Winnie Summers felt her anger surge at the mere thought of the marriage. She slammed her hand on the table, furious, and confronted Simon Lancaster. "And you have the nerve to call yourselves Melody’s family? It’s bad enough you’ve ignored her all this time, but now you want to marry her off to a man she’s never even met! In your eyes, is a daughter’s marriage just a bargaining chip for your own benefit?"

Simon Lancaster chuckled softly at her words, speaking to Winnie Summers with the disdainful air of a superior. "Ms. Summers, marriage alliances among wealthy families like ours are all about benefits. These are things an ordinary person like you might not understand."

He then deliberately looked Winnie Summers up and down for a few moments before continuing, "Besides, the Lawson Family is rich and powerful. Ordinary people could never dream of marrying into their ranks. If it weren’t for Melody being a daughter of the Lancaster Family, the Lawsons never would have agreed to the union."

"Right now, the Summers Family has only two choices. Either pay back the money, or let Melody Summers return to the Lancaster Family to be married. Ms. Summers, the choice is yours."

Winnie Summers was livid. She told Simon Lancaster, "My daughter will not marry someone she has never even met. Go ahead and sue me! Have me thrown in prison!"

Simon Lancaster chuckled softly and shook his head. "If we sue, and you can’t produce the eight million, the villa you’re living in now will be seized. We’re in the middle of a global meteorological disaster. Your family wouldn’t survive out on the streets."

"Ms. Summers, you’d better think this through. Do you really want your whole family to die of heat or thirst on the side of the road?"

Just then, Melody Summers rushed over. Hearing the conversation as she walked in the door, she glanced at Simon Lancaster and spoke with a mocking tone, "Well, if it isn’t Mr. Lancaster? Not at Mr. Lancaster’s bedside, I see. What gives you the time to run all the way out here? Could it be that Mr. Lancaster has already passed away? If so, my condolences."

At Melody Summers’s words, Simon Lancaster’s smug, unruffled demeanor vanished completely. His face turned livid in an instant. Frowning, he stared at Melody and said in a low voice, "He’s your father too! How can you curse your own biological father like that?"

The entire Lancaster Family revolved around Robert Lancaster. Simon Lancaster simply could not accept Melody Summers’s blatant disrespect toward him.

Melody let out a small "Oh?", tilting her head and feigning confusion. "A couple of days ago, you were telling me he was on his deathbed and that I should go back to see him one last time. How has that suddenly turned into me cursing him? Or is it that he’s not sick at all, and you were willing to curse your own father just to set a trap to lure me back?"

Simon Lancaster was infuriated by her words. ’If there wasn’t a police officer standing right here, watching my every move,’ he fumed internally, ’I’d tie Melody Summers up, drag her away, and throw her into the third Lawson son’s bed! We’ll see if she still dares to run her mouth then!’

Simon Lancaster took a few deep breaths, trying not to let Melody Summers get to him. Then he said, "The transfer agreement for the Mount Anworth contract rights that we signed back then did not follow proper procedure. The Summers Family must now return the eight million to the Lancaster Group, with interest."

After speaking, Simon Lancaster looked Melody Summers up and down again. Seeing her plain clothes and lack of any accessories, he gave a disdainful smile. "But I doubt you can come up with that much money. So, I suggest you accept the Lancaster Group’s second proposal."

Simon Lancaster tapped his fingers lightly on the tabletop, watching Melody Summers’s expression as he spoke slowly, "You will come back to the Lancaster Family with me now, cooperate with us in changing your name to Melody Lancaster, and the Lancaster Family will publicly announce your identity and arrange for your marriage to the third son of the Lawson Family."

’Change my name to Melody Lancaster?’ Melody Summers frowned. ’This didn’t happen in my past life.’ In her previous life, when Melody returned to the Lancaster Family, Robert Lancaster and Elaine Hughes never suggested she change her name, all to spare Sylvia Lancaster’s feelings.

Simon Lancaster continued, "As long as you stay with the Lawson Family after the wedding, serve your husband and raise your children, tend to the needs of the Lancasters, and quietly stay out of trouble, the Lancaster Group will drop the matter of the eight million."

Melody Summers looked at Simon Lancaster’s smugly confident smile and said, "Fine. I can give you the eight million, but the Lancaster Family has to draw up a written agreement stating clearly that we have nothing to do with each other from now on. You are not to pester me again for any reason."

"Not only that, you also have to issue a statement to the media, guaranteeing that the lives and deaths of everyone in the Lancaster Family will have nothing to do with me from now on. You must swear that you will never appear before me or my family again."

Simon Lancaster hadn’t expected this. He scoffed, "Melody Summers, you’d better think this through. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Even if you sell your villa for the eight million, are you going to take your whole family to sleep on the streets?"

