Reborn with Nothing but My Farm and Vengeance in the Apocalypse

Chapter 549: Chapter 549: How Could You Be Reborn?

Cindy Hughes paused for a moment, then smiled faintly. "I must have been mistaken," she replied in a soft, delicate voice.

Joy Jennings didn’t press the issue. After a bit more small talk, she made a suggestion. "Auntie, since you’ve just arrived in Anworth and don’t have many relatives or friends here, you must be bored, right? There’s a party at the end of the month. Why don’t you come along?"

Cindy Hughes opened her mouth as if to say something, but as soon as she began, her brow creased, and she couldn’t stop herself from covering her mouth and coughing.

"COUGH COUGH, COUGH COUGH..."

After a few coughs, Cindy Hughes sighed with a look of resignation. "Joy, thank you for the invitation, but I’m afraid I haven’t been feeling well lately, so I’ll have to pass."

The moment she finished speaking, Cindy Hughes clutched her chest and began to cough again, this time in short, sporadic bursts.

Joy Jennings patted Cindy Hughes’s back to help her catch her breath, marveling to herself. ’I knew my aunt’s health was poor, but I never expected it to be this bad!’

’She can barely say a few words without coughing for several minutes. She’s like a porcelain doll; a single gust of wind could shatter her!’

Given the circumstances, Joy Jennings had no choice but to drop the idea of inviting Cindy Hughes to the party. If something were to happen to her while she was out, Joy couldn’t bear the responsibility.

Joy Jennings chatted with Cindy Hughes for a little while longer before getting up to take her leave.

After Joy Jennings left, Cindy Hughes glanced at the housekeeper beside her and asked with feigned casualness, "I hear... you used to work for the Walsh family?"

"Yes, ma’am," the housekeeper replied respectfully. Assuming Cindy Hughes was interested in the Walsh family, she added, "I used to work for them. It’s quite a coincidence, actually. The young master of the Walsh family is engaged to our Miss Joy."

Cindy Hughes nodded. "Since you’re from Anworth and have worked for many wealthy families, you must be quite familiar with the city’s high society, right?"

The housekeeper slapped her thigh with a grin. "Oh, you bet, ma’am! To be honest, I’ve been a housekeeper in Anworth for over twenty years. I’ve worked for so many wealthy families, I couldn’t be more familiar with it all!"

Cindy Hughes gave a faint smile, then lifted her bowl and took a delicate sip of ginseng soup.

After a long moment, she set down the white porcelain bowl, looked up at the housekeeper, and said softly, "I’ve heard... there’s a family in Anworth, the Lancasters, who are in the tourism business. I wonder, have you ever heard of them...?"

...

******

Meanwhile, Melody Summers led Robert Lancaster and Elaine Hughes to Apartment 1603 in Building 4.

This was the same apartment Melody had rented to Titus Lowell and his brothers. Leopold Lowell, one of the brothers, had died right here. Disgusted by the fact that someone had died in it, Melody hadn’t returned since the day she’d dealt with them.

A fine layer of dust coated everything. The apartment had been vacant for a long time, and the lack of inhabitants combined with the gloomy, rainy weather had left a heavy, musty odor in the air.

But Robert Lancaster and Elaine Hughes were in no position to be picky. They wandered through the apartment with delight, their eyes shining with something that looked like hope.

Compared to the low-income housing and the underground parking garage they had been living in, this apartment was practically paradise.

Elaine Hughes ran a hand over the soft sofa, her heart swelling with emotion. ’Our miserable days are finally over! Things are finally looking up!’

At this thought, she looked up at Melody Summers, her face beaming. "Daughter, this is a nice place you have. It’s a little small, but it’s just right for your father and me... Oh, by the way, we haven’t eaten all day. Hurry up and get us something to eat..."

Before Elaine Hughes could finish, Melody Summers cut her off. "This apartment isn’t for you to live in."

Robert Lancaster and Elaine Hughes froze. They exchanged a look before Elaine Hughes asked, her expression full of confusion, "...We’re not staying here? Then why did you bring us..."

Melody Summers swept her gaze over Elaine Hughes and Robert Lancaster. "Someone died in this apartment before," she said nonchalantly. "I think it’s a fitting place to get rid of you two."

The moment Melody Summers finished speaking, the expressions on Robert Lancaster and Elaine Hughes’s faces froze solid.

Elaine Hughes seemed completely bewildered. Robert Lancaster, however, tremblingly raised a hand to wipe the drool from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with terrified apprehension.

After a long pause, Elaine Hughes forced a smile. "Daughter... y-you shouldn’t scare Mom and Dad like that," she stammered. "H-how could you make that kind of joke? We’re your real parents..."

"Who’s joking?" Melody Summers stared coldly at Elaine Hughes and said in a low, heavy voice, "When you abused and tormented me in our past life, did you ever stop to think that you were my real parents?"

Melody’s words struck them like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky, stunning them to their very souls. The couple stood frozen, staring at her in utter astonishment.

Seeing their reaction, Melody scoffed. "What’s with the act? You were reborn too, weren’t you?" she said coldly. "What, did the process scramble your brains? Don’t you remember drugging me in our past life and handing me over to a strange man to be violated?"

Hearing Melody’s words, Robert Lancaster was so shocked he forgot to wipe his mouth. He let the drool drip onto his shirt, staring blankly at his daughter.

A few days prior, he had fainted from the shock of seeing the bodies of Simon Lancaster and Silas Lancaster. When he awoke, it was as if a whole new set of memories had been inserted into his brain.

The two sets of memories were vastly different, yet they swirled in his mind simultaneously, making it impossible for him to distinguish what was real from what was not.

One moment, he was the revered President Lancaster, who had led the Lancaster family back to the pinnacle of success. The next, he was a refugee living in a parking garage, the Lancaster family long since destroyed with no hope of recovery.

For the past few days, this stark contrast had tormented him day and night, leaving his mind in a complete jumble.

Now, hearing Melody mention "rebirth" and "past life," it all finally clicked for Robert Lancaster—

’So, I’ve been reborn... no wonder all the memories feel so real...’

’Does that mean—’

’—that in my past life, the Lancaster family was truly reborn from the ashes and returned to its peak?’

’Then why have things turned out like this in this life?!’

While Robert Lancaster was still reeling from the shock of his rebirth, Elaine Hughes, who had apparently known about it for some time, was in a completely different state of mind.

Elaine Hughes stared blankly at Melody Summers, her eyes filled with anxiety and terror. Shaking her head slowly in disbelief, she stammered, "You... you too... N-no... it can’t be... impossible... How could you have been reborn? You can’t be..."

’How could Melody Summers have been reborn?!’

’If Melody was also reborn, if she knew what happened in their past life...’

’Would she still agree to provide for them?’

The more Elaine Hughes thought about it, the more terrified she became. She couldn’t help but scream internally, ’Why?!’

’Melody was their only hope, and now even that was gone!’

’Why was God doing this to her?!’