Filed to story: Eight Uncles Beloved Treasure
“Hannah, Lilly is a bad kid. She came between your Mommy and Daddy’s relationship and broke us apart. If it wasn’t for her, you’d be the only princess in the Crawford family, just like your Aunt Jean. Everyone loved her and got her everything she wanted!” Winona lectured her daughter. “And your Grandmother, that child abuser! Forget about her when you grow up. You must remember Mommy’s the only person who loves you and will treat you well…”
Hannah sobbed pitifully, scared and shocked by everything happening around her. At that moment, a strong, masculine hand reached out to grab her other hand, the one not held by Winona. Liam Crawford was a man of few words and spoke more through his actions as he pulled Hannah toward him.
Hannah felt as if she was about to be torn apart as her parents fought over her. She let out a heart-wrenching wail.
“Let go of her! Hannah is in pain!” Winona yelled, but she pulled Hannah toward her even more desperately. Liam suddenly let go of Hannah’s hand, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground.
Anthony Crawford and his brothers quickly came over and surrounded Winona and Hannah. Hugh Crawford pushed Bettany in a wheelchair. They all looked at Winona with raised eyebrows. How dare she still show up at their door after being chased out? they wondered.
“Why are you guys still standing there?” Anthony bellowed. “Bring Hannah over here!”
Liam immediately took a step forward again, but Winona held onto Hannah even tighter. “You’ve already taken everything from me. What else do you want? Do you want to push me and Hannah off the ledge?” she cried out.
Liam’s knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists tightly, and the green vein in his arm throbbed as he tried to control his temper. His phone rang suddenly, and he answered the call as soon as he saw the caller ID.
“Hello, Mr. Crawford! We are 110…” the caller began.
Liam listened to the call, but his gaze remained fixed on Winona.
“Come over now then,” he curtly replied before ending the call. Winona, who had overheard the brief conversation, had a foreboding feeling.
“Release Hannah immediately,” Liam ordered, his voice icy and menacing.
Winona considered her options. As she gazed at the lake in the distance, an idea came to mind. If they wouldn’t allow Hannah to go with her, she had no other choice. Winona swiftly scooped up Hannah and stood tall, ignoring Hannah’s struggles.
“It’s you Crawfords who have forced me…” she ominously threatened.
Lilly had been hiding behind Bettany, silently observing the drama. She clutched her small spatula, her eyes filled with suspicion and curiosity. Uncle Liam and Aunt Winona always had an air of darkness surrounding them, but this time it seemed to have engulfed their entire beings. What was this darkness?
Pablo stood beside Lilly, squinting his eyes. “Hm… so she wants to die together with her daughter, it seems.” He pulled out a small notebook from his pocket and flipped through it. “It’s not their time to die yet, but there will be some form of self-punishment involved…” he noted.
This meant that Winona was indeed taking Hannah to the lake with the intention of suicide, or perhaps she was using it as a means to threaten the Crawfords.
Lilly looked more confused than ever. “What is self-punishment, Master?” she asked Pablo.
Pablo closed the book and held it in his hand. The book immediately vanished into thin air. “It means she’s going to kill herself,” he explained matter-of-factly.
A stunned Lilly looked at Winona once again. “Aunt Winona is taking Hannah along to kill herself?!” she exclaimed.
Old Mrs. Crawford was on the verge of a heart attack. “Someone stop her!!” she shrieked.
Winona’s face twitched. Her plan had been thwarted, and by a child named Lilly Hatcher, no less! She had no choice but to make a dash for the lake, carrying Hannah with her. However, the Crawford brothers were already aware of her plan, and they were much faster and stronger than she was. They easily caught up to her and seized her.
Winona still clutched Hannah by the neck. “Don’t come any closer!” she screamed at them. “Why do you all have to back me into a corner, why?!” she stumbled backward towards the roadside, crying uncontrollably. She felt as though the world owed her an apology. All she wanted was to become a respected Mrs. Crawford. What had she done wrong? The incident from six years ago was long past. Was it truly unforgivable?
