Filed to story: Eight Uncles Beloved Treasure
Winona wanted to argue, but she couldn’t deny the truth in Helen’s words. The Crawford family used to treat Hannah like a princess, but their attention and care had shifted to Lilly since her arrival.
Hannah was left with nothing, as all her belongings were given to Lilly. Winona felt upset about the unfair treatment.
The Crawford family had forgotten that they
had purchased a similar dress for Hannah. Both were starry dresses of different styles, but the prices were identical.
Hannah was on the verge of tears after hearing Helen’s words. Just as Winona was about to take her to her room, Hannah rushed downstairs.
“Hannah!” Winona exclaimed, chasing after her.
**
Lilly sat at the table with the other children, eagerly awaiting the cake. Among the girls sat a young boy, Drake, Lilly’s older brother.
Drake was Anthony’s eldest son, assigned to look after Lilly by his father. He appeared cool and expressionless, much like Anthony.
As Lilly began to cut the cake, the children’s mouths watered in anticipation. Lilly was tempted as well, but she passed the slice to Drake instead. “Drake, this is for you!” Lilly said.
“I’ll pass,” Drake replied, turning his head. He wasn’t fond of Lilly. Disappointed, she took the cake back.
“Don’t mind him, Tulip! It’s your birthday today. How about learning a small trick?” Pablo suggested, trying to cheer her up.
Before Lilly could respond, Hannah pounced on her, pulling at her dress and yelling, “This dress is mine! You took it from me! You’re a meanie!”
Hannah forcefully pushed Lilly, causing her cake to drop onto her dress. Lilly was stunned. “Uncle Anthony gave me this dress…” she tried to explain. However, Hannah didn’t listen and slapped Lilly.
“I’ll beat you to death! I hate you! Get out of my home! Never come back!” Hannah cried out.
Lilly was furious. Hannah had taken Polly away, snatched her dress, and now she was hitting her. Lilly slapped Hannah in return.
Hannah was stunned, covering her face and crying. “You hit me! How dare you!”
Lilly bit her lip, feeling insecure about the situation. However, she remained resilient and said, “You hit me first, so I did the same!” Her mother had taught her to fight back if she couldn’t reason with her opponent. Lilly tried to explain, but Hannah refused to listen, so she decided to retaliate.
They continued to fight. Suddenly, Lilly’s red bracelet began to glow, and she sent Hannah flying with a slap. Hannah fell to the ground, feeling a burning sensation on her cheek as she cried loudly.
The fight ended in an instant, leaving the other children dumbfounded. Drake hurried over to help Lilly. “Are you alright?” he asked.
Although Drake didn’t like Lilly, his father had ordered him to look after her. Lilly silently shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. Hannah’s cries were ear-piercing.
No one expected the Crawford family’s two daughters to suddenly start fighting.
Winona rushed over to check on their injuries. “How could you hit your sister?” she asked angrily.
Lilly clutched her dress and muttered, “She hit me first…” Winona yelled, “That’s nonsense! Hannah would never hit anyone!”
“It’s true. Hannah started the fight,” Drake said, frowning.
“It was her! Lilly hit me first! That’s my dress! She stole it from me, and now she’s hitting me! Lilly is a naughty child! She’s a sly brat!” Hannah cried.
She echoed the words of Winona and Helen. The crowd was astonished.
“I can’t believe the dress she’s wearing was Hannah’s!”
“This kid snatched her sister’s beloved dress as soon as she joined the Crawford family!”
“Yet, the Crawford family is condoning Lilly’s actions. They’re so cruel to Hannah!”
With tears in her eyes, Winona hugged Hannah and comforted her, saying, “Good girl. Lilly was the one who hit you first. My baby, don’t cry…”
Drake, without any expression, coldly interrupted, “Aunt Winona, if you want to know who hit whom first, you can ask other people.”
Drake was speechless. He didn’t like his sister, but he hated Hannah even more.
The kids around them exchanged glances.
Winona pointed at one of the girls and said, “Cheryl, tell me.”
Cheryl, shocked, looked at Winona and then at her mother. “I… I didn’t see clearly. I think it was Miss Lilly who hit Miss Hannah first…”
Drake frowned upon hearing the answer.
It was actually Hannah who pounced on Lilly and hit her first. How did it become Lilly who hit Hannah first?
“What did you say? Say it again,” he stared at Cheryl and said in a cold voice, resembling his father.
Cheryl was at a loss and held onto her mother’s shirt. She lowered her head and said nothing.
Everyone else was speechless.
There were rumors that the child the Crawford family took in was trouble. It was said that she caused her stepmother’s miscarriage and convinced her uncles to bankrupt the Hatcher family. The Crawford family was spoiling Lilly to make up for what they owed Jean…
Looking at what Drake did, it seemed like the rumors were true.
“Mr. Drake, please stop scaring Cheryl! She was only telling the truth!”
“You are spoiling Miss Lilly. Although it is sad that she doesn’t have a mother at such a young age, you shouldn’t do this…”
Hannah started crying louder when she saw that everyone was on her side. They were all blaming Lilly.
Lilly clenched her fists. She didn’t understand why the adults blamed her even though she did nothing wrong. She wondered if the world of adults was different from hers.
Lilly insisted, “I didn’t do anything wrong! She lied! Uncle Anthony bought me the dress. It was Hannah who hit me first…”
Before she could finish, Winona interrupted her, saying, “Enough! Look at Hannah’s bruised face. What else do you have to say for yourself?”
Lilly was speechless.
Winona squatted down and hugged Hannah, saying, “Good girl. Stop crying. Let’s go back first.”
Hannah continued crying louder, saying, “No! I’m not going back! I want my dress!”
Lilly’s explanation was drowned out by Hannah’s cries and everyone else’s words. She stood alone in the crowd.
Drake was annoyed with his troubled sister. As he tried to pull Lilly behind him, a large figure carried Lilly in his arms.
Anthony looked around and asked coldly, “What’s wrong?”
His face was intimidating. Cheryl was so afraid that she hid behind her mother’s back.
Everyone started accusing Lilly.
“Miss Hannah ran over and claimed that Miss Lilly’s dress belonged to her. Miss Lilly beat her up without saying anything.”
“Yes, Miss Lilly even tried to slam the cake on Miss Hannah’s face.”
Anthony chuckled and asked, “Did you witness the incident yourself?”
Hugh, with a cane in his hand, walked over as well. His tone was firm as he said, “I believe Lilly isn’t someone who would do that. Who was the one who said it was Lilly’s fault? Come out!”
Everyone was stunned and looked towards Cheryl.
Cheryl dared not step out, while Hannah continued crying.
Cheryl’s mother smiled and said, “Calm down. Maybe Cheryl just made a mistake. Isn’t it common for children to get into arguments?”
However, everyone ignored her.
Winona felt uncomfortable with the atmosphere. She felt wronged and said softly, “Hannah, let’s go. We weren’t even supposed to be here in the first place.”
Everyone pitied Winona and looked at Lilly in a peculiar way.
