Reborn with Nothing but My Farm and Vengeance in the Apocalypse

Melody Summers lowered her gaze slightly. ’How could Silas Lancaster possibly know about this?’

But her expression remained impassive. She feigned confusion and asked, "Hugh Hayes? Who’s Hugh Hayes? If someone’s missing, you should be reporting it to the police. What good is asking me?"

Silas Lancaster stared intently at Melody Summers, searching her face for any crack in her composure, but he found nothing.

Melody’s expression was calm. Her eyes were clear, without a trace of panic in their depths.

Colin Summers and the others watched Silas Lancaster warily, afraid he might suddenly lunge forward and hurt Melody.

But Silas simply stood there watching Melody in silence for a moment before turning and leaving.

After the two of them left, the Summers Family and the Dunn mother-daughter duo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Grace Sutton said with some disgust, "We came out to enjoy an art exhibition, and we had to run into those two. What rotten luck!"

Colin Summers nodded in agreement. "That mother and son are both so creepy. Did you see the look in that kid’s eyes? You could tell he was up to no good!"

Miss Dunn was starting to put things together. Although she didn’t know the Lancasters personally, she’d heard some high-society gossip. She asked curiously, "Were those people from the Lancaster Family? The family that had their baby switched at birth? So you’re the family whose daughter was swapped with the Lancasters?"

"No, no, that girl of theirs, Sylvia Lancaster, isn’t our child," Grace Sutton quickly explained. "Melody was found on the roadside by my older sister. As for the adopted daughter they have now, who knows where she came from!"

Hearing this, the elder Mrs. Dunn, who was standing nearby, looked puzzled. "A wealthy family like the Lancasters? They give birth in private hospitals with dedicated medical staff and nannies. How could they possibly mix up their own daughter?"

Miss Dunn thought for a moment and added, "And even if it was an accidental switch, anyone who can afford to give birth in a private hospital like that must be well-off. Why would they abandon the baby on the roadside?"

Miss Lowell had wondered about this before too, but too much time had passed. It all happened twenty years ago, and there was no way to verify anything now.

Besides, it wasn’t their place to investigate. The Lancasters themselves couldn’t be bothered to look into it, so what more could anyone else say?

Miss Dunn, her mind racing, whispered to the others, "I’ve heard stories about these rich families. You know, where the chauffeur or a servant secretly swaps their own baby with the lady of the house’s child. Then, not wanting to raise another kid, they abandon the real heiress. Do you think maybe..."

Melody Summers didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at that. She replied, "Miss Dunn, I didn’t realize you were such a fan of TV dramas."

The group chatted and laughed, their spirits lifted, and they resumed their tour of the art exhibition.

Melody’s eyes were also drawn to the ancient painting that Elaine Hughes had been admiring for so long. She looked up at it for a few moments, surprised.

She recognized it as one of the heirloom paintings from Elaine’s family. The Hughes Family was a scholarly one, and these ancient paintings were practically their lifeblood. She never thought Elaine would take it out and sell it.

Melody could only sigh. ’Like mother, like daughter.’ Sylvia Lancaster and Elaine Hughes were truly a pair. One sold her maternal grandmother’s heirloom jewelry, the other sold her paternal grandfather’s heirloom calligraphy and paintings.

Melody couldn’t wait to see the look on the Lancaster Family’s faces when their day of reckoning came early next year.

*

The next morning, Melody Summers picked up her phone to check the group chat messages, wondering if the wildfire had been extinguished.

As soon as she opened the chat, she saw a series of videos, all filmed by residents on the upper floors of the complex.

Melody tapped on a video. The screen was pitch black; it must have been filmed last night.

There were no lights anywhere, just darkness, except for the wildfire in the distance, which blazed with an unnatural brightness, illuminating the night sky like a fiery dragon.

The flames devoured everything in their path, a nightmare from hell bringing danger and disaster to the world.

Another video was from this morning. The distant sky was filled with billowing black smoke. The smoke coiled into the air like a black dragon, nearly swallowing the blue sky whole.

Melody’s heart sank. The fire had been burning for a full day and night and still wasn’t out.

"4-1209 Slacking Off: How is it not out yet? Is it because of the water shortage? I’m getting really scared."

"2-1908 Coco: It’s not about the water. Wildfires are just hard to extinguish, especially with so many trees. Once they start, they’re uncontrollable."

"4-2009 Nina: Yeah, I heard it’s because the high temperatures and drought have been going on for over half a year. A lot of the trees are dried out, so they catch fire really easily. It’s impossible to put out."

"4-1209 Slacking Off: Oh god, please let it rain. I’m begging."

