Chapter 378

To Kylie Walsh’s surprise, her older brother, who usually doted on and spoiled her, was acting completely out of character.

Instead of comforting Kylie in his usual gentle tone, Shane Walsh impatiently shook off her hand.

His face was full of displeasure as he bellowed at Kylie, "That’s enough! Stop making a scene! Seafood this, seafood that? You’re still thinking about buying seafood at a time like this? The family’s in this state, and Zara is still in prison. You—just give it a rest!"

Shane Walsh’s face was grim, and his eyes held a coldness that Kylie Walsh had never seen before.

Kylie was startled by Shane’s reaction. Her eyes widened as she stared at her brother in disbelief—

Ever since they were children, he had been the one who doted on her most. No matter what she did wrong or how much trouble she caused, her big brother would always tolerate and forgive her.

But now, he was treating her like this!

Kylie Walsh couldn’t take it, and tears immediately started to fall.

She was so upset she didn’t even care that her nephew was right there. She yelled directly at Shane Walsh, "H-how could you say that! I just got yelled at by some seafood seller, and now you’re yelling at me too?! Is this how a big brother is supposed to act?! You’ve gone too far!"

Feeling deeply wronged, Kylie Walsh threw all decorum to the wind, pushed open the door to the presidential suite, and ran out.

Watching Kylie run out, Yuri Walsh frowned slightly and said to Shane Walsh with some concern, "Dad, I’ll go get Aunt back."

Shane Walsh pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and stopped Yuri, who was about to leave. "Don’t worry about it. Just let her go. She’s a woman in her thirties, not a teenage girl. She can’t keep being so willful every day! If this goes on, she’s going to cause some real trouble sooner or later!"

Shane Walsh let out a deep sigh, his face a mask of exhaustion and irritation.

He was in no mood to deal with his sister, Kylie.

Just the thought of his daughter, Zara, still in prison made his heart ache.

What was worse, the incident had thrown the Walsh Hospital into the eye of a public storm online, and its reputation was severely damaged.

Netizens were saying that a family that could raise a daughter like Zara, who had such a blatant disregard for human life, couldn’t be any good themselves. They began to boycott Walsh Hospital.

Seeing the situation, many shareholders pulled their investments, dealing a heavy blow to the hospital’s cash flow.

To make matters worse, the heavy snow had blocked the roads and paralyzed traffic for days. Problems were piling up one after another, which, for the hospital, was like pouring salt on a wound.

Shane Walsh felt as if he had been trapped in an inescapable nightmare for the past few days, where everything had become incredibly difficult.

He slowly sank onto the sofa and sighed helplessly.

After a moment of contemplation, he said to Yuri with a grim face, "Look into your connections with the prison guards again. The weather is getting colder by the day. We need to send your sister more warm things."

Yuri Walsh nodded. "Dad, don’t worry. They took the money and promised to take good care of her."

Shane Walsh nodded and grunted in acknowledgment, but his expression remained grim.

The father and son sat in silence, looking at each other without a word. After a moment, Shane Walsh suddenly spoke up. "How have things been between you and Joy Jennings recently? If you feel you’re a good match, you might as well settle things soon!"

Walsh Hospital was at a low point, its cash flow precarious. Yet the hospital’s daily expenses were astronomical—procuring medicine, maintaining equipment, paying the medical staff’s salaries... Every single item cost a fortune.

Shane Walsh hoped Yuri would solidify his relationship with Joy Jennings, the heiress of the Nimbus Hotel, as soon as possible so they could use the connection to inject some much-needed capital into the hospital.

Faced with Shane Walsh’s expectant gaze, Yuri Walsh felt a little uncomfortable and subconsciously avoided his father’s eyes.

He knew Joy Jennings was a good person, outstanding even, but he just couldn’t bring himself to like her.

Lately, whenever he closed his eyes, all he could see were Melody Summers’ smiling eyes under the streetlight.

Seeing Yuri’s uncomfortable expression, Shane Walsh assumed that things weren’t going well between him and Joy Jennings.

