Chapter 290: A Glimmer of Hope

Sylvia Lancaster mentally rehearsed her story, composed herself, and put on a panicked expression as she ran upstairs to where Robert Lancaster and the others were.

Centered around Silas Lancaster’s room, several adjacent rooms had completely caved in, crashing through the second-story floor.

Surveying the scene, Sylvia thought, ’The result is even better than I’d hoped. It was worth dragging my feverish body up to the roof and struggling for so long...’

Robert Lancaster had cried so hard his high blood pressure flared up. He trembled, groaning on the floor in a dizzy spell.

Silas Lancaster and Elaine Hughes anxiously crowded around Robert Lancaster, trying to give him his blood pressure medication.

When Elaine Hughes saw Sylvia Lancaster run over, she looked up and screamed at her, "You worthless girl! Where the hell have you been? Didn’t you hear this huge commotion? Get over here and help, now!"

Sylvia Lancaster hurried over to help give Robert Lancaster the medicine. Then, they all clumsily managed to carry him to a room.

Robert Lancaster and Elaine Hughes’s room was no longer habitable. While it hadn’t completely collapsed, a hole had cracked open in the top-left corner of the ceiling, and a cold wind was constantly pouring in.

So, they had no choice but to move Robert Lancaster into the guest room next to Simon Lancaster’s, bringing a space heater and quilts from the master bedroom.

Once he was settled, Robert Lancaster lay flat on his back, his eyes shut tight. He groaned continuously, as if enduring immense pain.

Seeing this, Sylvia Lancaster turned and said quietly to Silas Lancaster and Elaine Hughes, "Mom, Silas, why don’t you go rest in Big Brother’s room? I’ll stay here and watch Dad..."

Unexpectedly, the moment the words left Sylvia’s mouth, Elaine Hughes slapped her hard across the face.

Elaine Hughes, frantic and furious, screamed at Sylvia Lancaster, "You jinx! How could you have been shoveling the snow?! Why did the roof collapse? You were slacking off, weren’t you!"

The force of the slap knocked Sylvia Lancaster’s head to the side. She instinctively brought a hand to her stinging cheek.

But this time, she didn’t cry. Nor did she try to defend herself. She simply lifted her head and stared silently at Elaine Hughes.

It was as if Sylvia Lancaster’s cold gaze provoked her, because Elaine Hughes raised her hand and viciously slapped her other cheek.

Another sharp CRACK! echoed through the empty room.

Elaine Hughes’s eyes were bloodshot. Pointing a trembling finger at Sylvia, she shrieked, "You worthless girl! What’s with that look in your eyes? You’re a jinx, a little bitch born from a homewrecker! If you hadn’t been lazy with the snow, none of this would have happened... You—you get the hell out of this house!"

Sylvia Lancaster silently endured Elaine Hughes’s tirade. She lowered her head, saying nothing as boundless hatred festered in her heart.

Seeing this, Silas Lancaster gently tugged on Elaine Hughes’s sleeve and said quietly, "Mom, that’s enough. Let’s wait for Dad to wake up. Yelling here won’t help him recover."

With that, Silas Lancaster forcibly pulled Elaine Hughes out of the room.

Watching their retreating backs, Sylvia Lancaster turned away from Robert Lancaster, a cold smirk playing on her lips.

...

A short while later, Robert Lancaster recovered from his dizzy spell.

He stared blankly at the ceiling, as if he still hadn’t recovered from the shock, muttering, "It’s over... It’s all over... It’s all gone..."

Sylvia Lancaster, who had been standing by his side the whole time, saw that Robert Lancaster was awake and turned to pick up a glass of water from the table.

She brought the water to his side and, lowering her head, said softly, "Dad, are you feeling any better? Let me help you sit up for a drink of water..."

Like a puppet, Robert Lancaster allowed Sylvia Lancaster to help him sit up and lean against the headboard.

However, his gaze remained vacant, still unable to recover from the shock.

