Winnie Summers flew into a rage. "Shut your mouth! You shameless old fool! Whether I remarry or not has nothing to do with your son. Now get out!"

Adam Lawson’s father never expected his former daughter-in-law to dare talk back to him. Enraged, he threw himself on the ground and yelled, "I’ll die on your doorstep if I have to! I’m not getting up unless you agree to remarry Adam and transfer ownership of this villa to Joel!"

Seeing him sprawled on the ground, the police officer and security guards couldn’t hold back their laughter. No one moved to help him up.

Sure enough, less than three seconds later, Adam Lawson’s father scrambled back to his feet. The ground was just too hot; a few more seconds and he would have been cooked! He could already feel the skin on his back stinging with pain.

Seeing this, Noelle Quillan bit her lip and burst into tears, pleading with Winnie Summers. "Winnie! I was wrong to you in the past. As compensation, I’m willing to give you my son. You can be Joel’s mother from now on! Please, I’m begging you, agree to remarry Adam!"

Before the apocalypse, Noelle Quillan would never have dreamed of humbling herself before Winnie Summers. In her eyes, a woman like Winnie was a fool who couldn’t hold onto her own husband, destined to be nothing more than a loser at her feet.

But now, she was desperate to live in this villa.

So Noelle Quillan comforted herself. ’So what if I have to grovel for a bit? I’m younger than Winnie. Even if she and Adam get back together, I was able to steal him once. I can definitely do it again!’

’Besides, once they remarry, Adam will be the man of the house. Winnie is barren, and that Melody girl is just some abandoned baby they took in—a worthless money pit. Eventually, this house will have to be left to my son, Joel. And when that happens, I’ll be the one in charge.’

Before Winnie Summers could respond, Grace Sutton spat right in Noelle Quillan’s face. "Pah!" she cursed furiously. "Who the hell do you think you are? That son of yours is nothing but a bastard born from your affair! You have the nerve to parade him in front of my sister?!"

Grace Sutton’s chest heaved; she was clearly seething. "And another thing," she continued her tirade, "those two kids of yours look nothing like that animal Adam Lawson! Who’s to say they’re even his? My sister had a full medical check-up a few years back, and she’s perfectly healthy. She and Adam were married for years without children—I’d bet it was because he’s the one who’s sterile!"

Her words struck Noelle Quillan like a bolt of lightning. Her face paled, and panic seized her heart.

Before Noelle Quillan could think of a reply, Adam Lawson cut in with a frown. "Of course they’re my children! Noelle was a virgin when she got with me! Grace, don’t try to sow discord. Are you just saying this because you don’t want our Joel competing with your Ian for this house?"

Grace Sutton ignored Adam Lawson. Seeing the guilt and panic on Noelle Quillan’s face, she let out a cold little smirk. ’Looks like I’ve stumbled onto a secret. This idiot Adam is probably raising another man’s kids.’

At that moment, Melody Summers, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke. "Adam Lawson, is your family trying to move into our villa?"

Hearing Melody say this, Adam Lawson thought he saw an opening. He nodded eagerly. "Yes, my dear daughter! Daddy’s good girl, just let your dad in. If you accept your dad and your little brother, you’ll finally have a brother of your own! Think about it—with a brother to back you up, no one will ever dare bully you again, right?"

Melody Summers gave a noncommittal smile. "Then tell me who gave you this address. If you tell me, I’ll consider letting you move in."

Adam Lawson’s eyes darted around in panic. "N-Nobody told us," he stammered. "We just... happened to run into you."

Melody Summers snorted. "Not talking, huh? Then you can all just get lost."

With that, Melody made a move to shut the door.

"Wait!" Adam Lawson yelled, stopping her. He hesitated, then gritted his teeth and confessed, "The man said he was the president of the Lancaster Group."

Two weeks ago, Simon Lancaster had found Adam Lawson and given him this address.

Ever since learning the address, Adam Lawson and his family had been lying in wait nearby. They hadn’t expected the Summers family to have evacuated because of the mountain fire, only returning today.

Melody Summers raised an eyebrow. ’So it’s that disgusting Simon Lancaster again.’ She replied in a cold voice, "Oh? And what exactly did he tell you?"

Adam Lawson hesitated before answering in a low voice, "He told me to find a way to remarry your mother, and then convince her to kick you out of the Summers family."

In Simon Lancaster’s mind, the fact that Winnie Summers hadn’t remarried in all these years meant she must still be hung up on her ex-husband. Furthermore, he believed that a simple woman like her was bound to obey her husband. Once she and Adam were remarried, Adam would be the one calling all the shots.

All Adam had to do was tell Melody to leave, and Winnie would be powerless to stop him. Once Melody was out of the Summers family with nowhere else to go, she would have no choice but to return to the Lancaster Family.

Melody figured out Simon Lancaster’s scheme and couldn’t help but scoff. ’I can’t believe Mr. Lancaster is still living in the dark ages.’

