Chapter 562: Interrogation

Nina Summers blinked, looking at Melody Summers with a clear, innocent expression, as if she wasn’t the one who had just smashed someone’s teeth in with an iron rod.

Melody Summers: "..."

Melody Summers rubbed her temples, a headache brewing. Without a word, she walked straight over to Chloe Sharp.

As Chloe Sharp watched in terror, Melody Summers slowly crouched down. She used the iron rod in her hand to lift Chloe Sharp’s face and said in a low voice, "I’m going to take the gag out of your mouth now. Don’t you scream or shout. Otherwise..."

Melody Summers hefted the iron rod, her meaning clear. "Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to bash your head in. Understand?"

Chloe Sharp’s pupils constricted at her words. Staring at the blood staining the iron rod and smelling the coppery scent in the air, she didn’t doubt Melody Summers’s words for a second. ’This woman in front of me is barely human. She might actually bash my head in!’

Seeing Chloe Sharp nod frantically in terror, Melody Summers finally reached out and removed the gag from her mouth.

The next second, Chloe Sharp’s mouth trembled. Stifling the urge to burst into tears, she pleaded with Melody Summers, "...P-please, let me go... This has nothing to do with me! I-I was forced into this too..."

"Shut up!" Melody Summers frowned, cutting off Chloe Sharp’s pleas. She asked in a low voice, "If you want to live, tell me everything you know. If you’re honest, I might consider sparing you."

Panic flashed in Chloe Sharp’s eyes. She hesitated for a moment before saying in a trembling voice, "...I... I... I don’t know anything..."

Melody Summers let out a cold laugh. Without another word, she stood up, raised the iron rod high over Chloe Sharp, and made as if to bring it crashing down!

Seeing Melody Summers’s motion, Chloe Sharp immediately shrieked in terror, "AHH—! Stop! Don’t!"

"I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Please, don’t kill me!"

Melody Summers pressed the bloody iron rod against the crown of Chloe Sharp’s head and reminded her again, her voice laced with impatience, "Chloe Sharp, my patience is limited. You’d better not try to play any games with me."

"I’ll talk! I’ll talk!" The blood from the iron rod seeped through her hair onto her scalp, a cold, wet sensation spreading across the top of her head. Chloe Sharp was so terrified her voice broke into a sob. "...It-it was Kylie Walsh!"

"She said you killed her niece, so she wanted you to pay with your lives. She told me to lure you here to be raped and then murdered..."

"Autumn Sawyer helped her come up with the plan. I just did what Autumn Sawyer told me to. I followed her instructions to lure Nina Summers out, and then I used Nina’s phone to text you. The rest of it really had nothing to do with me..."

"Autumn Sawyer?" Melody Summers was confused. ’Who’s that?’

’The name sounds familiar, but I can’t seem to place it...’

Seeing this, Nina Summers, who was standing to the side, chimed in to remind her, "Autumn Sawyer... I think Autumn Sawyer is an actress? She even won an award before the Cataclysm."

"Yes, yes! She used to be an actress, and now she’s the mistress of Kylie Walsh’s cousin," Chloe Sharp said, rambling. "I used to be one of her professional fans—a leader of a pretty big fan club, actually. I was in contact with her studio, so she knew me."

"After Frank York’s... incident, she was the one who took me in. She even pulled some strings to get me a job interview at Rhodes. Today, I was just following her orders to trick Nina Summers into coming here..."

"They made me do everything! I was just being used! I swear, everything I’m saying is the truth. Please, I’m begging you, have mercy and let me go..."

"Alright, enough rambling!" Melody Summers cut Chloe Sharp off impatiently. "You just said that not even the police dare to get involved here? Who’s the real owner of this teahouse? Is it that cousin of Kylie Walsh you mentioned?"

Chloe Sharp looked slightly dazed. She thought for a moment, then said hesitantly, "...Maybe..."

"What do you mean, ’maybe’?" The impatience on Melody Summers’s face grew more obvious. She applied a little pressure, pushing Chloe Sharp’s head down with the iron rod, and asked with a frown, "Still trying to hide things at a time like this?"

"No! Don’t hit me!" Chloe Sharp finally burst into real tears. They streamed down her cheeks, and her voice was filled with grievance. "I’m not hiding anything! I really don’t know!"

"Think about it! A small fry like me, how could I possibly have any contact with the boss behind the scenes? The only person I could reach was Autumn Sawyer. I only met Kylie Walsh for the first time today..."

"I-I’m really not lying. I’m just an underling who does what she’s told. Please, let me go..."

Seeing that the expression on Chloe Sharp’s face didn’t seem fake, Melody Summers knew she wouldn’t get the name of the boss out of her.

Not knowing the identity of the true mastermind left Melody Summers feeling frustrated. The Adler and Hayes Families, who had once run rampant with their crimes, were all dead. She had thought Anworth would finally be stable, but it seemed fate had other plans. There was still a never-ending stream of villains.

Without the Adler and Hayes Families, there was the Walsh Family and others. It was truly impossible to guard against them all.

Melody Summers sighed internally. She looked at Chloe Sharp and asked her final question: "What kind of shady business goes on here? Tell me everything you know! No holding back!"

"Huh? ...W-well, a bit of everything..." Chloe Sharp said, lowering her head guiltily. "You know, the usual stuff. Debauchery, gambling... Sometimes, when people get worked up, they use some illegal substances to liven things up. Basically, sex, gambling, and drugs..."

At this, Chloe Sharp glanced at Joelle Lawson, who was nearby. She pursed her lips and continued, "...They kidnap or traffic young girls, ’train’ them down here in the basement, and once they’re ’ready,’ they send them to the rooms upstairs to service clients..."

"The clients who come here are all pretty mysterious. A lot of them wear masks. I’ve heard they include government officials, even staff from the Reconstruction Zone... Anyway, they’re all well-connected... I don’t know anything more specific..."

"Some of them bring gold, others bring supplies... Half a kilogram of pork can be exchanged for ten casino chips. Five kilograms of rice can get you a girl for the night. Half a kilogram of fruit can be traded for a small bag of white powder..."

"Is that all?" Melody Summers frowned slightly. She pointed at Joelle Lawson and asked, puzzled, "Then why pull out her teeth?"

"I-I don’t know about that." Chloe Sharp waved her hands frantically and guessed, "M-maybe they’re afraid that... during... you know... she might bite a client? Or maybe some clients have special kinks?"

Meeting Melody Summers’s suspicious gaze, Chloe Sharp’s face crumpled in despair. "I really don’t know! I’ve already told you everything I know!"

Seeing this, Melody Summers didn’t press further. Instead, she changed the subject. "What about the other girls who were trafficked here? Where are they being held?"