Chapter 10 Teach You a Lesson
Eight security guards rushed up and yanked the Hatchers away when they saw Anthony’s signal. They complained as they dragged the Hatchers out of the mansion.
“Mr. Anthony asked you to leave. Are you deaf?”
“Why are you causing trouble everywhere? What a bother!”
The commotion generated by Crawford’s entrance piqued the interest of the nearby houses. Some purported to have tea on their balcony, while others pretended to take their dog on a walk. They were all expecting the Hatchers to make a fool of themselves.
Richard and Paula were red-faced with embarrassment and rage. This is my house. How dare the Crawfords chase us out? They are so unreasonable!
The Hatchers were accustomed to living the good life and could not stand such disrespect. However, they had to tolerate the mistreatment as they were dealing with the reputable Crawford family. They had to stand at their gate and wait for the Crawfords to leave their house.
Meanwhile, Lilly continued to humor the parrot now that the Hatchers were no longer present to distract her. “Come on, Polly! Look at this!” She lifted her palm and revealed half a piece of apple. She hid the apple that Gilbert had peeled before leaving the hospital this morning.
Polly started swirling on the branch as though it was assessing the Crawfords, who stood at a distance. Hugh gripped his walking cane solemnly, albeit there was a glint of apprehension in his eyes. Gilbert was also concerned about the situation. He hoped he had wings so he could grab the parrot. He felt sorry for Lilly for raising her arms until they hurt.
“Here’s some delicious grains. Do you want it?” Gilbert managed to find some parrot feed and held it in his palm.
Lilly nodded fervently and said, “Uncle Gilbert is a good man. Come down so that we can leave, Polly.”
The Crawfords watched Gilbert and Lilly’s close interaction with sullen envy. They had no idea when the pair became so well-acquainted.
Suddenly, Polly flew away from the tree and landed on Gilbert’s head. The Crawfords looked at Lilly in disbelief when she giggled at the amusing sight. Since they met her, she had spoken with no intonation and behaved like an emotionless robot. She remained a straight face and was cautious of her actions during the ten-day stay in the hospital.
Hugh’s eyes glistened with tears; he believed that old age had made him more emotional, and he frequently found himself sobbing uncontrollably.
“Bastard! Bastard!” Polly croaked as he flapped his wings delightfully. It appeared arrogant to have succeeded in making Lilly grin.
Lilly could not help but giggle once more. She then corrected Polly with a solemn expression, “It’s Uncle Gilbert, not Bastard!”
“Gilby! Gilby!” Polly squawked.
Gilbert’s mouth twitched, wanting to rip the bird to pieces. Although he thought it was absurd to have a colorful parrot on his head, he was not upset when he saw how happy Lilly was. He opened his palm to reveal the bird’s feed, and while the parrot was concentrating on eating it, he grabbed its feet when it didn’t notice.
The bird chirped, “Save me! Save me! Don’t eat me! Don’t eat me!”
Everyone was annoyed by the parrot’s antics. At long last, they managed to chain the parrot and leave the Hatcher mansion.
Lilly patted the parrot and whispered in its ear, “Don’t worry, it’s just a chain. You look great in it, Polly! I’ll take it out for you once we reach home.”
Hugh leaned on his walking stick and surveyed the mansion. This was where my precious daughter lived before she died. I wonder if they fed her well. Did she sleep well? Did anyone care for her when she was ill? Did she often play in the backyard? Did she often stare out of the window to look at the trees?
The old man’s heart wrenched when he thought of Jean; the Crawford brothers felt a sting of melancholy when they saw their father in a miserable state.
The Hatchers went up to the Crawfords when they saw them exiting the mansion. They decided to try their luck with Lilly, given that the Hatchers ignored them.
Richard praised, “Our in-laws are brilliant indeed. They managed to catch the parrot!” Stephen added, “Does Lilly like parrots? I promise to buy you many more parrots in the future, okay?”
The little girl lowered her head to avoid looking at her father’s pretentious smiling face. She hugged her rabbit and parrot tightly as she thought, I don’t want many parrots. All I longed for was a hug from Daddy ever since Mommy died. But instead of showing me concern, all he had done was hit and scold me. I thought Daddy was going to beat me to death the other day. I always believed Grandma’s remarks that I was an unlucky girl loved by no one. However, during my stay at the hospital, my grandpa and uncles were extremely good to me. They chatted with me and said it wasn’t my fault. I… I don’t want Daddy anymore.
Lilly did not know if it was wrong to harbor such ill thoughts. However, she mustered her courage and said, “No! I don’t want you to buy parrots for me. I don’t want you anymore.”
Stephen was stunned by his daughter’s sudden outburst. Richard and Paula were also astonished at Lilly’s decision to turn her back on them; they thought she had been drawn by the Crawford’s wealth.
Stephen frowned and bellowed, “Lilly Hatcher!” Although he was aware that his daughter was obstinate and would only cave into beatings, he made an effort to avoid physical lectures in front of the Crawfords.
Paula sighed, and said disapprovingly, “Even though your father may be a little strict with you, you shouldn’t have said such disrespectful words! Every child needs a father.”
Richard tried to change the topic by suggesting, “What an ignorant child! Shall we have lunch, our dear in-laws? We can take the time to get to each other better.”
“That’s right! It’s so rare for us to meet. Jean hardly talks about all of you,” Stephen added merrily.
The Hatchers took turns to pander and emphasis their close relationship with the Crawfords.
Edward could no longer control his rage when he heard Stephen narrate his fond memories of Jean and how he had been a good husband. He cracked his knuckles and grabbed the man by the neck to slam him hard on the mansion gate.
He yelled, “Are you done with this nonsense? You are unworthy of being our in-laws! Stop with this nonsense.”
The force of being struck against the metal fence caused Stephen’s head to bleed heavily.
“We will wait in the car.” Gilbert carried Lilly and left without looking back.
The Crawford family did not condemn Edward’s actions. If they did not have to concentrate on Lilly and her parrot, they would have pulled the blows themselves.
Stephen was shocked at the sudden attack. He was mindful of his words and did not know when he had offended the man.
“Stop!”
Boom!
“Please, stop!”
Boom! Boom!
Richard and Paula watched in horror as their son had been beaten to a pulp. It was evident that an architectural engineer like Edward did not care about his mannerism as he repeatedly grabbed Stephen’s head and smashed into against the wall.
Paula cried aloud, “Stop! Let’s speak like civilized people. We are family!”
“Please calm down, Edward,” Richard urged.
Edward glared at the elderly couple and threatened, “I don’t usually hit women and the old. However, I may do so if the situation calls for it. Don’t blame me for being nasty if you dare speak another word.”
He spat on the ground and mustered his strength to smash Stephen’s head against the wall once more. He then kicked the victim in his vulnerable spot, which hurt the most.
Many neighbors came to watch the commotion when they heard Stephen’s loud wails reverberating throughout the estate. Finally, Edward had settled scores. How dare you betray my sister. You shall suffer for the rest of your life. You shall never have children ever again.
As they saw their son being tormented, the elderly couple’s bodies grew cold with fear. They only dared burst into tears when the Crawfords left.
“Are they crazy? How can they be so nasty!” Paula shrieked.
Richard, too, was startled because he had never met such an irrational individual as Edward. He instructed, “Stop crying. Let’s hurry to the hospital.”
Paula immediately whipped out her phone to call an ambulance. Her phone line was disconnected because of the late bill payment, much to her chagrin.
The Hatchers could only watch Stephen suffer as they had no money to see a doctor.