So, Shane said to Yuri in a serious, heartfelt tone, "Son, you need to understand our priorities. Right now, the most important thing for our family is the hospital. Nothing else matters. As long as you get engaged to Joy Jennings, we’ll gain the support of the Jennings Family’s connections and capital..."

Yuri fell silent for a moment before suddenly speaking up. "Dad, I know what you mean, but I really don’t have feelings for Joy... And I don’t want to deceive her for the sake of profit..."

Shane waved a dismissive hand. "Feelings can be cultivated over time!" he retorted nonchalantly. "Besides, in a marriage between wealthy families, feelings are often the least important thing!"

Seeing that Yuri wanted to say more, Shane cut him off. "That’s enough, don’t say another word! Your sister is already in this situation. You’re the only one the Walsh Family can count on in this generation..."

"Son, in the future, the burden of the entire family will rest on your shoulders. You need to think this through carefully... Don’t make the wrong choice!"

Hearing his father’s words, Yuri ultimately didn’t argue. He could only hang his head and let out a low "Mm..."

Back in his room, Yuri Walsh stood alone by the window for a long time. He gazed quietly outside, his thoughts drifting with the falling snow.

After a moment of silence, as if possessed, he took out his phone. His fingers slid lightly across the screen until he found Melody Summers’ number.

After a moment’s hesitation, he finally summoned his courage and pressed the call button...

* * *

After spending the whole afternoon catching fish, Melody Summers was covered in the smell of seafood. She immediately went to take a shower after leaving her "space."

Just as she was drying her hair, her phone suddenly rang.

Melody picked up her phone and saw it was an unknown number. Not bothering to answer, she hung up and blocked it.

After drying her hair and changing her clothes, Melody walked cheerfully into the kitchen, where she found the whole family gathered around the box of seafood, sorting through it.

Seeing Melody come in, Grace Sutton quickly called out, "You’re finally awake! Quick, come over here! Officer Rhodes bought us a box of seafood. It was just delivered, and everything’s still alive and kicking!"

Whenever Melody locked herself in her room, her family just assumed she was sleeping, so no one ever disturbed her.

Melody Summers was taken aback by Grace Sutton’s words and blurted out, "Officer Rhodes bought it?"

’Didn’t Sophie Thorne buy this seafood? Why is it Officer Rhodes now?’

Grace Sutton smiled and nodded. "That’s right. Your mom called me just now and said Officer Rhodes had someone deliver a box of seafood and told me to open the door to get it."

Grace Sutton hadn’t believed it at first. With the snow so thick outside and the roads all blocked, how could anyone possibly make a delivery?

But to her surprise, when she opened the door, there was really a box of seafood on the doorstep!

Even Grace Sutton herself found it incredible!

Although Melody Summers was still completely bewildered, she didn’t dwell on it. ’As long as the family gets to eat delicious seafood, it doesn’t matter who sent it!’

The family sorted through the catch, separating the different types of fish and shrimp into several basins.

As Grace Sutton sorted, she exclaimed, "These shrimp are huge!"

Miss Lowell, who was helping, added, "This ribbonfish is excellent too. The meat is two fingers thick. You rarely see quality like this."

Hearing her family’s praise, Melody Summers broke into a happy smile. She thought to herself, ’Of course they are! I hand-picked every single one of these from over a thousand pounds of seafood! They’re the absolute best of the best!’

Before long, the seafood was all sorted. The fish and shrimp filled eight basins, almost overflowing the countertop.

Looking at the pile of seafood, her grandmother said worriedly, "Rhodes bought so much, there’s no way our family can eat all of this... I see these two fish are still moving. I wonder if we can keep them."

Miss Lowell shook her head. "They’re all saltwater fish. They won’t survive in fresh water. We can put whatever we can’t eat on the balcony to freeze."

The family picked out three basins of shrimp and crab to steam, and the rest were placed on the balcony to freeze.

In the low temperatures, the seafood would stay fresh for a week.