“Beep beep – ” the sound of a car horn snapped Winona back to reality. She saw an opportunity and seized it, rushing towards the car with Hannah in her arms.
Liam’s heart stopped as he witnessed the scene before him. There was no way he could reach Winona or Hannah in time. Suddenly, a small spatula came flying out of nowhere.
“Thwack!” It was the resounding sound of the spatula striking Winona in the back of her head.
The little spatula had struck Winona with such force that she momentarily released her grip on Hannah, causing her to fall to the floor. Winona stumbled backward onto the road, narrowly avoiding being hit by a passing car. Just in the nick of time, she regained her senses and jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding a collision. However, she fell by the roadside and hit her head on the curb.
“Are you out of your mind?!” the car driver shouted as he drove past.
Liam quickly scooped up a shellshocked Hannah into his arms. Anthony glanced at the little spatula lying on the floor. It had been a gift from Gilbert to Lilly, intended for her to use as an accessory when playing house. Who could have imagined that it would become the weapon that knocked Winona unconscious and caused her head to bleed?
Lilly fidgeted with her tiny hands, looking uncomfortable. “Uncle Anthony, I might have used too much strength…” Her Uncle Anthony had always warned her not to display her strength in public. Oh no, she had made a mistake.
Anthony looked at his niece’s guilty face and ruffled her soft hair. “It’s alright, Lilly. She deserved it.” Anthony wasn’t too concerned since they were only among family at the moment.
From a distance, they could see Winona lying on the ground, clutching her bleeding head and moaning in pain. Her head was ringing as blood continued to flow. She could feel a growing bump on her forehead, caused by the rock her head had landed on when she tripped.
Gasping for air, she let out a strangled sigh as she cried, “Liam, it hurts… please hug me…”
The members of the Crawford family, who had been discussing the commotion in hushed murmurs and whispers, all turned to look at Winona Jackson.
Liam, who usually didn’t say much, was stunned by his ex-wife’s behavior. “Are you crazy? Hug you? I’d rather hug a pig.” Winona remained silent.
“Winona, your divorce with Liam is finalized. Don’t make things difficult for us, or I can guarantee you won’t have anywhere to go in Clodston,” Old Mrs. Bettany Crawford threatened.
Winona closed her eyes, trying to hide the pain and misery she felt. She lay on the ground, wincing in pain and nursing her injuries, yet the Crawfords couldn’t find an ounce of pity or empathy for her. She wondered if any of them had a compassionate heart. She couldn’t understand why they were so insistent on tearing her and Liam apart and ensuring the divorce went through, but she knew it was too late to change things.
She regretted listening to her mother’s foolish idea of begging the Crawfords to take her back. She should have refused to leave on the day they kicked her out of the house. Her regretful thoughts were interrupted by the sound of loud sirens blaring in the air. Shortly after, two police cars stopped by the road near them, and several police officers rushed out, surrounding Winona.
“Don’t move! Winona Jackson, you are under arrest!” one police officer shouted as the others pointed their guns and batons at her.
Winona was beyond shocked and mortified.
How did she end up being arrested when she was clearly the one who was injured?
“Why… why are you arresting me?” she asked weakly.
The police officer produced an arrest warrant from a file. “New evidence has emerged against you in the murder of May Lee six years ago. Winona Jackson, you are now under arrest for murder in accordance with the law,” he declared.
Winona’s heart sank. It was impossible! Six years ago, they couldn’t find any conclusive evidence to prove that she was the murderer. What could they have possibly discovered now? Were they trying to frame her?
Winona feigned shock as best as she could. “Who is May Lee? What are you talking about? I don’t know anyone named May Lee…”
“There was a human hand found inside the West City Mall statue. The hand was clutching a wrapped piece of paper. Our forensic team analyzed the fingerprints on the paper, and they belong to you, Ms. Jackson,” the police officer explained before producing another document from his file. “The wrapping contained some banknotes. We traced the banknotes to the ATM machine where the money was withdrawn from, based on the serial number. The $20,000 was withdrawn by you from an ATM machine in a neighboring district six years ago. The evidence is solid. Take her away!”
