lody Sumrs returned to her room, feeling lancholic. She picked up her phone and saw that the property managent had invited her to the general community group chat and a separate one for villa owners.
The villa owners’ group was exclusively for residents of the villa area, and it was very quiet with few people posting.
The general community group included all the hoowners in The tropolis Residences, from the apartnt towers in the front to the villas in the back. It was much more active, with people organizing group purchases and chatting away.
lody Sumrs thought for a mont before posting a ssage:
"B16 Sumrti: I heard there’s going to be a major storm in two or three weeks. Everyone should probably reinforce their windows and bring in anything on their balconies that might get blown away."
After sending the ssage, lody Sumrs went for a look around the kitchen. It was practically bare. Aside from a few seasonings she had brought with her when she moved, the cabinets were all empty.
lody Sumrs thought for a mont, then took a large amount of food out of her space and filled the kitchen cabinets. Seeing the fully stocked cupboards, she felt a sense of security.
Once she was done, lody Sumrs picked up her phone to check the community group chat again. Although The tropolis Residences wasn’t in the direct path of the tornado’s hardest-hit area, strong gales would still pass through, making the high-rise buildings quite dangerous. She was counting on this place to be her sanctuary and hoped the community could maintain a basic level of order.
Just as she picked up her phone, lody Sumrs noticed a friend request from an unknown number.
Assuming it was a neighbor, lody accepted the request.
The mont she accepted, the person imdiately sent a photo. lody Sumrs opened it, puzzled, and saw a picture of a seaside villa.
Then, the new contact sent a ssage: "Sister, I really hope you’ll co ho. I was willing to leave to make that happen. But right after I left the Lancaster Family, my big brother and Mom ca running to find . They said I’ll always be their daughter."
"I was so upset, so Big Brother gave a seaside villa to comfort . I hope you’re not angry, Sister."
lody Sumrs: "..."
’What does this have to do with ?’ lody Sumrs thought.
Suddenly, a thought struck lody Sumrs. She took another close look at the picture of the villa Sylvia had sent and let out a snort of laughter.
No wonder the villa looked so familiar. lody Sumrs recognized it as part of The Lancaster Group’s key investnt project: the Trinhai Seaside Resort.
In two weeks, a tornado would hit inland while a typhoon and tsunami would devastate the coast. By then, not just this villa but the entire Trinhai Seaside Resort would be utterly destroyed.
This was the very project that would drag the Lancaster Group into a spiral of bankruptcy.
lody Sumrs ignored her and clicked on the community group chat. She saw that a few residents had replied to her post:
"12-1803AAA Lawson’s Renovations: @B16 Sumrti, for real? Guess I should call property managent about reinforcing the windows then."
"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: too, too! My husband smashed one of our windows a few days ago. It definitely won’t hold up if there’s a big storm."
"2-1908 Coco: We’ve been aning to upgrade our windows for a while now. Guess we’ll get it done."
"4-2009 Nina: @B16 Sumrti, is this for real? You’re not from so renovation company that snuck in here to drum up business, are you?"
"..."
lody Sumrs breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that quite a few people believed her.
*
「The Sutton Villa.」
Elaine Hughes held Sylvia Lancaster, crying nonstop. "Sylvia, you scared to death! How could you run away from ho?"
"I’m sorry, Mom," Sylvia said, her voice choked with sobs. "But my sister said she’ll only agree to co ho if I leave. I just can’t bear to see you so sad because you miss her. I want you to be happy."
"Silly child, you’ll always be the most important person to ." ’Since lody can’t stand the sight of Sylvia right now,’ Elaine Hughes thought, ’I’ll have to postpone the plan to bring lody ho. I’m afraid of upsetting Sylvia again. Her running away this ti really terrified .’
Elaine Hughes dried her tears and gave Mrs. Sutton, who was sitting beside them, a helpless smile. "I’m so sorry for all the trouble we’ve caused the Sutton family. I’ll take Sylvia ho now."
Mrs. Sutton smiled and shook her head. "Don’t be silly. I’ve watched Sylvia grow up, after all. The Sutton family will always welco her."
Elaine Hughes smiled and nodded, preparing to lead Sylvia away.
But Sylvia looked over at the silent Ethan Sutton, her eyes filled with a mixture of hope and a silent plea for help.
"Wait, Auntie," Ethan Sutton said, clearing his throat. "Since you and my mother are both here today, I’d like to finalize my engagent to Sylvia."
Mrs. Sutton froze. For a split second, her expression beca complicated, but it quickly returned to normal. She smiled and said, "It’s much too late for that. This isn’t sothing to discuss so late at night. Besides, Sylvia’s father and brothers must be worried sick about her. We should let her go ho first."
A flicker of disappointnt crossed Sylvia’s face. She bit her lip lightly, glanced at Ethan Sutton, and then left with Elaine Hughes.
After Elaine Hughes and Sylvia had gone, the smile vanished from Mrs. Sutton’s face. She frowned at Ethan. "What’s gotten into you today? Why were you so impulsive?"
Ethan replied, confused, "How was I impulsive? Sylvia and I already have a marriage agreent. Isn’t it perfectly normal to set a date and make it official?"
Mrs. Sutton sighed. "What your father ans is that since Sylvia isn’t the Lancasters’ biological daughter, she’s no longer the intended party for this marriage contract."
At the ntion of the Lancaster’s real daughter, an image of a frumpy, ill-tempered country woman who didn’t know how to dress surfaced in Ethan’s mind. A look of disgust crossed his face as he said, "I will not marry that woman who grew up in the countryside."
Ethan thought for a mont before adding, "Mom, Sylvia was raised in the Lancaster family. They cultivated her ticulously. She’s pure-hearted and gentle, accomplished in all the fine arts. Don’t you want her as your daughter-in-law?"
Mrs. Sutton sighed. "Your father’s position is that marriage alliances between powerful families are built on a belief in blood relations that goes back thousands of years. When two families are bound by blood, they’ll face hardships together. Without that bond, if our interests were ever at risk, what’s to stop the Lancaster family from casting aside a daughter with no blood ties?"
Ethan frowned and retorted, "They wouldn’t. You saw for yourself how much Mrs. Lancaster treasures Sylvia. The Lancasters poured their hearts into raising her; they wouldn’t abandon her so easily."
"Most importantly, Mom, I’m in love with Sylvia. Don’t you want to be happy? Or would you rather I have an uncultured girl from the countryside for a wife?"
Mrs. Sutton rubbed her temples in frustration. She personally preferred Sylvia too, but in the Sutton family, Mr. Sutton made the final decisions. All she could say was, "Let’s arrange a dinner at the Lancaster’s another day. We’ll let your father et both girls, and then we’ll see."
’If the Lancasters’ biological daughter is truly as unpresentable as Ethan claims,’ she thought, ’Mr. Sutton will probably change his mind.’
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