Chapter 323: Distinguished Guest

Melody Summers glanced at Zara Walsh, then at the bodyguards behind Ronan Rhodes, silently assessing the situation.

She and Ronan Rhodes weren’t very close.

Although Ronan had helped them before on Roman Rhodes’s account, that was the extent of it.

If what Zara Walsh said was true—that her aunt, Kylie Walsh, was about to marry Roman Rhodes—then to Ronan, Zara was clearly the one closer to him.

’People favor those they’re close to,’ Melody Summers thought. ’Ronan Rhodes will most likely help Zara deal with us.’

Melody Summers didn’t want to make an enemy of the Rhodes Family, but if Ronan Rhodes insisted on helping Zara, she wouldn’t back down.

She discreetly slipped her hand into her pocket and took out the "Enchanting Secret Medicine" she had obtained from "The Exchange."

’I can’t just kill people here, but knocking them all out should be fine, right?’

Melody Summers clutched the ping-pong-ball-sized bottle in her palm, ready to handle whatever came next.

Unexpectedly, Ronan Rhodes completely ignored Zara Walsh. He walked anxiously over to Melody Summers and Winnie Summers and asked with a worried expression, "Are you two alright?"

Melody Summers was taken aback for a moment, then shook her head and replied, "We’re fine."

Hearing her say that, Ronan Rhodes finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing Ronan’s reaction, Melody thought he might have misunderstood the situation. She hesitated for a moment before lowering her voice and adding, "...Um, I was the one who slapped Zara Walsh just now, not the other way around."

Ronan simply waved his hand dismissively upon hearing this. "I know," he said, unconcerned. "As long as you’re alright, that’s all that matters."

Then, Ronan turned to face Zara Walsh. Under Zara’s confused gaze, he said, "Miss Walsh, please leave."

As if she hadn’t understood him, Zara’s eyes widened in a daze. "Y-You, what did you say?!" she asked, her face filled with disbelief.

It wasn’t just Zara Walsh; everyone around them was stunned into silence by Ronan’s words—

Ronan Rhodes had just publicly defended an outsider, completely disregarding the pride of the Walsh family’s eldest daughter.

Melody Summers hadn’t expected Ronan to say that either. She squeezed the bottle of medicine in her hand, thought for a second, and then put it back into her space.

Zara Walsh stared intently at Ronan Rhodes’s face, trying to find any hint that he was joking, but his expression was exceptionally grim and serious.

She realized Ronan wasn’t kidding; he genuinely wanted them to leave.

At that, Zara completely lost it.

She pointed at Melody Summers and Winnie Summers, glaring at Ronan with indignation. "Ronan Rhodes, did you not hear what I just said?! This mother-daughter pair hit me! It’s one thing if you won’t stand up for me, but now you’re telling me to leave?!"

Facing Zara’s fury, Ronan said calmly, "Miss Walsh, this is a banquet hosted by Rhodes. And these two women are our honored guests. To ensure the safety of our guests, I must ask you to leave."

Ronan’s tone was level, but it carried an unshakeable resolve.

When Zara heard this, her face instantly flushed as if it were on fire. She couldn’t tell if it was from Melody’s slap or from the humiliation of being put in her place by Ronan.

Humiliated and furious, she abandoned all pretense of decorum and snarled in a hoarse voice, "Ronan Rhodes, are you henpecked?! Are you that scared of your wife? To make her happy, you’d let her poor friend hit me?! I’m going to tell my aunt!"

Ronan just smiled nonchalantly at her words. "Be my guest."

Seeing this, Zara clenched her fists so tightly that her sharp nails dug painfully into her palms.

She turned to look at Melody Summers, rage churning within her—

’This is all Melody Summers’s fault!’

’If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have been humiliated like this!’

Blinded by rage, before anyone could react, Zara stumbled toward Melody Summers in her high heels and raised her hand to slap her.

Melody reacted instantly. She shot her hand up, grabbed Zara’s wrist, and sneered, "You think you can hit me? Go home and practice for a few more years!"

