Reborn with Nothing but My Farm and Vengeance in the Apocalypse

Chapter 540: Chapter 540: Another Victim

Nina Summers’s words hit them like a ton of bricks, leaving Melody Summers and Grace Sutton stunned.

It was true... Why was Howard Fletcher the sole survivor every single time?

It happened the first time, and now it had happened again.

It was too much of a coincidence—so much so that it felt unnatural.

Melody Summers couldn’t help but recall the group chat message she’d seen before. It said that all of Howard Fletcher’s family had died during the deep freeze. The cause of death was unknown, but after an inspection, the police suspected they had killed each other over a lack of resources.

Too many people had died during that deep freeze for the police to investigate every death thoroughly. They simply conducted a basic investigation before taking the bodies for burial.

’But if they really killed each other over resources, how did Howard Fletcher survive? Could a child like him really fight off adults?’

’Even if he got lucky and escaped that time, what about this time? Was it luck again?’

’...That’s just too much of a coincidence...’

Remembering her previous interactions with Zoe Kane, Grace Sutton frowned. "Even if Caleb’s drowning was real, what about Zoe Kane? Why would she kill herself and take her own son with her? How could she possibly bring herself to do it..."

Grace Sutton found it completely unbelievable. As a mother herself, she simply couldn’t imagine any mother harming her own two-year-old child.

Nina Summers, who was standing to the side, nodded in agreement. "I find it strange too! Zoe Kane didn’t seem like the type to commit suicide at all..."

Nina Summers could tell that Zoe Kane wasn’t that in love with Caleb Summers. Why would she kill herself out of grief for him?

And even if she did, why did she only take Chester Summers with her and not Howard Fletcher?

The whole thing had an illogical, eerie feeling to it...

Recalling how Howard Fletcher had touched her chest while she was asleep, Nina Summers bit her lower lip and said hesitantly, "...Do you think... maybe... Howard did it? Maybe he waited until everyone was asleep..."

Grace Sutton was startled by her words and stammered, "Th-that can’t be right... That Howard kid looks like he’s not even ten. How could a child that young dare to kill someone..."

"Why wouldn’t he dare?" Melody Summers cut Grace Sutton off, reminding her, "Aunt Grace, have you forgotten? The last time their family of four came to visit, Howard stabbed Nina with a knife..."

Thinking back on it now, the way Howard had held the knife and stabbed with it had been surprisingly skilled. He had used a lot of force, too—not at all how a child who had never held a knife before should act.

Hearing Melody Summers’s words, Grace Sutton also recalled the scene. Her heart leaped into her throat—

’If it really was Howard... If he was really the one who did it...’

Melody Summers continued, "Perhaps... back during the snow, he felt the family’s stored resources weren’t enough, so he killed everyone else, including his mother, to have the resources for himself."

"After the blizzard ended, he was adopted by the wealthier Caleb Summers’s family. It was an unexpected boon, and he killed two birds with one stone."

"After Caleb Summers drowned, he probably felt he wouldn’t have a good life with just Zoe Kane. Since he’d been fostered before, he knew that if Zoe died, he’d have a chance to come to us. So he killed Zoe Kane and Chester Summers, forcing the police to send him to us because he wanted to live in our house..."

Listening to Melody Summers’s analysis, Grace Sutton’s hands began to tremble uncontrollably. If Melody’s theories were true, then Howard Fletcher already had six lives on his hands!

That was too terrifying!

He was a monster! A demon who specifically killed the relatives who took him in!

A chill spread from her back through her entire body. Grace Sutton shivered and said hesitantly, "...If it’s really him... shouldn’t we call the police...?"

"Let’s not, Aunt Grace." Melody Summers shook her head. "This is all just our speculation; we don’t have any proof. Besides, things are chaotic enough as it is. We should just lock our doors and live our lives quietly. Why get involved in other people’s business?"

Grace Sutton nodded at her words. She thought Melody had a point. In times like these, it was better to cause less trouble than more. Meddling too much could easily bring disaster upon themselves. It was best not to get involved!

***

As if to confirm their suspicions, trouble erupted outside early the next morning.

Hearing a cacophony of ambulance and police sirens outside, Grace Sutton and Melody Summers couldn’t resist. They threw on their raincoats and ran out to see what was happening.

They weren’t prepared for what they saw—

The incident was at their next-door neighbor’s!

Seeing paramedics carry a stretcher covered with a white sheet out of the Walsh Villa, Grace Sutton gasped in horror. "Wh-what’s happened... Is... is someone dead?!"

Melody Summers hesitated for a moment before grabbing a bystander and asking, "Excuse me, do you know what happened?"

The person Melody grabbed was the same nanny who had pinned Howard Fletcher to the floor the day before. She seemed to be in deep shock, her gaze unfocused as she muttered, "...Blood... so much blood... The young miss... The young miss’s head... it came off..."

"What?!" Melody’s eyes widened. She pressed urgently, "The young miss you’re talking about is Zara Walsh?! Something happened to her?!"

The nanny’s hands were clenched tightly, as if she couldn’t recover from the shock. Under Melody Summers’s patient questioning, she incoherently recounted everything she had just seen.

Earlier that morning, the nanny had grown suspicious when Zara Walsh didn’t come down for breakfast. Ever since Zara had returned from prison, her routine had become very regular: early to bed, early to rise, and meals at set times.

Fearing something was wrong, the nanny went to Zara’s room to check on her. But as soon as she opened the door, she was met with a horrifying sight—

Zara Walsh was lying naked on the bed. A ring of flesh had been carved from her neck, and her head was lolling to one side at an extremely bizarre angle. It was almost completely severed from her body, connected only by a piece of her spine.

There was blood all over Zara, the bed, and the floor—all of it dried and blackened.

The scene was so terrifying that the nanny was scared out of her wits and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Her scream brought others in the villa running. When Kylie Walsh saw the gruesome state of her niece, she fainted on the spot. After the initial shock, the others hurriedly called the police.

An ambulance arrived along with the police. It took the unconscious Kylie Walsh away. As for Zara Walsh—anyone with eyes could see that there was no point in attempting a rescue...

Listening to the nanny’s story, Melody Summers found it incredible—’Zara Walsh is dead?!’

’The Walsh Villa has plenty of bodyguards and nannies. Who could have possibly had the skill to sneak into the villa and kill Zara?!’