Rosalie froze, staring at Natalie from a distance. She wanted to ask what Natalie planned to do, but she was afraid the answer would be more than she could handle. So she asked nervously, "Wh ... when?" Natalie gave her a little smile and said softly, "Could be anytime." Anytime? What did that even mean? Rosalie quickly pressed, "Tell me! When exactly?" Natalie suddenly dropped her smirk and said coldly, "Rosalie, do you think I'm asking you out on a date?" Rosalie was stunned into silence. After a pause, she blurted, "Our family doesn't welcome you! From now on, let's stay out of each other's lives!" Natalie sneered. "That's not up to you." Rosalie stomped her foot in frustration and ran home as fast as she could. Olivia watched her dash away and asked, "Nat, want us to come with you when you go?" Harold added, "Yeah, when are you planning to do it? We can back you up." Natalie's heart warmed a little. She smiled. "I don't know yet. For now, I just wanted to scare her." Olivia teased, "You're so bad! I love it! Hahaha." Harold grinned. "You say that, but now her whole family will be on edge, panicking every day. Hahaha." They both knew Jacob was still Natalie's father. They also knew Natalie held deep resentment. As her friends, all they could do was stand by her. They couldn't interfere with her choices.After chatting a bit more, Olivia and Harold went back home to tidy up their place. Rosalie, meanwhile, ran straight to her house. She burst through the door, out of breath, and saw Jacob and Lillian sitting by the coffee table, sipping tea like nothing was wrong. Rosalie steadied her breathing, about to speak, but Jacob was already frowning at her. "Rosalie, why are you rushing in like this? A proper young lady carries herself with poise." Lillian rolled her eyes at him. Really? That's what he chose to say right now? Trying to show off how well he could "educate" our daughter? She set down her cup and waved Rosalie over. "Rosalie, come here. How did it go?" Rosalie's hands were empty. Clearly, the gift was gone. Lillian's heart lifted for a second—until she noticed the tear stains on her daughter's face. Her tone sharpened. "What happened? Why do you look like you've been crying?" The sight of her mother broke Rosalie. The hurt she had been holding back burst out, and she wailed, "Mom! They played me!" Lillian frowned. "What do you mean?" Rosalie had been bottling everything inside. Now she couldn't stop crying. Her words came out between sobs, so broken up they were impossible to follow. That only made Lillian more anxious. It wasn't that she cared about Rosalie's feelings—her daughter was home safe, after all. What she feared was Rosalie ending up like Isabelle and Saniya, offending the new neighbors and bringing disaster on the whole family. Jacob grew nervous, too, but when Rosalie still wouldn't stop bawling, he snapped, "Stop crying and talk!" Rosalie wiped her tears and finally explained what happened. "Dad, Mom ... Natalie's back ... " By the time Rosalie finished, both Jacob and Lillian looked grim. Lillian had already leapt to her feet at the first sentence. The new neighbor is Natalie? That was a nightmare come true. Earlier, when Rosalie had gone to deliver cake, Lillian had sneaked over to peek at the house. Neil and Greg's corpses had been brutalized, while Isabelle and Saniya had vanished without a trace. Lillian had hoped to scavenge whatever supplies were left, but aside from some used clothes, the place was stripped bare. That was murder and robbery, plain and simple. She hated it. But then she thought, Mrs. Bolton knew Natalie. Why hadn't she warned us? Clearly, the woman had ill intentions. A moment ago, she had pitied the Boltons. Now she felt they'd gotten what they deserved. Unlike Lillian, who was full of dread, Jacob's reaction was anger. He slammed his teacup down and growled, "She dared treat you like that?" Jacob was no doting father, but in his heart, Rosalie held more weight than Natalie ever could. Natalie was the product of his unhappy marriage, a reminder of two decades of humiliation in the Kellers. Her existence represented his weakness. She was just a girl, yet in the Keller household, her status had been higher than his. He had been forced to act like a loving father, showering her with attention he never wanted to give. It had been suffocating. Rosalie, on the other hand, was the child he had looked forward to. She wasn't the son he wanted, but she understood a father's authority. She was always obedient, always sweet in front of him.