How could this be happening? Winona thought to herself. How could this actually be happening? It was so long ago! How did they find out?!
Desperate times called for desperate measures, she realized as she looked at the officer who was about to handcuff her. She took tentative steps backward, her expression blank, as she stammered, “Wh… what are you talking about? Liam… what’s happening? How did I end up here? I… I don’t remember anything…” Her lips trembled as she sobbed. “Liam… I’m in pain… Please come here and hug me…”
The Crawfords were stunned into silence. Had she lost her memory from hitting her head too hard? The timing was suspicious, but at the same time, not entirely implausible…
Lilly tilted her head to one side as she observed Winona’s confused state of mind. “Uncle Anthony, what’s wrong with Aunt Winona?” she asked innocently. “Is she acting silly? Why does she need to act silly? She’s usually silly enough.”
Winona wanted nothing more than to give Lilly a piece of her mind, but she swallowed her pride in hopes of putting on a good show for the Crawfords. “Oh no, my head… it hurts so much. I… can’t remember anything. Why am I here? Why are you arresting me? I don’t know anything!” she wailed hysterically.
Most of the police squad didn’t know what to do, but the commanding officer quickly took charge. “We’ve encountered plenty of criminals who claim insanity or memory loss, so your tricks won’t work here. You’re still fully responsible for the crime you committed, lady. Take her away!”
Two officers approached Winona and grabbed her by the arms on each side.
“Liam! Liam… please save me!” Winona cried out desperately. “Why are they taking me away? What’s happening?! I’m not pretending. I don’t know what’s going on!”
Winona certainly put on a convincing act that could deceive any stranger. Unfortunately, it held no weight in the eyes of the law, as a person could be convicted of a crime they committed even if they had lost their memory. As the officers escorted her into the patrol car, Winona finally broke down.
“Liam! Liam!! I was wrong, it’s all my fault. Please ask them to release me!” she pleaded. “Bettany, I’m begging you! Hannah is still so young, she can’t lose her mother at this age!” The car door clicked shut once the police placed Winona in the back seat, but Winona continued to desperately claw at the window and cry for mercy. However, it was too late. The jail sentence for the intentional manslaughter of May Lee, along with the attempted murder of Liam through poisoning, was at least ten years. Liam Crawford had already filed for divorce, severing all ties between Winona and the Crawfords, so none of the Crawfords had any reason to come to her aid. Her own mother was unreliable at best, and Winona could only hope to stay out of trouble herself. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, Winona realized as tears streamed down her face. How did things go so wrong so quickly?
Outside the patrol car, a police officer was taking notes for the investigation report before presenting it to Liam for his signature as the primary witness.
“If I may ask, how did Ms. Jackson sustain her head injury?” the officer inquired.
Anthony Crawford quickly responded. “There was a minor scuffle that occurred just now when Ms. Jackson threatened to commit suicide with her child. Liam had no choice but to restrain her.”
The officer nodded as he recorded the information. “What did he use to strike her? Don’t worry, incidents like this happen frequently. It’s standard procedure for us to document all the necessary details.”
Anthony nodded in understanding. “It was a spatula.”
“A… spatula?” the police officer repeated to confirm he had heard correctly. “Where is this spatula now?”
Without a word, Liam walked over to where the spatula lay on the ground and picked it up. The officer’s eyes widened in shock. “Are… are you sure that was the weapon, sir?” Could that tiny children’s toy have caused Winona’s head to split open?
“Yes, it was,” Liam’s voice was resolute.
The officer had no choice but to write his report based on Liam and Anthony’s statements. He then placed the spatula into an evidence bag, sealed it, and the police squad departed from the scene.
Lilly pursed her lips in silence and watched as the police car drove farther and farther away. Her little spatula had gone to jail!
Levitating in a corner, Pablo followed Lilly’s gaze and said, “Come on. It’s just a spatula. So what if they don’t take it away? It’s dirty and disgusting now.”
