Chapter 616: Suicide by Poison

When they saw Melody Summers return, her grandma and Miss Lowell immediately grabbed her, looking her over from head to toe. They only relaxed after confirming she wasn’t injured.

Winnie Summers, Colin Summers, Grace Sutton, and Nina Summers also looked terrified in hindsight. The group crowded around her, all speaking at once:

"What were you thinking? How could you go undercover for the police without a word? Why didn’t you tell the family?"

"You scared us to death! Your mother and I had our right eyelids twitching all night. If you hadn’t come back soon, we were about to storm the Jennings’ house to find you!"

"We heard from your aunt that the man, Jennings, had a group of women imprisoned in his basement. That’s far too dangerous! How could you agree to go undercover!"

"Sis, take me with you next time! I’ve been learning self-defense lately, so I can be your backup!"

Listening to her family’s overlapping words of concern, Melody Summers quickly reassured them. "Don’t worry, everyone. I’m back safe and sound, aren’t I? Besides, if I hadn’t gone to the Jennings’ house, I wouldn’t have been able to see Aunt Maeve!"

At that, Melody Summers glanced around but didn’t see Maeve Summers anywhere. "By the way, where is Aunt Maeve? Is she okay?"

When Melody Summers asked about Maeve Summers, another wave of worry washed over the family’s faces.

Miss Lowell sighed and said, "She’s asleep. She’s been so exhausted... She said that man, Jennings, put an urn by her pillow. She hasn’t dared to sleep for months..."

Thinking of what Hayden Jennings had done, Grace Sutton’s face filled with hatred. She gritted her teeth and said, "That man, Jennings, is an animal! You have no idea... I was just helping my sister change, and her body is covered in injuries! All from that monster!"

Recalling the purple bruises on Maeve Summers’ body—the pinch marks, the bite marks, and even the burns from cigarette butts—Grace Sutton wanted nothing more than to flay Hayden Jennings alive.

Winnie Summers was also furious. "I’d heard people say that this Hayden Jennings doted on his wife. I can’t believe it was all an act! He put on such a respectable front, but behind closed doors, he wasn’t even human!"

Her grandma, however, pulled Melody Summers aside, her face etched with worry. "Right! Just now, your aunt said... she said she killed someone! That Hayden Jennings forced her to do it!..."

At this, a panicked look entered her grandma’s eyes. "Wh-what are we going to do? That was a human life, after all... Will your aunt be taken away by the police...?"

Melody Summers patted her grandma’s hand reassuringly. "It’s okay, Grandma. Don’t worry. I already spoke to Officer Rhodes about Aunt Maeve’s situation. He promised to hold off on that part of the investigation for now."

"Besides, Aunt Maeve has always been a recluse, so basically no one knows what she looks like. No one will know she’s Hayden Jennings’s wife, ’Cindy Hughes’... In any case, let’s none of us ever mention this again. We’ll all just pretend it never happened!"

Melody Summers might have said that, but Maeve Summers couldn’t just pretend nothing had happened.

She had been by Hayden Jennings’s side for a long time, and her fear of him was already etched deep into her heart. Even though she was now free from his control and reunited with her family, that profound, deep-seated terror refused to fade...

Over the next few days, the Summers family tried everything they could to help Maeve Summers overcome her trauma. They talked with her, tried to make her laugh, and her grandma and Miss Lowell even made many of the snacks she had loved as a child.

Maeve Summers felt the warmth of her family’s love and tried to break free from the trauma and start a new life. But deep down, she was still terrified, constantly worried that Hayden Jennings would suddenly appear, drag her back, and lock her away again...

This state of mind persisted until the news of Hayden Jennings’s suicide reached the Summers’ home.

"He’s dead?! Really dead?" Melody Summers asked, her face a mask of surprise. "How did he die??"

Tristan Tanner replied, "He died last night. Committed suicide by poison."

"Poison?" Melody Summers was even more surprised. "Wasn’t he being held in a detention center?"

’How could the police at the detention center give him the opportunity to kill himself with poison? And where did he even get the poison from??’

Tristan Tanner wearily wiped his face, looking utterly dejected. "...Actually, it’s mainly my fault... It’s all because I let something slip..."

As Melody Summers stared at him in shocked confusion, Tristan Tanner sighed and explained what had happened from beginning to end.

Apparently, ever since Hayden Jennings had been locked up in the detention center, he knew he couldn’t refute the solid evidence the police had against him. So, during interrogations, he refused to say a word.

But last night, during an interrogation, Officer Tanner had accidentally let it slip that the antidote Professor Paige Walsh was developing for the zombie virus was nearly complete.

Upon hearing this news, Hayden Jennings, who had been completely nonchalant until then, suddenly lost control. He began to scream and shout like a madman right in front of the police.

He screamed, "That’s not a zombie virus, it’s a great achievement that could change the world!" while cursing Paige Walsh as a "hack" and a "sinner holding back human progress."

As his tirade ended, he abruptly began to laugh and cry at the same time. Finally, when the police weren’t looking, he bit down on a poison capsule he had hidden in his mouth.

The poison took effect incredibly fast. It seemed to be a new compound from Hayden Jennings’s own lab, something never seen on the market. In short, Hayden Jennings stopped breathing in just a few short minutes. By the time he was taken to the hospital, he was long dead.

"He hid that poison really well. Drilled a hole in a molar to hide it. We didn’t even find it during the search..." Tristan Tanner said, scratching his head. He looked completely hopeless. "Because of this, I’ve been suspended pending review..."

Melody Summers listened and sighed internally. ’Hayden Jennings spent his whole life on scientific research and achieved nothing. The only useful thing he ever created was the poison he used to kill himself...’

After finishing his story, Tristan Tanner suddenly looked up at Melody Summers, his expression hopeful. "By the way, I heard Director Summers and Director Rhodes are about to get their marriage license. Could you talk to Director Summers for me? Ask her to put in a good word for me with Director Rhodes... I really can’t have this on my permanent record! I’m up for a promotion this year!"

Melody Summers: "..."

Melody Summers was speechless. She corrected him irritably, "They’re not getting their license that soon. They’re just talking... Maybe they’ll break up before they even get to that point!"

"Huh?!" Tristan Tanner was shocked. ’Director Rhodes got a vasectomy when he was in the hospital last time,’ he thought. ’How can Director Summers just break up with him like that?!’

Tristan Tanner was just about to ask Melody Summers for clarification when Maeve Summers, who had been silent all this time, suddenly burst out laughing.

"Hahaha!... Ha ha!... He’s dead! He’s dead!... Hahaha!..."

Seeing this, Melody Summers rushed forward and hugged Maeve Summers. "Aunt Maeve! Are you okay...?" she asked with concern.

Maeve Summers just stared blankly ahead, muttering over and over, "Good that he’s dead... He’s finally dead... That monster is finally dead..."

Then, like a caged bird locked in an abyss finally breaking its chains, Maeve Summers suddenly covered her face and began to sob uncontrollably...