Chapter 463: Chapter 463: A Mother’s Secret
Melody Summers knew this matter was finally over. She had already spoken with Maisie Lynch and Mrs. Vance’s family; if the police needed to investigate further, they could all testify.
In any case, from this day forward, the deaths of Joyce Lawson’s family were officially pinned on Titus Lowell and his two brothers. Joyce Lawson herself was cleared of any wrongdoing, and it wouldn’t tarnish her future.
As for Joyce’s family, Melody felt no sympathy for them. You reap what you sow. Since Joyce’s family had bled their own daughter dry, they had to be prepared for the backlash.
After finishing Melody Summers’s statement, Officer Tanner casually flipped through the registration form in his hands. It was covered in dense handwriting, marking the status of various residents—casualties and survivors.
Seeing this, Melody frowned and asked, "Officer Tanner, have a lot of people died recently?"
Officer Tanner nodded grimly. "While clearing the snow, we recovered over three hundred bodies from the snowdrifts around the apartment buildings..."
Over three hundred lives lost—some to suicide, some to murder. People who couldn’t hold on any longer leaped from their windows; others, running low on supplies, brutally killed their neighbors...
Officer Tanner sighed and continued, "And that’s just the number of people who died out in the snow. Many other residents died inside their own homes... We’ll be going door-to-door these next few days to do a full count and arrange for a collective burial for the deceased."
Hearing Officer Tanner’s words, Melody Summers’s heart grew heavy.
When she was setting up the temporary shelter, Melody had been responsible for notifying over a dozen households. Of those, two entire families had perished. The death rate was shockingly clear.
’If things are this bad at The Metropolis Residences, what must it be like elsewhere?’
’I just hope everyone can recover quickly so they can face the coming storms and floods.’
After seeing Officer Tanner off, Melody Summers was about to close the door when she saw Roman Rhodes and Winnie Summers walking down the hallway, side by side.
Melody was a little surprised. Once they were closer, she asked, "Officer Rhodes, what brings you here?"
’Traffic just got restored. I didn’t expect Officer Rhodes to pay a visit so soon!’
Roman Rhodes smiled at her words. "I brought some people over to take Gene Young and Yvonne York into custody. I was just passing by and wanted to say hello, and also to chat with you a bit more about the case."
Winnie, standing to the side, said nothing. Her expression seemed a little unnatural. She didn’t acknowledge Melody or invite Roman inside, but simply lowered her head and slipped past them into the apartment.
Melody was completely bewildered. ’What’s going on with her?’
While Melody was still puzzling over it, Roman Rhodes suddenly spoke up. "The couple, Gene Young and Yvonne York, have been taken away."
Melody nodded and asked, "What about Noelle Quillan? Is she still in 1501? Noelle was a huge help guarding that couple."
Roman Rhodes replied, "Noelle Quillan was taken in as well, as both a witness and a victim. I looked into it before, and her daughter, Joelle Lawson, has been transferred to a prison in the eastern district. I’ll find a chance to arrange a meeting for them, so you can rest assured."
Hearing Roman say that, Melody finally felt relieved. She thought for a moment, then asked, "I heard from Noelle that there were several other trafficked women locked up on the second floor by that couple..."
Her voice trailed off, unable to bear finishing the sentence.
Roman Rhodes sighed as well and answered in a heavy tone, "We already went to the second floor. Gene Young had four female victims locked up in his home. Unfortunately, none of them survived... I’ve already arranged for people to identify the deceased. We’ll notify their families in due course."
Hearing the expected result, Melody just hummed in response, her spirits sinking.
’She couldn’t even begin to imagine the despair those four women must have felt before they died...’
’That Advent Sect is truly a scourge!’
The thought of the Advent Sect made Melody ask urgently, "Officer Rhodes, did you catch that ’Mr. Caelus’?"
Roman’s expression turned serious as he shook his head. "We arranged raids on the addresses you provided, but unfortunately, we didn’t catch the leader of the Advent Sect."
Melody had previously given Roman all the addresses provided by Noelle Quillan and Joanne White. As soon as the temperatures rose, the police immediately organized a team to arrest "Mr. Caelus," but unfortunately, every location they raided came up empty.
The police captured several high-ranking believers of the Advent Sect, including Austin Hale, but found no trace of "Mr. Caelus."
Hearing Roman say this, Melody’s mood sank even lower.
’I can’t believe that cult leader got away again! A person like that on the loose is a menace to society!’
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Melody...
She looked up at Roman and said with some hesitation, "...I heard that this Mr. Caelus has the ability to see the future... Could it be that his precognitive powers activated, he foresaw that you were going to arrest him, and he hid himself away beforehand?"
Hearing Melody’s words, Roman couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
He looked at Melody with a helpless expression and replied, "What kind of wild things are you thinking about all day? How could something like that be possible? The entire universe is random. How could anyone possibly predict the future?"
Melody thought about it and realized he had a point. If Mr. Caelus really possessed such an incredible power, he wouldn’t have been interested in the paltry sum he could get from Ethan Sutton’s family, nor would he have gone to the trouble of sending Joanne White to them.
It was more likely that he fled in advance either because Gene Young didn’t contact him at the scheduled time, or because he sensed something was off with Joanne White.
Roman Rhodes brushed off his clothes and said to Melody, "Alright, you don’t need to worry too much. The police will handle this. Thank you for the information you’ve provided. I’m heading out now, but feel free to contact me anytime if you discover anything else."
Melody nodded.
With that, Roman pulled a box of medicine from his pocket. He handed it to Melody and said, "I almost forgot. Take this."
’Medicine?’
Melody hesitated for a moment before taking the box. She asked, confused, "...What kind of medicine is this?"
Roman replied, "It’s a fever reducer. There’s a new type of virus going around causing widespread fevers. Your mom is in charge of community work and comes into contact with crowds every day. It’s better for her to keep some on hand, just in case."
Right now, fever reducers were worth their weight in gold. Roman Rhodes was afraid the Summers family wouldn’t be able to buy any, so he had rushed to deliver it to them.
Melody understood now. Many residents at the emergency shelter had come down with fevers before, but they had all recovered after drinking the herbal medicine she prepared.
Later, after the snow in the complex was cleared, Melody gave a large supply of herbal medicine to the property management office. They brewed several huge pots of it and gave it to every resident in the complex, successfully containing the viral outbreak within their community.
Now, hearing what Roman was saying, it seemed the infection hadn’t been contained outside the complex.
’But... if the medicine was for Winnie, why didn’t Roman just give it to her directly a moment ago?’
After seeing Roman Rhodes off, Melody walked back to the living room with the medicine, only to find Winnie Summers sitting on the sofa, staring into space.
Melody was puzzled. She walked over and asked, "Mom, what’s wrong? What are you thinking about?"
Winnie was startled by Melody. She snapped back to her senses and said in a fluster, "N-Nothing..."
This made Melody even more suspicious, and at the same time, a little shocked—
’The sky is falling! My own mother is actually keeping secrets from me!’
