tried to bully my sister. You can all go spend some time at the station!"

Seeing this, Sylvia Lancaster rushed forward anxiously and said to Ian Summers, "Let my brother go! Let go of him!"

She lunged forward to pull at Ian Summers, but he simply gave her a light backhanded push, nearly sending her tumbling backward.

"AH—!" Sylvia Lancaster screamed, stumbling back a few steps. She almost fell, but Mrs. Vance caught her and helped her regain her footing.

Seeing this, Mrs. Vance spoke up disapprovingly, "Hey now, young man. Let’s talk things out. No need to get physical!"

Ian Summers was unmoved. In a few swift moves, he dragged the struggling Simon Lancaster away from the wall and kicked him hard in the back of the knee. Simon cried out in pain and fell to his knees on the ground.

Ian Summers then forced Simon Lancaster face down on the floor, pressing his knee firmly into his back. No matter how much Simon struggled, he couldn’t get up, and just lay there shouting, "Let me go!"

Watching the scene unfold, Sylvia Lancaster said anxiously to Melody Summers, "Melody Summers! Tell him to let my brother go! He’s your brother too! How can you bear to watch this!"

Sylvia Lancaster couldn’t understand why the Melody Summers of this lifetime was so heartless!

In their past life, Melody Summers had cared about Simon Lancaster a great deal!

She remembered a time during a blizzard when Simon had a fever, and it was Melody Summers who had braved the storm to go out and find medicine for him!

Melody Summers remained unmoved by Sylvia Lancaster’s words. She just watched coldly as Simon Lancaster struggled in pain on the ground and asked in a frigid voice, "Simon Lancaster, if you want us to let you go, that’s fine. Tell me, will you ever try to get your hands on this apartment again?"

Hearing this, Simon Lancaster just gritted his teeth and fell silent.

Ian Summers let out a "Tsk" and silently increased the pressure.

A sharp pain shot through his shoulder and arm, and Simon Lancaster couldn’t help but howl in agony, "AH—! Let me go—! My arm is going to break!"

Ian Summers asked with displeasure, "Are you deaf? My sister asked you a question!"

Another wave of pressure bore down on his back. Simon Lancaster felt as if his organs were being crushed, and he hastily squeezed the words through his teeth, "I won’t! I won’t dare to again! We don’t want the apartment anymore!"

Sylvia Lancaster’s eyes also filled with anxious tears. On the verge of crying, she said to Melody Summers, "Melody Summers, make him let my brother go! If he gets hurt, Mom and Dad will never forgive you!"

Unlike her earlier pretense, this time, Sylvia Lancaster really was on the verge of tears from fright.