Seeing his state, Sylvia decided to add more fuel to the fire. She put on a troubled expression and said, "Dad, nearly half the villa collapsed. It’s affected the entire structure. If we don’t do something, the whole place is at risk of caving in at any moment..."

Upon hearing this, Robert Lancaster’s vision went black, and he nearly fainted again.

He flailed his arms, struggling to grab the nightstand. Then, as if he couldn’t catch his breath, he started coughing uncontrollably. "COUGH, COUGH... COUGH..."

Seeing this, Sylvia rushed over to help him catch his breath. Patting his chest, she comforted him, "Dad, don’t get worked up! You have to hang in there! Big Brother is still unconscious with a high fever. You’re the only pillar of this family! This family is counting on you to hold it all together!"

Robert Lancaster gasped repeatedly, trying to steady his breathing.

He then closed his eyes and said in a weak voice, "J-Just do as you said before. Buy an apartment or... or rent one... Let’s just get out of here first..."

Hearing this, a flicker of disdain flashed through Sylvia Lancaster’s eyes, gone in an instant.

Before the snow started, she had proposed selling the villa to buy an apartment, but Robert Lancaster had been completely against it.

Later, she suggested renting, and he still refused.

’Too late for him to be willing now!’

After news of the blizzard spread, many people wanted to move from lower floors to higher ones, causing the sale prices and rent for high-rise apartments to skyrocket.

The meager amount of money Sylvia Lancaster had simply couldn’t handle that kind of expense.

’Besides, if all my money goes toward buying or renting, what will the family eat? We might not even be able to afford vegetable congee. We’d be stuck eating sand vine cakes!’

’Compared to living such a miserable life, selling Elaine Hughes is a much better bargain!’

So, Sylvia Lancaster said in a troubled tone, "Dad, prices for high-rise apartments have gone up a lot recently. The money I have isn’t enough to buy one. If we use it all for rent, it won’t last long, and then we won’t even be able to afford rice congee."

Hearing this, Robert Lancaster closed his eyes in despair, as if he were simply waiting to die. He muttered, "It’s over... It’s all over..."

Seeing him like this, Sylvia Lancaster knew the time was ripe. Robert Lancaster’s mental defenses were on the verge of collapse.

So, Sylvia Lancaster put on another troubled expression and began hesitantly, "Dad, actually... there’s something I haven’t dared to tell you... There might be someone who can help us solve our current crisis..."

At these words, Robert Lancaster’s tightly shut eyes snapped open. He looked at Sylvia Lancaster in confusion and asked, "What is it?"

As if she could barely bring herself to say it, Sylvia Lancaster stammered, "Oh... On second thought, let’s just forget it... That would never work... Never mind, never mind. We’ll just have to think of something else..."

Seeing her act this way, Robert Lancaster grew anxious. He reached out with a trembling hand, grabbed Sylvia Lancaster, and demanded impatiently, "What is it! Just say it! Are you trying to worry me to death?!"

Seeing this, Sylvia Lancaster feigned difficulty and said, "Dad, I don’t know if you remember... the Simmons family?"

Hearing this, a look of confusion appeared on Robert Lancaster’s face.

He knew of the Simmons family. After the volcanic eruption, Bernard Simmons’s wife, Paige Walsh, developed a cure. She’d been interviewed by the national media countless times, and press coverage was everywhere. The Simmons family was riding a wave of success.

However, the Simmons and Lancaster families had never had much interaction. At most, they would run into each other at banquets and exchange a few pleasantries. He had no idea why Sylvia Lancaster would suddenly mention the Simmons family.

Sylvia Lancaster continued, "I’m good friends with Miss White, the Simmons family’s future daughter-in-law. Miss White contacted me earlier. She said that Mr. Simmons knows about our current predicament and is willing to give us an apartment, plus enough food and supplies to last the winter."

Upon hearing this, a spark of hope instantly ignited in Robert Lancaster’s eyes!