Chapter 581: Rushing into the Fire

To Melody Summers’s surprise, after her grandmother heard the story, she was only stunned for a moment. Then, she nodded calmly and said, "Oh... they’re dead... Well, if they’re dead, they’re dead... It’s for the best!"

Seeing her grandmother’s calm expression, Melody Summers was the one who was surprised. She had thought her grandmother would be grief-stricken for some time after learning of her youngest son’s death and had been wondering how to console her. She never expected such a placid reaction.

What Melody Summers didn’t know was that in her grandmother’s heart, this youngest son of hers was a ticking time bomb.

The family had once bled themselves dry—emptying their savings, mortgaging their property, selling everything they owned—just to pay off Cameron Summers’s gambling debts. Those days had been a living nightmare for her grandmother, one that tormented her to this day.

Every now and then, her grandmother would dream that Cameron Summers had racked up another massive debt. In the dream, a desperate Cameron would lead his creditors to their house. The creditors would take iron bars to their home, smashing everything and leaving the once warm and happy place a complete, unrecognizable wreck...

Whenever this happened, her grandmother would jolt awake from the nightmare and sit in bed, unable to fall back asleep until the sun came up.

For all these years, even though Cameron Summers hadn’t lived at home, her grandmother had continued to live under the shadow of his gambling addiction.

For any family, having a gambler in their midst is a never-ending nightmare.

And the gambler’s death is the only way for that family to escape the nightmare.

Now that Cameron Summers and Clark Summers were dead, her grandmother actually felt a sense of relief. She would never again have to worry about them racking up gambling debts and dragging the family into their mess!

Grace Sutton recovered from her initial shock as well. When she thought about what Cameron Summers and Clark Summers had done, she grew so furious she could spit fire. Slapping her thigh, she exclaimed, "That Cameron! Helping thugs bring ruin to his own family! He... he was an animal! ...He deserved to die!"

"And that Howard Fletcher! ...We were actually right about him! He really did kill all those people, not even sparing his own mother! He’s a little monster, too!"

Beside her, Nina Summers nodded in agreement. The adopted son Caleb Summers had brought home with his own hands had murdered his wife and son. She wondered how Caleb would feel if he knew, wherever he was in the afterlife.

’If hell really exists,’ Nina Summers thought, the image of that family reuniting down there was almost laughable.

Still not feeling vindicated after her tirade, Grace Sutton rolled up her sleeves. Face flushed with anger, she stormed toward the backyard, muttering, "Are the bodies of those animals still in our backyard? How disgusting! They’ve defiled the place! ...I’m going to throw them out!"

Seeing Grace Sutton looking like she wanted to grind Cameron Summers and the others to dust, Melody Summers rushed to stop her. "Aunt, please calm down," she urged. "The bodies... we should let the police handle them! Please don’t go back there!"

The scene in the backyard was too gruesome. Melody Summers didn’t want her family to see it; she was afraid the horrible state of the bodies would give them nightmares.

The mention of police reminded Melody Summers of something else. "By the way, were you able to get through to the police? And what about my mom and my uncle? Have you been able to contact them?"

According to Clark Summers’s confession, Jason Fletcher’s "boss" had planned a major disturbance in the community tonight. She had no idea what the situation was like outside, or if it had been brought under control.

Grace Sutton replied, "Don’t worry. Your uncle just sent a message back. He said they were attacked, but they’ve already driven off the assailants. They’re both fine, so he told us not to worry."

Melody Summers breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Then when are they coming back?"

"...They might not be back for a while." At this, a worried expression crossed Grace Sutton’s face. She sighed. "Roman Rhodes was injured, and it sounds pretty serious. Your mom and uncle took him to the medical center, and they’re still there now..."

Melody Summers’s heart sank. ’Roman Rhodes was injured?’

In her past life, when this incident happened, Roman Rhodes had gotten away without a scratch. He hadn’t been injured at all.

’In this life, I even gave him a warning beforehand. So why did he get hurt?’

Puzzled, Melody Summers decided to drive to the medical center to see the situation for herself. She had the "Far Sea Secret Medicine" on hand. If things were truly critical, she could save Roman Rhodes’s life.

Melody Summers gave her family a few quick instructions, reminding them to lock the doors and windows, stay out of the backyard, and wait for the police to arrive. Then she went to the garage, got her car, and prepared to head for the medical center.

But as she drove away from the villa, she was met with an unbelievable sight—

The villa next door, belonging to Sophie Thorne’s family, was on fire!

Orange-red flames writhed like a ferocious beast, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. The blaze shot toward the heavens, threatening to set the entire night sky alight.

Staring at the scene, Melody Summers was filled with shock and suspicion. The first thought that crossed her mind was: ’Why would a fire break out at a time like this?’

’It’s been raining for months. Even though it’s let up recently, only raining for a few hours each day, the air is still incredibly humid. Logically, it should be almost impossible for a fire to start...’

’Could it be... arson?’

Without hesitation, Melody Summers drove straight to the gate of Sophie Thorne’s villa. The moment she stepped out of the car, the acrid smell of smoke assaulted her, making her choke and cough violently.

Melody Summers covered her mouth and nose with her hand and looked up. The third floor was almost completely engulfed. Through the open windows, she could see flames leaping wildly inside as thick black smoke poured out and dispersed into the night sky.

The fire on the second and first floors wasn’t as fierce as on the third, but she could still see the glow of flames, a clear sign that the blaze was spreading.

The villa’s gate was wide open, and Melody Summers walked right in. She saw two bodyguards in black standing in the yard, also staring up at the burning building, seemingly at a loss for what to do.

Seeing them, Melody Summers quickly ran over. "What’s going on? Why is there a fire? Is anyone trapped inside? Where’s Sophie Thorne? Is she okay?"

Hearing Melody Summers’s barrage of questions, both bodyguards’ expressions turned grim. After a moment of silence, one of them replied, "...The Young Miss... she’s... she’s trapped inside!"

"What?!" Melody Summers cried, horrified. Her voice was frantic. "What floor is she on? Where are the fire extinguishers?! Why aren’t you trying to put it out?!"

The two bodyguards looked at each other, their faces a mixture of panic and helplessness. "The... the fire is too strong... and we don’t know where the Young Miss is... If we rush in blindly..."

Melody Summers understood their implication. Without another word, she pulled off her knit cardigan, draped it over her head, and charged straight into the villa.