Reborn with Nothing but My Farm and Vengeance in the Apocalypse

Chapter 537: Chapter 537

Sensing the clear hostility in Officer Hopper’s words, Melody Summers couldn’t help but frown.

She felt a prickle of discomfort, but considering he was a police officer, she did her best to suppress her dissatisfaction and tried to reason with him. "Officer, this ’poor child’ you keep mentioning stabbed my sister not long ago! We can’t have someone that dangerous in our home. I hope you can understand."

Officer Hopper was taken aback. He looked at Howard Fletcher with suspicion and asked, "Is what she’s saying true? Did you stab them with a knife?"

Officer Hopper was skeptical of Melody Summers’s words. After all, Howard Fletcher was so young and seemed so quiet and obedient. ’How could he possibly stab someone? It’s probably just an excuse Melody Summers came up with to shirk her responsibility.’

Under Officer Hopper’s gaze, Howard Fletcher didn’t say a word in his own defense. He simply shook his head with an air of innocent confusion, his characteristically doe-like eyes misting over. He looked utterly heartbroken and wronged.

Seeing Howard Fletcher like this, Officer Hopper’s heart softened even more. He had always wanted a son, but his wife had only given him two daughters. This was why he was particularly fond of boys Howard’s age, and seeing the child now, his heart truly ached for him.

So he narrowed his eyes at Melody Summers and asked coldly, "You said he stabbed you. Did you report it to the police at the time? Do you have a copy of the report?"

Melody Summers was taken aback. ’We really don’t...’

The situation at the time had been chaotic. Although Howard Fletcher had stabbed Nina Summers, Nina had also smashed Caleb Summers over the head. Afterward, Melody Summers had even hit Howard hard in the temple with her phone, knocking him out cold.

Howard Fletcher was too young, and looking back, Melody Summers felt she wasn’t entirely in the right either, so she had chosen not to call the police.

Besides, Nina Summers’s wound had already healed after she took the "S Level Far Sea Secret Medicine," and now there wasn’t even a scar.

Since Melody Summers couldn’t produce any evidence, Officer Hopper became even more convinced that she was lying to evade her responsibility.

He looked at Melody Summers with disapproval and said sternly, "If you don’t have any evidence, then don’t make baseless accusations! You’re an adult. You shouldn’t be slandering a child!"

The disapproval in Officer Hopper’s voice was obvious. At this point, his disgust for the family before him had reached its peak.

’Howard Fletcher is so pitiable, but his sister is a vicious, unreasonable woman who makes all sorts of excuses to avoid taking care of her own brother. All she cares about is enjoying her life in a villa. And don’t even get me started on the so-called grandmother, who still refuses to show her face!’

Officer Hopper’s brow furrowed tightly. He looked at Melody Summers and the other two and said in a low, stern voice, "Regardless, your family must take responsibility for this child’s care. Otherwise, you could be charged with abandonment! I’ll put all of you on the blacklist!"

"If you’re on the blacklist, you won’t be able to collect disaster relief food and supplies, and you can forget about finding a job. You need to think this through carefully!"

Melody Summers couldn’t take it anymore. She stopped caring that he was a police officer and shot back, "Have we murdered someone? Robbed someone? What gives you the right to put me on a blacklist? What law says you get blacklisted for not wanting to take in someone else’s son?"

Her own anger was now ignited. ’No matter what this Officer Hopper says, taking in Howard Fletcher is out of the question. I will absolutely not agree to let such a dangerous child into my home!’

Seeing that Melody Summers actually dared to talk back to him, Officer Hopper’s anger flared.

He pulled out his baton, pointed it at Melody Summers, and snarled, "What is this attitude! I’m warning you, I have a pile of unresolved cases to deal with. I don’t have time to waste on you people! Your family had better cooperate!"

Melody Summers let out a cold laugh. She took two steps forward, positioning herself between Officer Hopper and Howard Fletcher, and gestured for Grace Sutton and Nina Summers to go inside.

Once Grace Sutton and Nina Summers were inside, Melody Summers turned to Officer Hopper and said coolly, "Cooperation is out of the question, Officer. This villa is in my name, and I’m the one who calls the shots here. If you want to punish someone, you can come after me and me alone."

"Whether you want to put me on the blacklist or detain me, I’ll accept it. But as for taking in Howard Fletcher—impossible!"

As she spoke, Melody Summers slipped a hand into her pocket. Mindful of his status as a police officer, she didn’t pull out her gun. Instead, she quietly gripped a vial of knockout drugs from her inventory in her palm, just in case.

’I know that if I let Howard Fletcher stay today, it’ll be that much harder to get rid of him later,’ Melody Summers thought. ’If Officer Hopper tries to force his way into the villa with him, I’ll have no choice but to risk assaulting an officer.’

Officer Hopper’s frown was so deep you could have crushed a fly between his brows. ’I can’t believe this woman won’t even listen to a police officer!’

His talk about the blacklist had just been a bluff. Refusing to take in one’s uncle’s adopted son was nowhere near grounds for being blacklisted.

He’d thought a young woman like her would be thin-skinned and would back down after a simple threat. Who could have guessed she’d be such a hard case?

Now Melody Summers was refusing to cooperate, even calling his bluff on detaining her. She was acting completely defiant, as if she had nothing to lose, and for a moment, he truly didn’t know what to do with her.

Seeing that Officer Hopper remained silent with a grim expression, without trying to force his way in or swinging his baton, Melody Summers’s tense expression eased slightly.

’Looks like I was right,’ she thought. ’This Officer Hopper is all bark and no bite. He’s a legitimate officer, after all; he wouldn’t dare do anything too reckless.’

With this in mind, Melody Summers pointed at Howard Fletcher and said, "Officer Hopper, it’s a fact that he stabbed my sister. We can’t live peacefully with him under the same roof, and we certainly can’t take good care of him. If you were to force him on us, you wouldn’t be able to rest easy either, right?"

The corner of Officer Hopper’s mouth twitched. ’She’s right. Given the Summers family’s unyielding attitude, the kid definitely wouldn’t have an easy time if he stayed here. He might even be abused by them!’

Melody Summers continued, "Instead of having him suffer here with us, it would be better to turn him over to the state for care. Or..."

A crafty glint appeared in Melody Summers’s eyes as she added suggestively, "Or, if you feel that sorry for him, you could always take him home with you!"

Without waiting for Officer Hopper’s reaction, Melody Summers turned, walked into the villa, and shut the door with a SLAM.

Watching the villa door shut in his face, Officer Hopper was both furious and helpless. He could only curse them viciously in his mind.

He took a deep breath, turned to Howard Fletcher, and said with a frown, "You saw for yourself. They won’t take you in. I’ll have to take you to the shelter."

There were no other options. It wasn’t like Officer Hopper could take Howard Fletcher home himself—his entire family was currently squeezed into a two-bedroom apartment with seven or eight other people. How could he possibly take in another person?

The thought that he had wasted his entire morning for nothing left Officer Hopper feeling utterly frustrated.

But just then, he heard a woman’s voice from behind him. "I can’t believe it. The Summers family won’t even take care of their own nephew. That’s just cruel!"

Officer Hopper turned to see a woman in sunglasses and high heels emerging from the house next door.