Filed to story: Eight Uncles Beloved Treasure
Ultraman was exactly like that in the animated cartoons her brother watched.
She cried until she was out of breath and refused to let go of Lilly.
Lilly patted her. “Cry it out. You’re a good girl!”
She was just a child herself, yet she was comforting another.
That was when she seemed to remember something. “Wait for me, Hannah! I’ll get you a cup!”
She hadn’t forgotten her task of collecting tears!
Lilly’s feet thumped with every step as she hurried to get a cup. Hannah was choking and hiccuping as she called out, “H-Hurry up!”
By the time the cup reached her, there were only two drops left…
The two girls exchanged a glance.
Lilly hesitated, “Why don’t you… try to cry harder?”
Hannah pouted and tried again while still emotional.
Pablo, who watched from the sidelines, was at a loss for words.
In the end, she grew tired from crying. Even Lilly was yawning. Both were clearly exhausted.
“You should lie down and cry instead, Hannah! You won’t be so tired then.”
“Mnn…”
Both collapsed onto the bed. Lilly fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She still held the cup in her hand even in her sleep.
As for Hannah, her exhaustion from crying endlessly caused her to fall asleep within seconds.
**
The next day.
Bettany was speaking to Margaret. “You should wake Hannah up soon. From today on, she can only sleep until 9.”
Hannah always slept past 11. Oversleeping was the norm for her.
Margaret grew worried. “Hannah has a terrible temper in the morning, Mrs. Crawford. Should we call Mrs. Winona to come back?”
Only a few people could calm Hannah down whenever she threw a tantrum.
Waking her up was a different story…
Bettany replied calmly, “She has a temper? She hasn’t seen mine.”
Margaret had nothing to say to that.
Bettany left for the elevator in her electric wheelchair and stopped outside Lilly’s room. She gently knocked on the door. “Are you awake, Lilly?”
After having the girl by her side for the past few days, Bettany had figured out a pattern with Lilly. She always woke up at nine.
She opened the door with a smile on her face to greet the child.
That was when her face fell!
“Someone! Come quickly!” She panicked. “Lilly is missing!”
Polly, who had been dozing off, sprang into action and screeched at the top of its lungs. “It’s a kidnapping! Someone has kidnapped a child!”
Anthony was in his study with Hugh, discussing a few things on that Saturday morning.
Both immediately rushed out the door when they heard Bettany’s calls.
The woman approached them in her wheelchair, her face filled with anxiety. “Lilly is missing! The parrot said there was a kidnapping!”
Polly tilted its head.
It seemed as if the parrot was wondering when it had said that.
Anthony entered Lilly’s room to find that the girl was indeed nowhere to be found.
He immediately ordered the manor’s staff. “Check the surveillance cameras, Jack!”
“As for the rest of you, search the manor!”
“Ask the maids who woke up early if they heard anything, Margaret!”
Anthony’s expression turned icy as he prepared to dial 911.
Just then, a soft voice broke the silence. “Uncle Anthony, what are you searching for?”
Lilly clutched her rabbit toy tightly, rubbing her eyes and yawning.
Hannah trailed closely behind, her eyes swollen and barely open.
A stunned silence fell over everyone.
Why was Lilly in Hannah’s room?
And why was Hannah here too? She hadn’t even thrown her usual morning tantrums…
**
Meanwhile, Winona sat at the breakfast table with Helen.
Occasionally, she glanced at the clock, wondering how much longer it would be until
Hannah woke up.
She knew the child would be difficult again.
After the events of last night, the Crawfords must be exhausted. Would they finally reach out to her and ask her to come home?
Winona anxiously checked her phone, waiting until it was nearly 11 o’clock.
Hannah should have woken up by now.
Helen, however, remained calm. “Just wait and see! Someone will call within ten minutes and ask you to come back.”
“But what if they don’t?”
The elderly woman shook her head. “That’s not possible. At most, they will try to act as if nothing is wrong. There’s no doubt that they will call.”
Winona waited until noon, but there was still no news from the Crawfords.
She couldn’t just sit there and do nothing anymore. “No, I have to go check on her!”
Helen tried to stop her, but her efforts were in vain. Why is my daughter so impatient?!
What child could bear to leave her mother’s side?
What was the hurry?
**
Back at the Crawford manor.
Lilly was drawing with Hannah.
