Chapter 591: Epilogue (18)
Holly Wood was a little worried. “Is this okay?”
“It’s fine.” He looked around and found a pile of bricks by the wall.
Leon Lynch went over to the bricks and said to Holly Wood in a low voice, “Stay there and don’t move. I’ll go in and open the door for you.”
“Okay. Be careful, Leon.”
“I’ll be fine.” He deftly climbed up the pile of bricks, straddled the top of the wall, and jumped down.
Holly Wood clasped her hands tightly, stood at the gate, and called out softly, “Leon?”
The wooden door was gently opened from the inside. Leon Lynch’s strong hand took hers, and the two of them tiptoed inside.
The room was pitch-black, but the sounds were unmistakable. Leon Lynch shoved the door open.
“Who is it?!”
A man’s voice asked. Then, the light was turned on. When Mrs. Lynch, who was on the bed, saw Leon Lynch and Holly Wood standing in the doorway, her face turned ashen.
She hurriedly put on her clothes and got out of bed, trembling. Just as she was about to head for the door, Leon Lynch, his face livid, leaped onto the bed and began punching and kicking the naked young man.
“Leon! Stop hitting him!”
Leon Lynch turned a deaf ear. The young man didn’t dare to fight back, letting Leon beat him until he spat blood.
Afraid that a life might be lost, Mrs. Lynch turned to Holly Wood in the doorway and roared, “Are you just going to stand there? Get over here and break it up!”
Holly Wood remained calm and composed. “Mom, I’m pregnant. For the baby’s sake, it’s better if I don’t get involved in a fight.”
Furious, Mrs. Lynch had no choice but to go and break up the fight herself.
Finally, Leon Lynch violently shoved Mrs. Lynch aside. She cried out in pain and fell off the bed.
“Kid, break things off with my mother immediately. Otherwise, next time, it won’t just be a beating. I’ll make your life a living hell.” Leon Lynch got off the bed, took Holly Wood’s hand, and walked out of the courtyard.
He didn’t say a single word, even after they got in the car.
Holly Wood was worried. “Leon, are you—”
“I’m fine.” He forced a smile at her. “Let’s go home.”
Holly Wood nodded.
Once home, Leon Lynch led Holly Wood to their bedroom. He took another shower and lay down, feeling as if his lungs would explode from rage. The boy toy his mother had found was even younger than him. ‘This humiliation makes me feel like I could kill my own mother.’
“Have Mom and Dad not been getting along?”
Leon Lynch shook his head. “Mom and Dad married for love. I absolutely never would have expected this. You couldn’t tell at all, usually. It’s just… thinking back on it now, I can see a lot of little details. I can only imagine how devastated Dad would be if he found out.”
“Let’s not tell Dad for now. As long as Mom never sees that man again, we should keep this quiet.”
Leon Lynch nodded, a bitter feeling swelling in his heart. He still couldn’t calm down.
Just as Mr. Lynch was about to turn off his computer, he saw that Mrs. Lynch had returned, looking terrible.
Seeing him, Mrs. Lynch asked, “Did Leon come looking for you?”
“No.”
Hearing that word, Mrs. Lynch breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did she say, “You’re still up?”
“I’m heading to bed now.” Mr. Lynch turned to look at her. “How come you’re back so early tonight?”
“I ran out of money, so I had to come back.”
Mr. Lynch didn’t think anything of it. He turned off the computer and got into bed. Suddenly, he noticed that the skin on Mrs. Lynch’s left cheek was scraped.
“How’d you scrape your face?”
“I missed a step on the stairs.” She rolled over, turning her back to him. “Let’s get some sleep.”
Mr. Lynch reached out, turned off the light, and closed his eyes to sleep.
When Mr. Lynch woke up in the morning, he found that Mrs. Lynch was already gone from their bed.
He got up and looked, only to find that Mrs. Lynch, for a change, was in the kitchen making breakfast herself.
Just then, Leon Lynch and Holly Wood came downstairs together. Mr. Lynch chuckled and said, “See that? Running out of money really works. Your mom made breakfast.”
Mrs. Lynch spoke sheepishly, “Son, come eat.”
Leon Lynch replied coolly, “No, thanks. Holly and I are going out to eat.”
With that, the two of them left without a backward glance.
Mrs. Lynch’s face was a terrible sight, and Mr. Lynch sensed something was off. “Did you go ask our son for money?”
“Yes, I did.” Mrs. Lynch turned and sat at the dining table. Looking at the breakfast she’d prepared, her heart was filled with anxiety.
Mr. Lynch immediately shot back, “How could you have the nerve to ask our son for money?”
“You won’t give me any, so who else am I supposed to ask if not our son?” Mrs. Lynch said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Mr. Lynch sat there. “If you stop going out to play mahjong, I’ll give you money.”
Mrs. Lynch’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
“Alright, then. I won’t go out to play mahjong anymore.”
Mr. Lynch didn’t answer right away. It’s easy to change rivers and mountains, but hard to change a person’s nature. He didn’t know if she would be able to keep her word.
It was Monday, and early in the morning, several children rushed to school.
Upon entering the classroom, they saw that all the children were gathered around Nina Young’s desk.
“Huh? What are they doing?” Dorothy Ellsworth asked.
“Let’s go have a look.”
The three children gathered around to look, and Dorothy Ellsworth was shocked. “Oh my, Nina has so many injuries!”
Elmer Grant said with certainty, “Her parents must have hit her.”
Just then, the teacher came in. “Alright, children, it’s time for class.”
“Teacher, come quick and look!” Fatty shouted.
The teacher came over, took one look, and gasped. “Nina Young, who gave you these injuries?”
Nina Young’s lip trembled as she held back tears, saying nothing.
The teacher had no choice but to step closer and ask again, “Can you tell me how you got these injuries?”
Dorothy Ellsworth grew anxious. “Nina, please tell the teacher!”
“My dad hit me.” She finally broke down, sobbing. “Teacher, my whole body hurts so much.”
The teacher went over, picked her up, and pulled down her pants. She was horrified to find a shocking mix of new and old injuries on the little girl’s bottom.
After consulting Nora Ainsworth, the teacher immediately called the police.
The police arrived quickly. Seeing the child covered in injuries, they went directly to her home to question the neighbors and family members.
Nina Young’s parents flatly denied hitting their child. However, despite their denial, the neighbors could all testify that they heard Nina Young’s pained screams coming from her house nearly every day.
Nina Young was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. Her father was forcibly taken to the police station, while her mother remained at home, holding her young son.
Nora Ainsworth went to Nina Young’s home, accompanied by two of her Men in Black.
The family was of average means. The moment Nora laid eyes on Nina Young’s mother, she had a thought: ‘This woman has a strong preference for sons over daughters.’
The boy was dressed in brand-new clothes, holding snacks and toys, whereas Nina, whenever Nora had seen her, was always in old, worn-out clothing.
“I’m the director of your daughter’s kindergarten. You didn’t attend the last parent-teacher conference, did you?”
Nina Young’s mother, not expecting the director to be so young, replied, “I was very busy at home with the children, so I couldn’t make it.”