With that, Melody forcefully flung Zara’s arm away.

Seeing this, Ronan waved to the security guards behind him. "Escort Miss Walsh out."

A few tall female security guards stepped forward in response, moving to grab Zara.

Zara had never been treated like this in her life. Seeing the guards approach, she staggered backward in shock.

As one of the female guards was about to grab her arm, Zara shrieked in fury, "Get off me! You watchdogs! What right do you have to touch me? I’m going to find your boss and have him fire all of you!"

The female guards turned a deaf ear to Zara’s screaming.

They quickly subdued her, grabbing her by the arms and "escorting" her out.

Zara struggled relentlessly, kicking at the guards beside her and shouting, "You actually dare to touch me? I’m the eldest daughter of the Walsh family! ...I’ll have you ground into pieces and fed to the dogs!"

Her screams continued to echo down the hallway until she was dragged into the elevator...

After Zara Walsh was gone, Ronan Rhodes’s gaze fell on Supervisor Walsh and Ivan Warren, who were off to the side.

Supervisor Walsh and Ivan Warren hadn’t dared to make a sound since Ronan had appeared. They huddled quietly on the floor like quails, wishing they could turn invisible so Ronan wouldn’t see them.

Supervisor Walsh was so terrified that cold sweat poured down, soaking the back of his suit jacket.

Meanwhile, Ivan Warren was still crying nonstop from the pepper spray. Afraid of making a sound and drawing Ronan’s attention, he had been biting his lower lip so hard that it was now raw and bleeding.

Ronan paid the two no mind, instead turning to Melody Summers and asking, "What exactly happened here?"

Melody Summers recounted the entire incident, starting from when Ivan Warren had harassed Lucy White.

After she finished, Melody removed a button from her chest. The button flipped open to reveal a tiny, flashing red light—it was a disguised micro-camera.

Melody handed the button to Ronan. "I recorded the entire process. This is the evidence."

Ronan took the button and said to Melody, "Rest assured, Rhodes Enterprises will never protect an employee with such poor character. We will handle this with the utmost seriousness."

Hearing this, all the color drained from Supervisor Walsh’s face.

He was filled with immense regret. If he had known Melody Summers was on such good terms with Ronan Rhodes, he never would have offended her for Ivan Warren’s sake!

Despair washed over him. He looked at Melody Summers with a pleading gaze and forced out, "Th-This is all a misunderstanding... Miss Summers, it was all my fault just now. I apologize. Could you please be merciful..."

Melody Summers simply turned her head away.

’Apologizing now? Too late!’

Ivan Warren had also snapped to his senses. Though he didn’t understand why Melody Summers had suddenly become an "honored guest" in Ronan’s eyes, he knew she was definitely not someone he could afford to provoke. He had likely gotten himself into huge trouble this time.

Thinking about how all of tonight’s chaos was his fault, Ivan Warren wished he could travel back in time and give himself a few hard slaps.

If he hadn’t let his lust get the better of him when he saw Lucy White, none of this might have happened, and he wouldn’t have provoked a heavyweight like Ronan Rhodes.

Filled with remorse, he started to crawl toward Melody Summers, his face a mess of tears and snot, wanting to beg for mercy.

But before he could even reach her feet, he was stopped by the security guards Ronan had brought.

Without needing a word from Ronan, the guards flanked Supervisor Walsh and Ivan Warren, and just as they had with Zara, dragged them into the elevator and took them away.

All three of them had been dragged away, leaving only the security guard in black who had deleted the video.

The guard in black had witnessed the entire ordeal and his face had long since turned deathly pale.

Now, feeling everyone’s eyes on him, his legs gave out in fear, and he dropped to his knees with a THUD!

He scrambled toward Melody Summers on his hands and knees, wailing, "Miss Summers, Miss Summers, it was all my fault! I was possessed just now! I shouldn’t have deleted your video!"

"You’re a magnanimous person, please spare me! I have elderly parents and young children to support! I really can’t lose this job!"