Chapter 447: Leading the Wolf to the Door

Listening to Clark’s words, Melody was suddenly overcome with a wave of sadness.

’When does a person start to go bad?’

She looked at Clark, kneeling on the floor in a pathetic state, his expression savage. In him, she could no longer see any trace of the little cousin who used to trail behind her, calling out for his older cousin.

The moment Clark finished speaking, Colin strode over.

His brows shot up in anger. He aimed a vicious kick at Clark and snarled, "Are you insane? Who taught you to say such despicable things?!"

As far as the Summers family was concerned, their boys and girls were all the same. They never imagined Clark, at such a young age, would have developed such a sexist mindset all on his own.

Clark did look a little crazed. After being kicked to the floor by Colin, he quickly scrambled back up. He clutched at Colin’s pant leg, crying and begging, "Uncle, you have to help me! Just give me some rice and coal, or else they won’t spare me!"

The thought of what Saul Archer and Jay Lowell were capable of made Clark’s teeth start to chatter.

Just then, Melody let out a small laugh.

She looked at Clark and asked, "Clark, be honest with me... do you really only owe one hundred pounds of rice and one hundred pounds of coal?"

’If I’m not mistaken,’ Melody thought, ’Clark definitely owes more than that.’

When a gambler walks in with a hundred dollars, he walks out owing at least two hundred.

Or even more.

Clark had gambled away a hundred pounds of rice and coal in a single day. He definitely owed more than that.

Clark was lying.

He was still trying to hide the truth, which meant only one thing—Clark didn’t want the hundred pounds of rice and coal to pay his debt. He was planning to keep gambling.

’He’s a lost cause.’

Sure enough, under Melody’s stare, Clark’s eyes darted away. He didn’t answer her question. Instead, he asked resentfully, "You’re all my elders, and I’m only sixteen! You have to take care of me! If you won’t give me rice and coal, are you really going to stand by and watch me starve or freeze to death?!"

Hearing this, his grandmother let out a cold snort. She didn’t even want to speak to Clark anymore. From this moment on, as far as she was concerned, her son and grandson were both dead to her.

Grace Sutton was so angry at Clark’s brazen attitude that she laughed. She realized Clark was even more of a scoundrel than his father, Cameron!

Back when Cameron was begging the family to pay off his gambling debts, he was never as bold and entitled as Clark!

Grace Sutton sneered, "And now you’re blaming us? We gave you a hundred pounds of rice and coal just this morning. You’re the one who insisted on gambling it away! You deserve it!"

At Grace’s words, Clark’s submissive act vanished. He glared at her and shouted, "It was just a measly hundred pounds of rice and coal! You keep harping on it, acting like you did us some huge favor! That was ours by right!"

"My dad and Uncle Colin are both sons of this family. My mom and you are both wives of the family. So why do you and Uncle Colin get to live here in comfort, while my family has to live in some empty rental unit? It’s not fair!"

"For all I know, you’re the one who deliberately drove a wedge between them and got my parents kicked out! It’s all your fault we’re in this mess!"

Grace’s hands trembled with rage at Clark’s accusation. She pointed a shaking finger at him and cried, "What nonsense are you spouting?! When have you ever seen me turn anyone against them?!"

Grace was filled with regret.

And to think she had actually felt sorry for Cameron’s family. She never imagined this was how they saw her behind her back.

Now Clark was blaming her for everything. What an ungrateful brat!

Clark’s eyes were bloodshot. His only thought was getting his hands on more supplies, and he began to speak recklessly. "Am I wrong? I don’t care! We have a share in this family, so I want to split the assets! You have to give us our share of the supplies!"

Colin couldn’t stand to hear another word. Rage burned in his chest. He lunged forward and kicked Clark several times, roaring, "Split the assets? What assets?! To pay off your father’s gambling debts, he already bled this family dry!"

"My house, your aunt’s shop—we sold everything to cover your father’s debts! You little bastard, you still have the nerve to talk about splitting the family assets!"

Clark felt as if Colin’s kicks were about to break his ribs. He coughed twice, and the taste of blood filled his mouth.

Seeing that aggression wasn’t working, Clark’s attitude suddenly softened.

He hugged Colin’s leg, crying. "Uncle, I was wrong! I wasn’t in my right mind just now! Please, I’m begging you, at least give me some coal. Otherwise, my mom and I are going to freeze to death..."

Seeing him act like this, Melody sneered. ’This is so typical of a gambling degenerate,’ she thought. ’Completely emotionally volatile.’

Melody spoke up. "They set up a temporary shelter on the 23rd floor. You can go there to get warm. If you need it, just go. You won’t freeze to death."

Hearing this, Clark raised his head and stared daggers at Melody with his bloodshot eyes.

Melody met his gaze without a flicker of concern.

Seeing that neither pleading nor threats were working, Clark suddenly struggled to his feet. In the next instant, he lunged for the coffee table, reaching for the fruit knife in the fruit bowl!

’If I can’t live, then none of them can! I have to get those supplies, no matter what. I have to go back and keep gambling! I have to win it all back!’

But Melody was faster. Before Clark could even touch the knife, Melody snatched up the entire fruit bowl and smashed it over his head.

With a dull THUD and the sound of shattering porcelain, Clark staggered, dizzy and seeing stars.

"AH!" he screamed, clutching his head as blood began to seep through his fingers.

Melody watched him coldly, her eyes devoid of pity. "Clark, I told you before. You chose the hundred pounds of rice and coal. That means from now on, we’re strangers."

"You chose this path. No one is obligated to clean up your mess! Now get out. If you dare cause trouble here again, I won’t hesitate to send you to your grave myself!"

"Get the hell out!" Colin strode forward, grabbed Clark by the arm, and threw him out of the apartment.

******

After being thrown out of 1606, Clark clutched his bleeding forehead and staggered back down to the 11th floor.

He had planned to go straight home, but he found Saul Archer and Jay Lowell waiting for him at his door. The moment they saw him, they grabbed him and dragged him into 1105.

When Saul learned that Clark had failed to bring back the rice and coal, he hit him with two sharp, backhanded slaps. "You little punk," he snarled, "are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

Clark’s head was already injured, and Saul’s slaps made his ears ring and his mind go blank.

He trembled from head to toe, crying and begging, "D-don’t hit me... My grandmother’s place... they really have a lot of supplies... I-I’ll lead you there! You can just break in and take everything they have!"