"6-2702 Holly: What if it actually reaches us? If our homes are gone, my family will be homeless. We’ll just die of heatstroke outside, won’t we? There are countless reports of heatstroke deaths every day. Is that going to be us?"

"4-1209 Slacking Off: Whatever, I don’t care anymore. If I’m going to die, I’ll just eat all my remaining food first. That way, I can face death with no regrets."

"3-805 Gummy Bear: We’re already talking about facing death? Don’t scare me! I’m still young, I don’t want to die."

"6-702 The Lover: @4-1209 Slacking Off, stop scaring the kid. It probably won’t reach us. I asked before, property management said it won’t get this far. Everyone, don’t worry."

"2-1908 Coco: Even if the fire doesn’t reach us, the smoke and ash drifting over is unbearable. Ugh, the air quality feels so much worse. I haven’t dared to go out these past few days. When I do, my nose is full of black soot when I get back."

"6-2702 Holly: I saw they have free masks at the management office today. Anyone who needs one can go pick them up. We should all wear masks when we go out, or our respiratory systems are going to be in trouble."

"..."

Melody sighed and turned off her screen. She had no idea how long this wildfire would burn.

Just then, Winnie Summers came out from the bathroom, all ready for the day. She smiled at Melody and said, "Go get ready. Your grandma, uncle, and the others are all washed up and waiting for you. Once you’re done, we can go down to the restaurant for breakfast early."

Melody answered, stretched, and rolled out of bed to go wash up.

When Melody came out after getting ready, the Summers Family was in the living room discussing the wildfire on the mountain behind The Metropolis Residences.

"I can’t believe the fire still isn’t out after a whole day," Colin Summers said worriedly. "It’s spreading so fast. I really don’t know if our villa will be safe."

The whole family looked grim. Melody walked over and tried to comfort them. "The villa district is still some distance from the mountain. We should be fine for now. Let’s go down for breakfast first."

Grace Sutton nodded and said, "Melody’s right. Let’s not worry about things we can’t control. Nothing’s more important than eating. It’s a blessing we can even stay here. Let’s go, time for breakfast!"

"That almond porridge yesterday was pretty good. I wonder if they have it today," Grace Sutton said as she opened the door. But to her surprise, she found a little boy sitting in the hallway, right in front of their doorway!

Grace Sutton jumped. She clutched her chest and muttered, "Why is there a kid sitting outside our door? And in a hotel, of all places... It’s so creepy, like something out of a horror movie..."

Melody frowned and gently pushed Grace aside to get a look.

A little boy was sitting in the hallway in front of room 36-02. He was chubby, with a shaved head, and his clothes were filthy. He looked like he hadn’t bathed or washed his clothes in a long time.

When the boy saw the door to 36-02 open, he scrambled to his feet and tried to run toward the Summers Family.

On instinct, Melody yanked Grace Sutton back and slammed the door shut with a BANG.

Locked outside, the little boy began to pound furiously on the door, yelling nonstop, "Grandma! Grandma! Open the door, Grandma! Grandma, hurry up and open the door!"

Inside the room, the Summers Family looked at each other in confusion. The grandmother asked, bewildered, "Wh-whose child is that? Who is he calling Grandma?"

A moment later, another voice, a man’s, came from outside the door. "Mom, Mom, open the door! This is your biological grandson! You can disown Dad and me, but are you going to disown your own grandson, too?"

Miss Lowell’s face instantly darkened.

The Summers Family recognized the voice, too. It was almost certainly Miss Lowell’s ungrateful son, Regan Sterling!

Melody quickly comforted Miss Lowell, "Miss Lowell, don’t worry. I’ll call the front desk right now and have them come up to handle this."

Miss Lowell nodded, sighed, and said helplessly, "I’m causing you all trouble again."

The grandmother quickly shook her head. "What are you talking about! We’re family. There’s no such thing as trouble between us."

Just then, the little boy’s shouts came from the door again. "Grandma! Grandma! Open up! I’m your grandson!"

Melody dialed the front desk and explained the situation. The receptionist apologized profusely to Melody and promised to send someone up immediately.

The pounding on the door didn’t stop. Regan Sterling hammered on the door, shouting desperately, "Mom, Mom, you can’t be this heartless! This child has your blood in his veins! This is your own grandson! Are you really going to disown your own grandson?"

When the door remained closed, Regan Sterling grew furious, kicking the door while yelling, "Mom! Mom, open this door! How can you just think about enjoying yourself?"

The boy kept shouting along with him, "Grandma! Grandma! Grandma, open the door! Grandma, don’t abandon me!"