Chapter 185: Counterattack

Officer Rhodes tossed the files in his hands aside, sighed, and said to Melody Summers with a hint of resignation, "Alright, it’s getting late. I just notified your mother and uncle to come pick you up. They should be here by now. Let me walk you out."

Melody Summers quickly waved him off. "I can see myself out, Officer Rhodes. Please, get back to your work."

Roman Rhodes nodded. "Go straight home with your family," he urged, "and don’t wander off! Even though we’ve caught the gang from The Crestview Hotel, there are still other kidnappers out there using the cover of darkness. A young woman like you absolutely, positively must not go out alone for the time being!"

Melody Summers nodded eagerly in agreement.

Just as she reached the door, she suddenly thought of Joelle Lawson and turned back to ask, "Oh, right, what about the girls they kidnapped and forced into prostitution? Will they be looked after properly?"

Officer Rhodes replied, "After we verify their identities, we’ll notify their parents one by one to take them home. For those who have nowhere to go for now, we’ll place them in government emergency shelters."

Melody murmured, "Oh." ’Even though Adam Lawson is dead,’ she thought, ’the police should be able to find Noelle Quillan among the victims. As her mother, Noelle is bound to protect Joelle Lawson. At least Joelle won’t end up homeless.’

’I don’t like Noelle Quillan, the mistress, or her illegitimate daughter, Joelle Lawson, but Adam Lawson was the true culprit here. Now that he’s dead, all debts are paid. The rest of them can just be left to fate.’

Lost in thought, Melody walked on, only to run right into Clara Hayes in a first-floor hallway of the police station. Clara had just been summoned for questioning!

Clara Hayes had been summoned by the police quite suddenly, and she still had no idea what had actually happened at The Crestview Hotel. The police had shown up at her door today and told her to come to the station to cooperate with an investigation into Flynn Adler. She hadn’t even had time to contact her father or brother before following the police here.

Clara had been on edge the entire way. ’Could it really be?’ she wondered, bewildered. ’Am I being summoned by the police just because I had Flynn Adler take a nude video of Nina Walsh and Melody Summers?’

’I’m completely baffled. Hugh and I have done this sort of thing many times before, and we’ve never been summoned by the police. What’s so different this time? Why is this blowing up into such a big deal?’

Now, seeing Melody Summers, Clara grew even more certain of her suspicions.

Inwardly, she cursed Flynn Adler for his incompetence, for actually letting Melody Summers escape to the police. Outwardly, however, she glared at Melody and snarled, "You actually dared to call the police? Aren’t you afraid..."

Clara stopped mid-sentence, glanced at a uniformed officer walking past, and cut herself off. She simply stared at Melody, her eyes full of venom.

Melody Summers knew what Clara was thinking. She also knew that Clara was completely clueless about the real situation. ’It makes sense, though,’ she mused. ’Flynn Adler spent his days at The Crestview Hotel whoring himself to death. There was no way he’d let Clara in on any of it.’

However, what happened at The Crestview Hotel was something the police would tell Clara about later. Right now, Melody only wanted to tell her one other thing...

Melody let out a soft, cold laugh and said in a mocking tone, "Clara Hayes, you always said I stole Sylvia Lancaster’s family, which is why you had to stand up for her, right?"

Looking at Clara’s dark expression, Melody sneered and continued, "If you ask me, you can forget about all that. You’d better focus on standing up for yourself first."

Clara asked, confused, "What’s that supposed to mean? ...What do you mean, ’stand up for myself’?"

Melody nodded. "You’re always going on about how much you hate illegitimate daughters and people who destroy families," she said. "But did you know that Sylvia Lancaster *is* your father’s illegitimate daughter? She’s the biological daughter of your father and Lily Adler!"

Clara’s eyes flew wide. She stared blankly for a few seconds, then screamed in disbelief, "What are you talking about?! That’s impossible!"

Melody watched Clara’s shocked expression with unhurried composure. "Whether I’m spouting nonsense or not," she continued, "you’ll just have to wait and see."

’They’ve even done a paternity test,’ Melody thought. ’Sylvia Lancaster must be looking for an opportunity to confront Hector Hayes. Perhaps Clara throwing a fit at home today will give Sylvia the perfect opening to reveal the truth.’

"Oh, right. There’s one more thing..."

As she spoke, Melody took out her phone and pulled up a file she had backed up from a recording pen. It was an excerpt of her conversation with Flynn Adler in room 1108.

Melody hit play, and her voice and Flynn Adler’s came clearly from the phone’s speaker—

"Flynn Adler, are you coming after me for Clara Hayes, or for Sylvia Lancaster?"

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Wasn’t the baby in Sylvia Lancaster’s belly your child? Now that the baby’s gone, aren’t you sad?"

"How could you know about this? Did Sylvia Lancaster tell you?"

As Clara stared in shock, Melody fanned the flames. "See, Clara Hayes? It wasn’t just your family. Sylvia Lancaster stole your fiancé, too! That baby Sylvia lost? It was Flynn Adler’s."

"So, Clara Hayes, how are you going to stand up for yourself now? I can’t wait to see."

With that, Melody paid no more mind to Clara’s thunderstruck expression, turned on her heel, and walked briskly out of the police station.

Standing in the police station lobby, Melody let out a long sigh. ’In my past life, Clara Hayes constantly accused me of stealing Sylvia Lancaster’s parents, brothers, and fiancé. She made my life difficult at every turn, always looking for trouble. Now, the tables have turned, and Clara is the one having her family and fiancé stolen by Sylvia. The star of this little drama is Clara herself now. I just hope she puts on a good show and doesn’t disappoint.’

Just as she reached the entrance of the police station, someone blocked Melody’s path.

Looking at Nina Summers standing before her, Melody asked with some confusion, "Why haven’t you gone home? Is there something else?"

Nina Summers had just been released after giving her statement. Having survived her ordeal in that den of wolves, her face still showed signs of lingering terror.

Her knit cardigan had been taken off earlier to be used as a gag for Joelle Lawson, so she was now wearing only a thin blouse.

The night air was chilly. Nina felt the cold and wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing them vigorously to try and stay warm.

Under Melody’s questioning gaze, Nina opened her mouth to say something, but then seemed at a loss for words.

Seeing Nina hesitate, Melody frowned. "Where’s your family? Didn’t they come for you?"

Nina Summers shook her head, her gaze dropping to the floor. "M-My dad," she said in a small voice, "he said he’s busy and can’t make it... He told me to find my own way home..."

As the words left her mouth, Nina felt her eyes start to burn. She had asked the police earlier and only then did she learn the truth: during the entire time she was missing, her father, Caleb Summers, hadn’t even filed a report.

For almost two weeks, Nina had endured a living hell at The Crestview Hotel. The only thing that kept her going was the belief that her father would come and save her. But she never imagined that her own father, the man she saw as her savior, hadn’t even bothered to file a missing person’s report.

’If Melody Summers hadn’t come to The Crestview Hotel and called the police,’ Nina thought, ’I’d probably be dead by now...’

On top of that, when Nina had called Caleb Summers just a moment ago to ask for a ride, he had been audibly impatient. He said that Chester Summers wasn’t feeling well, and he was taking him to the hospital. He didn’t have time, so he told Nina to figure out her own way home.

It was so unsafe outside right now, yet Caleb Summers was still telling her to get home on her own...

At the thought, Nina’s lower lip trembled, and she felt the urge to cry all over again.