’Even someone from the older generation like Miss Lowell knows your children can’t be your weakness, let alone a self-made career woman like Mom. As if she’d ever listen to Adam Lawson.’

After speaking, Adam Lawson stole a glance at Melody’s expression and hastily added, "But don’t you worry, Melody. Daddy would never do that! You’ll always be Daddy’s favorite daughter! When your mom and I get back together, I’ll be sure to treat you both right."

Adam shot his son, Joel, a desperate look. Joel quickly stepped forward and yelled at Melody, "Big sister! When you get married, I’ll protect you! If you have me, your in-laws will never dare to bully you!"

Melody completely ignored Joel. She turned back to Adam. "What did the man from the Lancaster Group give you? How much money did you get?"

Adam shook his head, feigning innocence. "Nothing. He didn’t give us any money, he just gave us the address. My dear daughter, Daddy is telling the truth."

Melody let out a weary, smiling sigh and shook her head. "You people really are cheap. The Lancaster Family is using you as their weapon, and they didn’t even pay you a single cent for it."

Adam looked away, embarrassed and unsure of what to say. He just stared at Melody with pleading eyes, hoping she would let them in.

Melody then asked, "And your mother? The children’s grandmother? Why isn’t she with you?"

Adam’s face froze. He stammered, "The weather... it’s been too hot. Your grandmother... she didn’t make it. She passed away a few days ago..."

The Lawson family had no income, and their savings were nearly depleted. They actually had enough supplies to feed everyone, but Adam had always seen his mother as a burden. He would periodically withhold food from her. The old woman, already frail, couldn’t withstand the abuse and had starved to death.

Melody nodded, her expression grimly knowing. "Oh, is that so. And when your mother passed, did you smash a pot at her wake? Did you even cry for her?"

Adam froze again. The truth was, they had been too cheap to buy a coffin or even an urn, and had complained that it was too hot outside to even bother digging a grave. So they had simply wrapped the old woman’s body in a blanket, dragged it out under the cover of darkness, and dumped it by the side of the road.

Every day, new bodies appeared on the roadsides—people who had died from the heat, or victims murdered and dumped by criminals.

The government would identify the bodies and send them to the crematorium to await cremation.

One look at Adam’s face told Melody everything she needed to know. She had no desire to waste another breath on the Lawsons. She turned to Officer Tate and the guards. "Thank you for your help. Please make sure they’re not allowed into our complex again."

Officer Tate and the guards were all familiar with the Summers family. They nodded, then manhandled the Lawsons and removed them from the complex.

*

"What a bunch of complete lunatics. They’ve been divorced for a decade, and he still has the gall to drag his entire family over here to harass his ex-wife." Grace Sutton shut the door, muttering curses at the Lawsons as she double-checked the lock on the gate.

Then she turned to comfort Winnie. "Don’t you worry, Winnie. That family is headed for disaster, I guarantee it. Didn’t you see the look on that homewrecker’s face? I’d bet my life those two kids aren’t Adam’s!"

Winnie forced a smile. She no longer cared whose children they were; she was just afraid Adam would come back.

Her grandmother looked at the vegetable patch, which had been trampled into a mess by the Lawsons, and said with a pained expression, "Oh, dear. Those people are just awful. We just planted these vegetable seeds this morning, and they’ve ruined everything."

"It’s alright," Miss Lowell comforted her. "We can just tidy them up again once they sprout."

Hearing this, Melody glanced over at the vegetable patch as well. Suddenly, she spotted a white insect among the disturbed soil.

Puzzled, she leaned in for a closer look—

It was a Sandvine Worm!

Sandvine Worms hatched from eggs laid inside Desert Vines. ’But this is confusing,’ Melody thought. ’According to the timeline from my past life, these worms shouldn’t have hatched this early...’

’Could the mountain fire have accelerated the hatching of the Sandvine Worms in this area?’

Desert Vines grew rapidly, and so did the Sandvine Worms. During the apocalypse, they were one of the most important sources of protein.

While the Desert Vine itself was poisonous, the flesh of the Sandvine Worm was not.

When making sand vine cakes, processing plants would dry and crush the hatched worms, using the powder to coat the cakes and give them a fragrant, roasted-protein aroma.

Even though Sandvine Worms were considered a delicacy in the apocalypse, Melody worried that if a large number of them flew into their yard, the vegetable patch would be devastated.

Melody returned to her personal dimension and took out some mugwort and mint she had planted in her farmland. She remembered experts explaining in her past life that these herbs were effective repellents for Sandvine Worms. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Melody sprinkled the mint and mugwort around the perimeter of the yard, then took a handful next door to Sophie Thorne’s house.

The housekeeper at Sophie Thorne’s home was cleaning the front door and greeted Melody warmly when she saw her approach.

Melody handed the herbs to the housekeeper and explained the situation. The housekeeper patted her chest in relief. "So they’re Sandvine Worms! I was wondering why there were so many insects in the yard all of a sudden. Thank you, Miss Summers. I’ll go sprinkle these around right now."