Reborn with Nothing but My Farm and Vengeance in the Apocalypse

Chapter 548: Chapter 548: An Acquaintance

Joy Jennings had barely finished speaking when Carter Jennings flatly rejected her proposal.

Recalling the disgraceful state Robert Lancaster and Elaine Hughes were in just moments ago, he shook his head. "There’s something you don’t know. That Elaine Hughes who married into the Lancaster Family was born to the first wife. She and our aunt are half-sisters, same father..."

"There have long been rumors in Kyodo that our aunt’s mother was killed by that first wife. If you bring Elaine Hughes before our aunt, you’re just going to upset her, aren’t you?"

If it weren’t for this, Carter Jennings wouldn’t have let Melody Summers take Elaine Hughes and Robert Lancaster away. They weren’t full sisters, so who knew what our aunt would think upon seeing Elaine Hughes, this half-sister of hers?

The daughter of the first wife and the daughter of a mistress—what kind of sisterly bond could possibly exist between them?

They’d be lucky if they didn’t kill each other.

Thinking of this, Carter Jennings warned Joy again, "Alright, don’t mention Elaine Hughes in front of our aunt, lest you make her unhappy. Our uncle has taken a liking to her. As long as things are smooth on her end, our uncle can focus on his research."

Carter Jennings’s gaze darkened. He glanced up at the hospital floor plan taped to the wall and said in a low voice, "The family has already invested more than half of its fortune into this. It all comes down to this one shot... There can be absolutely no mistakes with our uncle’s research."

Hearing this, Joy Jennings’s smile faded. She nodded and replied, "Don’t worry, I understand all of this. I was the one who personally delivered the clinical data on the Tricolor Parasitoid Wasp to Yuri Walsh. There won’t be any problems."

...

******

Meanwhile, Melody Summers led Robert Lancaster and Elaine Hughes out of the medical center and back toward The Metropolis Residences.

Melody was silent the entire way, but her expression grew increasingly grim.

The reason was simple—Elaine Hughes, trailing behind her, would not stop blathering on.

"Oh, sweetheart, I knew it. You have the softest heart. You wouldn’t just abandon your father and me..."

"Sweetheart, your father and I were wrong in the past, but we were just deceived by that Sylvia Lancaster. We see clearly now. If they’re not our own blood, they can’t be tamed. That Sylvia Lancaster is just a bitch! She’s not our daughter anymore. You’re the one who’s truly our precious daughter..."

"Sweetheart, your older brother and Xiao Yuan were both killed. You’re our only hope now. We only have you left. From now on, the three of us will live a good life together. Everything will be okay..."

"Sweetheart, we know you’ve suffered a lot in the past. We’ll slowly make it up to you from now on..."

"..."

With every word Elaine Hughes spoke, Melody Summers’s expression darkened another shade.

’The moment I remember that this chattering woman behind me is the one who drugged me in my past life, I can’t stop myself from wanting to twist her head off!’

If not for the people coming and going on this road, and the ambulances rushing the injured to the medical center, she really would have finished the couple off right then and there.

But Elaine Hughes was completely clueless, still rambling on. "Sweetheart, why are you so thin? It breaks my heart to see. Was your adoptive mother not good to you? ...Sigh, I knew it. An adoptive mother is just an adoptive mother, after all. Not your real one. How could she possibly take good care of you..."

"But don’t you worry. When we live together, I’ll cook delicious food for you every day. I’ll definitely fatten you up nice and plump..."

"Shut up!" Melody Summers couldn’t take it anymore and cut Elaine Hughes off. Frowning, she spat, "Who the hell do you think you are to criticize my mom? Have I been too nice to you or something?!"

Elaine Hughes was stunned by Melody’s words. When she recovered, her eyes immediately reddened, and she said with a face full of grievance, "...Sweetheart, how can you talk like that...? I’m your real mother..."

Melody Summers rolled her eyes. ’Real mother?’

’Maybe the Elaine Hughes of this lifetime has some right to say that, but the one from my past life? What right did she have? She gave birth to me, but she also killed me. How dare she bring any of this up?’

Melody Summers stared coldly at Elaine Hughes without a word, and Elaine didn’t dare to make another sound. In her mind, however, she cursed Winnie Summers. ’That shameless woman! What right does she have to steal someone else’s daughter?!’

’She and Melody Summers were the real mother and daughter, bound by blood! What right did this Winnie Summers have to take her place?!’

’She wouldn’t accept it! She really, truly wouldn’t accept it!’

Elaine Hughes was filled with jealousy and sorrow, but she said no more. Robert Lancaster, with his twisted face and skewed eyes, struggled just to walk, let alone speak. The three of them continued on in silence.

After a while, Elaine Hughes suddenly realized they weren’t heading toward the Summers Villa. After much hesitation, she finally asked Melody, "...Sweetheart, where are you taking us? ...This doesn’t seem to be the way to the villa..."

Hearing this, Melody Summers couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter. ’Elaine Hughes and Robert Lancaster still think they can move into her villa?’

’Are they worthy?’

Melody Summers didn’t answer Elaine Hughes’s question, simply saying in a cold voice, "Don’t ask questions. Just follow me."

Elaine Hughes didn’t dare say anything more and could only continue following Melody. ’She didn’t dare make any excessive demands now. She was afraid that if Melody got angry and abandoned her, she and Robert would have to go back to living in the underground garage...’

The thought of the current state of the underground garage made Elaine Hughes shudder. ’She really didn’t want to go back to that nightmarish place. It was filthy and chaotic. Every day, people would bash each other’s heads in over a scrap of food, and some men had wandering hands, groping her all over in the dark...’

’Anywhere is fine, as long as it’s not the underground garage!’

’The most important thing right now is to find a place to stay first. At worst, she could just slowly win Melody over later. Melody had always been soft-hearted. In their last life, she took care of the Lancasters for three years without complaint. In this life, as long as they treated her well, she would eventually bring them to live in the villa!’

The three of them walked onward in silence, cutting across the villa district. What they didn’t notice was that as they passed one of the villas, a woman in a cheongsam was watching them quietly from a second-floor balcony.

The woman’s slender frame seemed somewhat frail, and the misty-blue cheongsam she wore added to her delicate air. On her wrist was a dark green jadeite bracelet, around her neck hung a white-and-green jade pendant, and she held a scroll in her hand. She looked like a lady from a noble family who had stepped right out of an old photograph.

She was staring, lost in thought, at the figures of Melody and her companions below when the bedroom door behind her was suddenly pushed open.

Joy Jennings walked in with a maid carrying a bowl of ginseng soup. Seeing the woman by the window, the maid started in surprise and quickly said, "Madam, why are you standing here? It’s still raining outside. You’re so frail, please be careful not to catch a cold!"

Cindy Hughes smiled faintly at her words and said gently, "I’m fine. I just thought I saw someone I knew, so I took a longer look... But I was probably mistaken..."

Hearing this, Joy Jennings smiled and said, "Auntie, I heard from our uncle that you’ve lived in Kyodo your whole life. I didn’t expect you to have acquaintances here in Anworth."