Natalie nodded. "All set." Then, noticing the gate Harold had taken apart, she asked, "And what exactly are you doing?" Harold scratched his head with a sheepish grin. "Watching you put up cameras gave me an idea. Figured I'd reinforce this place too. Starting with reworking the front gate." Natalie chuckled. "So the master of gadgets is at it again?" He waved her off, embarrassed. "Hardly a master. Just tinkering around." "Well, with a villa this size, you've got plenty of room to play with," Natalie said. Harold laughed. "Bigger space means more weak spots. Once I finish here, Idol, I'll rig up a few tricks for your place too." That was an offer Natalie wasn't about to refuse. She agreed without hesitation. Behind her, Cash flapped his wings impatiently, eager to get inside. Seeing this, Harold set down his tools and pulled the gate open for her. "Go on in, Idol. I'll finish up out here and join you in a bit." Natalie gave a small nod, then stepped into the villa with Cash at her side. Inside, Ghania was busy in the kitchen, with Olivia helping her out. The moment they spotted Natalie, both women came out to greet her warmly. Ghania glanced behind her. "Your boyfriend didn't come with you?" Natalie smiled. "He just went home to grab a few things. He'll come over soon." Ghania nodded. "I heard from Harold that your boyfriend lives here too?"Natalie smiled. "Yeah, all the way in the back." Olivia's attention, meanwhile, landed on the proud rooster behind her. "Oh wow, Cash came along too?" Cash lifted his head high, strutting as if he were too important to acknowledge her. Natalie frowned—how rude could he get? Then, just to mess with him, she said, "Yeah. I was craving roasted chicken, so I figured I'd bring him over and make an extra dish for everyone." At once, Cash panicked. His feathers puffed up, and he stared at her in disbelief. Olivia covered her mouth, laughing. "Look at him—scared out of his mind! That little guy's smarter than he looks." She patted him gently. "Don't worry, Snowy is upstairs. Go on, she's waiting for you." Cash glanced at Natalie. When she gave a nod, he finally marched off with his chest puffed out. Natalie joined Olivia in the kitchen to help Ghania with dinner. The three of them chatted easily, no one paying Cash any more attention. Cash lingered at the foot of the stairs, pacing back and forth. But instead of climbing up to the second floor, he turned and headed down toward the basement. Meanwhile, one of the quieter villas was buzzing with more activity than Harold's place. Candles flickered in every corner, and the ground floor was packed with people. To a passerby, it could've looked like some cult gathering or shady pyramid scheme meeting. But a closer look told a different story—these weren't gaunt, half-starved survivors. These were the well-off homeowners of the hillside villas. "So who sent out the notice? Funny how no one's stepping up to keep order.""Exactly. The candles were clearly lit ahead of time. So where's the person who set this up?" Almost every homeowner in Hillside Villa District had turned up, standing or sitting in clusters, voices rising as they debated. "Whoever organized it doesn't matter. The real issue is the new resident who moved in with a gun and already hurt someone. We need to talk this through." "That's right. For more than two years we've had peace here despite everything going on outside. One new family shouldn't be allowed to shatter that safety." "The Boltons ... what happened to them was just too awful." At the mention of the Boltons, the noise swelled even louder. Most people hadn't been especially close with them, but they were still neighbors. For a massacre to happen right on their doorstep—how could anyone not be shaken? In the middle of the crowd, Lillian clutched Jacob's arm and let a small, satisfied smile slip. The meeting had been her idea. That morning, after a quick family discussion, she'd scribbled out a stack of notices and had Rosalie slip them quietly into every mailbox. It was how she handled things, whenever a problem seemed too thorny, the first step was to drag everyone else into it. The more people involved, the faster it would get solved. Turn a personal feud into a community issue, and suddenly the burden wasn't hers alone. To her, it was obvious what Natalie had done. The whole thing with the Boltons—parading the mother and daughter through the streets—was Natalie's way of making a statement, trying to establish dominance inside the villa community. But Lillian scoffed at that. Natalie was still too young, too hot-blooded. Flaunting power in the open only invited backlash. She believed that Natalie was naive to think a show of force would truly make the neighbors afraid. One family might not be able to stand against her, but an entire neighborhood certainly could. Lillian was convinced the neighbors weren't to be underestimated. Most of them had been power players for years; none of them were easy to deal with. Natalie might be clever, but she was still a pampered heiress, too young to think she could match wits with these seasoned old foxes. Flaunting power so openly was bound to end badly. Quiet maneuvering behind the scenes was far more effective. Meanwhile, the discussion in the room only grew more intense. This time, every homeowner was invested. After all, the issue touched on what mattered most to them all, the safety of their homes.