Melody Summers said calmly, "Even if I have to sleep on the streets, it’s better than being entangled with your family. You gave me two choices, but I’m only giving the Lancaster Family one. Do as I just said, and I’ll transfer the eight million to you immediately. Then, never show your faces in front of me or my family again."

Of course, Simon Lancaster was unwilling to agree. To the current Lancaster Group, eight million was just a drop in the bucket. What he wanted wasn’t the money; it was the investment from the Lawson Family.

Simon Lancaster looked at Melody Summers with a dark expression. After a long moment, he shook his head and said with disappointment, "Melody, at the end of the day, you’re still a daughter of the Lancaster Family. You have Lancaster blood in your veins. The Lancaster Family gave you life. Now that the family is in trouble, are you really just going to stand by and do nothing? Faithless, disloyal, and unfilial—is this what your family taught you?"

Melody Summers laughed out loud. ’Simon Lancaster is just as predictable as ever,’ she thought. ’Always with the brainwashing and guilt-tripping. When being aggressive doesn’t work, he tries the soft approach. Too bad for him, I’m not falling for either, and I’m definitely not buying his crap.’

Melody Summers shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, so you’re the one with the good upbringing? Well, you’d better hold on to those lessons, because your dad is about to die. If you can’t remember them, he won’t be around to teach you anymore."

Simon Lancaster’s face turned livid. He glared at Melody Summers and said in a low voice, "Melody Summers, you can do this the easy way or the hard way. If you push the Lancaster Family too far, the consequences won’t be something a little girl like you can handle!"

Seeing Simon Lancaster’s furious and flustered expression, Melody Summers smiled happily. "Then go ahead and sue. I’ll pay whatever the court decides. I’ll also hire a few media outlets to publicize what your precious Lancaster Family has been up to. And don’t worry, I’ll pay for them myself. I’m not like you Lancasters—unable to pull any money out of your pockets, with nothing left but a mountain of bad debt."

Then, Melody Summers ignored Simon Lancaster, took Winnie Summers by the arm, and said to Officer Tate, "Officer Tate, we’re going to head back now. As for what comes next, let them sue."

Officer Tate nodded. He watched Melody Summers and her mother leave, then turned to Simon Lancaster. "This is outside the scope of our mediation. I would also advise you to file a lawsuit directly."

Simon Lancaster was furious but helpless. In front of the police officer, he could only watch as Melody and her mother walked away.

The negotiations having failed, Simon Lancaster had no choice but to lead his men away from The Metropolis Residences. Back in the car, he remained deep in thought, his brow furrowed.

After a long while, Simon Lancaster spoke. "Find a way to contact Melody Summers’s former adoptive father. I want to meet him."

Since the path through Melody Summers’s adoptive mother was a dead end, Simon Lancaster planned to target her adoptive father instead.

*

Melody Summers brought Winnie Summers back to Crystal Mart. Crystal Lynch came forward, her expression worried. "Melody, are you two okay? Those people were so strange."

"We’re fine," Melody replied. She thought for a moment and added, "Those people aren’t from this community, and they don’t have purchasing rights here. If they come into the supermarket again, just ask them to leave."

Finn Lynch, who was standing nearby, nodded. "I could tell just by looking at them they were here to cause trouble. Don’t worry. If they come back, I’ll throw them out myself."

Shawn Lynch nodded in agreement. "I’ve heard of Lancaster Enterprises. They’ve been trending online several times for failing to pay their employees’ wages. They’re definitely bad news. I’ll go talk to the community guards in a bit and tell them to stop those people at the gate if they see them."

Winnie Summers was deeply worried. She quietly pulled Melody aside. "Melody, I still have some of the dividends from the supermarket. If it really comes to it, let’s pool our money and see how much we can gather."

Colin Summers also whispered from the side, "Your aunt and I have some money too, all saved up recently. Let’s put it all together and see if we can scrape enough."

Although they said this, they knew in their hearts that whatever the family could pull together would be a far cry from eight million.

Winnie Summers and Colin Summers had both received dividends from Crystal Mart a while ago. Although prices were high these days, wholesale costs were also high, and since everything was price-controlled by the government, the profit margins weren’t large.

Hearing this, Melody Summers comforted them, "Mom, Uncle, you don’t have to worry. The contract was signed, and their transfer was a voluntary gift. Even if the Lancaster Family sues, the court won’t necessarily rule in their favor."

’No matter what the Lancaster Family chooses to do, I’m not afraid,’ Melody thought. ’I just sold the Pink Diamond, so I have plenty of money now. Forget eight million—I could come up with eighty million if I had to.’

’Besides, it’s almost November. In another two months, the state will conduct a unified liquidation of all indebted companies. The Lancaster Family definitely won’t escape.’