Chapter 66: Shifting the Blame

Joanne nodded eagerly. "That’s right, Melody Summers. I know she’s living in a big villa now. She has everything she could ever want and doesn’t have a care in the world. Her life is great. You should go try to get back together with her."

Seeing Austin’s resolve waver, Joanne pressed on. "Austin, there’s no need to be so hung up on us. You were only with me because I was an only child from the city. You never loved me. Besides, weren’t you the one who fell for Melody Summers at first sight?"

Austin’s eyes darkened. He pressed his lips into a thin line and stared at Joanne, saying nothing.

Seeing her words were having an effect, Joanne continued her persuasion. "Austin, you know what the economy is like these days. On your salary, the two of us have no future together. If you keep forcing this, it will only end badly for both of us."

"Austin, Melody Summers is doing great now, and she’s single. Maybe she still has feelings for you. Instead of wasting your time on me, you should try winning her back."

Joanne knew Austin was cut from the same cloth as her. ’We only ever think about how to maximize our own gains. As long as there’s a glimmer of hope for a better outcome, he won’t push things to the point of mutual destruction.’

Austin just stared silently at Joanne’s stomach, his thoughts unreadable. The two of them stood in a tense standoff.

Joanne nervously gripped her handbag, ready to call for security at any moment.

After a long silence, Austin asked quietly, "Where is Melody Summers now?"

Joanne breathed a sigh of relief. "I only know that she’s living in a villa over at The Metropolis Residences," she answered.

Austin fell silent again for a moment. Finally, he lowered his head, gave Joanne’s stomach one last look, then turned and left without a backward glance.

After Austin left, Joanne let out a long sigh and sagged weakly against the railing.

*

Clara Hayes hadn’t been able to contact Hugh for days. Ever since he’d taken two of his men to teach Melody Summers a lesson, it was as if he had vanished into thin air.

"Answer me! Did you ask Melody Summers to come out or not!?" Clara demanded, grabbing Nina Walsh by the throat and shaking her.

Nearly suffocating, Nina scrambled to break free from Clara’s grip. Gasping for breath, she cried, "I really did tell Melody Summers exactly what you told me to! I don’t know anything else!"

Clara had been frantic with worry for days. She didn’t dare tell her family she had sent Hugh to rough up Melody Summers. Her father, Hector Hayes, had always doted on his youngest son. If anything happened to Hugh because of her, she knew she’d be in deep trouble.

The Hayes Family had combed through all the nearby security footage. It showed Hugh driving near that alley and then never reappearing, as if both he and his car had vanished from the face of the earth. The alley itself was in a remote location, and no one else was seen on any of the nearby cameras.

Now, Clara’s father, Hector Hayes, and her older brother, Raymond Hayes, had dispatched all their men to find Hugh. They’d even called the police.

But as the days dragged on with no word of Hugh, the family grew increasingly frantic.

Clara anxiously twisted the ruby ring on her finger. She and Hugh had grown up together. With her little brother’s mysterious disappearance, she was worried sick and hadn’t slept well in days.

Wendy Sheffield stood off to the side, not daring to make a sound.

Sylvia Lancaster tried to soothe Clara. "Claire, calm down. Melody Summers wasn’t on the security footage, so she probably didn’t dare to show up. And even if she did, she doesn’t have the means to make Hugh and two bodyguards just disappear. This is too strange. What if he just happened to run into one of Mr. Hayes’s old enemies?"

At Sylvia’s words, Clara lowered her head, frowning in thought. The Hayes Family’s business dealings hadn’t always been clean in the early years; they had plenty of enemies. The family’s prevailing theory was that an old foe was responsible—someone must have been tailing Hugh and ambushed him when he went somewhere without cameras.

At this thought, Clara viciously slapped Nina Walsh across the face. She knew it was her own idea and that she couldn’t really blame Nina, but she couldn’t stop herself from lashing out. "This is all your fault! You’re a curse! None of this would have happened if you didn’t know Melody Summers! Your whole family is rotten!"

Nina was stunned by the blow, cluelessly clutching her stinging cheek. ’I’ve been coddled my entire life,’ she thought. ’When have I ever been wronged like this?’

But Nina also knew Clara was an heiress she couldn’t afford to cross. She had gathered that the Hayes Family operated on both sides of the law and were not to be messed with. And now their son was missing, and she was somehow involved...

Nina’s mind was reeling. She felt like she’d been dragged into some serious trouble.

She couldn’t help but resent Melody Summers. ’Melody was the one who provoked these people, so why am I the one getting dragged into it?’

Wendy Sheffield kept her head down, not daring to speak. Sylvia, however, knew this whole affair was her fault. Her mind raced, and she said softly to Clara, "Claire, don’t worry. Only the few of us know about this. As long as we keep our mouths shut, no one will ever know what happened before Hugh went missing."

"His enemies are probably just after money; they might contact your family in a few days. Or maybe Hugh just got bored and took off somewhere for fun on a whim. He might just come back on his own after a little while."

Clara remembered how Hugh had always hated the family’s restrictions, often sneaking off abroad by himself for extreme sports and adventures. For now, she could only cling to that thought for comfort.

After exchanging a few more words, the group dispersed. Sylvia made a point of warning Nina and Wendy not to breathe a word of this to anyone. Both of them nodded eagerly in agreement.

Wendy Sheffield drove Nina home. On the way, she gently consoled her, "Nina, don’t take it to heart. That’s just how these rich girls are."

Wendy was also used to being ordered around by Clara and Sylvia, but she never let it bother her. The benefits she received from them were tangible; Sylvia and Clara often gave her luxury items they no longer wanted, and she would sell them all at consignment shops for a nice sum of cash.

Although Wendy’s father was a low-level official, he worked in a backwater department with a meager salary. Her family had already stretched themselves to the limit to send her to study abroad; they couldn’t afford to give her a more lavish lifestyle.

Wendy was very clear-eyed about her situation. She planned to use her connections with Clara and Sylvia to snag a wealthy heir, get married, and make a true leap in social status.

She had previously set her sights on Sylvia’s older brother, Simon Lancaster, but now that the Lancaster Family was in decline, she was looking for a new target.

Nina nodded. She didn’t have Wendy’s lofty ambitions; she had no illusions about breaking into high society. She thought Wendy’s brother, Winston Sheffield, was already an excellent choice. He had secured a government position at such a young age—his future was surely limitless.

*

The moment Nina got home, her mother, Mindy Walsh, noticed her red and swollen cheek, which was starting to bleed. Clara hadn’t held back at all with that slap, and her nails were long and sharp. Now, Nina’s cheek was severely swollen, with several bloody scratches across it. It looked horrifying.

Mindy Walsh’s face paled. She rushed over, cupping Nina’s face to examine it from every angle. "Sweetheart, what happened to your face?" she asked in a panic. "Did someone hit you!?"

Nina avoided her mother’s eyes. She clearly remembered Sylvia’s warning not to say anything. Her mind was still a mess; she had been thinking the whole way home and couldn’t shake the feeling that she was in way over her head.

Nina could only say instinctively, "I just ran into a bit of trouble with Cousin Melody. It’s fine now."

Mindy was both shocked and furious. "Melody Summers? You saw her today? What gives her the right to lay a hand on you?!"

’Could it be because I tried to play matchmaker for her with Caleb Summers?’ Mindy wondered. ’Did Melody start holding a grudge against our family and decide to take it out on Nina?’