After spending all the money Ethan Sutton had given her, Sylvia Lancaster’s mood improved considerably. She left her room and went to the living room, where she saw Elaine Hughes and Robert Lancaster looking worried. She walked over to comfort them. "Mom, Dad, don’t worry. Everything will be okay."

Robert Lancaster looked at her, thought for a moment, and said, "Sylvia, you need to figure something out. No matter what, you have to lock down your engagement with Ethan as soon as possible."

For the past two days, Robert Lancaster had been subtly asking the Sutton Family for help, but their attitude was becoming increasingly vague. Robert Lancaster was afraid the Suttons would call off the engagement.

Sylvia Lancaster understood her father’s underlying meaning. She bit her lip gently and replied, "Don’t worry, Dad."

Elaine Hughes patted Sylvia Lancaster’s hand, gratified. This daughter had always been her pride and joy. After a moment’s thought, she asked Robert Lancaster, "Actually, Melody is of marriageable age, too..."

She was worried Winnie Summers would just find some rural family for Melody Summers to marry into, and she absolutely could not accept in-laws like that.

Robert Lancaster said irritably, "Just find a decent employee from the company for her later. With her upbringing, do you really think she could marry into a wealthy family?"

Elaine Hughes sighed and nodded lightly.

*

A few days had passed since the third tornado strike, and the state had finally lifted the severe wind warning.

The residential complex was littered with debris swept in by the tornado. Residents who didn’t have to work came out to help the property management clean up the trash, sighing as they worked:

"The wind has finally stopped."

"Yeah, it’s been blowing for a whole week. I was scared our apartment building would get blown away every single day."

"I live on a high floor, you have no idea. The wind howled so much it sounded like someone screaming. My ears have been ringing for days. I couldn’t even hear my wife clearly this morning when she spoke to me."

"I know what you mean. I’m on the top floor, and the shaking was the worst. Sometimes I couldn’t even stand straight! I actually got used to falling asleep while swaying in my bed. Now that the wind has stopped, I still feel like I’m swaying."

"You actually got used to it? I couldn’t at all. I felt like I was on a boat every time I lay in bed. I get seasick, so I’ve thrown up several times these past few days. I can’t keep anything down. If this kept up, I would’ve vomited myself into dehydration."

"..."

"Look at the size of this fish. I wonder which pond it got blown out of. Too bad they’re all dead, or it’d be perfect to take home and braise."

"Whose outdoor AC unit is this one? How many is that now?"

"Is that a fence? It even ripped up an iron fence. I can’t imagine what the hardest-hit areas downtown must look like."

"I heard some complexes were completely destroyed. Not a single window was left intact. Even the exterior walls were cracked by flying debris and need major repairs and reinforcement."

"No one dares to live in the buildings with cracked walls. The hotels are all full. A lot of people with nowhere to go are all living in underground parking garages and shelters now."

"No wonder I saw a lot of homeowners moving back in today. They used to complain this area was too remote and moved out to rent places elsewhere."

"Looks like our complex got lucky. We just have to wait for the electricians to fix the power, and everything will be back to normal."

*

「Anworth University, Student Dormitories.」

For the past few days, Joanne White had been living in a long nightmare from which she couldn’t seem to wake.

Just a week ago, Joanne White had felt like the happiest woman alive. She was two months away from graduating from university, the marital home she and Austin Hale had bought was already renovated, and Austin had even planned a grand wedding for her.

Although Austin Hale’s family wasn’t fabulously wealthy, they were comfortably well-off. Austin was the most handsome guy in their department—tall and good-looking. After graduating, he’d joined a major corporation, successfully converted from intern to full-time employee, and was highly regarded by his superiors. He had a promising future ahead of him.

Most importantly, Austin Hale doted on her, was willing to hand over his salary card, and let her manage all the money he earned.

In Joanne White’s plan, if everything went smoothly, she would get her marriage license with Austin Hale and have children in their beautifully renovated school district home. Then, she would stay home to be a wife and mother. Once Austin was promoted and got raises, accumulating wealth, she would be able to travel everywhere and enjoy a comfortable, upper-middle-class life.

Joanne White was very satisfied with all of this. The path she had planned for herself was both happy and secure.

But this past week’s natural disaster had turned her life upside down, plunging her into a bottomless nightmare.

Her newly purchased home was a complete wreck after the first storm. The decor she had personally chosen—the exquisite French-style dining table, the sparkling artistic chandelier, the cream-colored sofa—had all been smashed by debris carried in by the violent winds.

Austin Hale’s leg was injured by a piece of sheet metal that flew in through the window. He lost a lot of blood and fell unconscious. He was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment, only to find it was overflowing with patients and there wasn’t a single bed available.

Mrs. Hale had no choice but to take Austin Hale home to care for him after he received basic treatment. She felt that this was all Joanne White’s fault, so she left Joanne all alone in the tornado-ravaged school district home.

So, for two days, Joanne White languished in a daze in the wrecked house. Before she could even process what had happened, the second tornado struck.

The second tornado was even worse than the first. The walls of that apartment building cracked, and property management urgently evacuated the residents to the underground parking garage for shelter.

At the time, Joanne White was squeezed in with everyone else in the underground garage. She found it hard to breathe, and her ears were filled with the sounds of panicked sobs and desperate curses.

After the wind stopped, property management announced that residents could not move back in until the building was reinforced and inspected.

However, many residential complexes downtown had suffered damage of varying degrees, and there was no telling when the engineering crews would get to their complex.

Joanne White couldn’t stand the conditions in the underground garage. She wanted to go home, but her parents’ house had also been destroyed by the tornado. They had been staying in an underground shelter for the whole week, too.

Joanne White thought about finding a hotel, but she was told they were all fully booked with people seeking refuge.

Fortunately, the university was temporarily safe, so she returned to her school dormitory.

There were four people in Joanne White’s dorm room. Two were away doing internships, and one had been accepted into the university’s graduate program. However, Joanne didn’t get along with that roommate. The two of them lived under the same roof but ignored each other completely.

Joanne White suddenly felt a dull ache in her lower abdomen and could only curl up in bed, trying to take deep breaths.

Joanne White wanted to sleep, but she couldn’t. Every time she closed her eyes, she thought of the ruined school district home. To buy it, Austin Hale’s family had put up three million, basically emptying the Hale Family’s cash reserves, while her own family had contributed one million, which was almost all of her parents’ life savings.

Neither family could afford to buy a second one.

The more Joanne White thought about it, the more desperate she felt. She pulled the covers over her head and began to cry silently.

’If Melody Summers hadn’t sold them that house, I never would have fallen into this pit.’

Just then, Joanne White’s phone rang. It was a message from Austin Hale.

Austin Hale was awake. He said he was very worried about Joanne White and told her to come to his family’s home to take shelter for now.

Seeing this message was like grasping a lifeline for Joanne White. Taking a deep breath, she wiped away her tears, packed her bags, and headed for Austin Hale’s home.