Chapter 91

Layla turned anxiously and pulled Stella out of the pond.

By this time, Stella was already soaked, standing on the ground and still dripping water, looking as if she had been drenched by rain. Her eyes were red, and warm tears fell from her eyes, making her look pitiful.

"Margaret, it's all my fault. If you don't want to go, then don't go. I won't force you anymore."

She wiped her tears with her hand, looking very aggrieved.

"Margaret, you are really too much."

Layla took off her coat and draped it over Stella, then prepared to take her back to the room.

At this moment, Hazel, who had just been discharged from the hospital after a kidney transplant, appeared in front of them.

Seeing Stella standing drenched in front of Margaret, Hazel seemed to understand what had happened. She strode towards Margaret and slapped her across the face.

Margaret was a bit stunned and raised her hand to cover her cheek.

This wasn't the first time Hazel had hit her. Hazel had hit her before in the hospital room.

At that time, Margaret didn't retaliate because Hazel was an elder and Howard's mother. But now, she had already parted ways with these people and no longer cared about respecting the elderly.

Besides, it was the other party who had hit her without reason first.

"Margaret, you are like a shadow, following my son everywhere. You are so shameless. You are already married. Does your husband know you are out here seducing men?"

After saying this, Hazel raised her hand to slap Margaret again, but Margaret firmly grabbed her arm before it could land.

Hazel's arm stiffened in mid-air, looking very awkward.

Margaret's cheek was still a bit red. She no longer held back and slapped Hazel back without hesitation.

This was what Leonard had taught her: if someone bullies you, you must fight back, or they will think you are easy to bully and will do it again next time.

Margaret's slap directly knocked Hazel's face to the side. When Hazel turned her face back, her eyes were filled with shock.

"You dare to hit me?"

Margaret found it laughable. "You can hit me for no reason, so why can't I hit you?"

Just because she was an elder?

Hazel was furious, pointing at Margaret and trembling as she spoke, "You ill-mannered bitch, how dare you hit me? You are so audacious. Layla, if you don't handle this today, I will do it myself."

Layla stood to the side, her face filled with righteous indignation upon hearing this. She certainly wouldn't let Margaret ruin her relationship with the Fields Family.

So she volunteered to stand in front of Hazel, coldly looking at Margaret, "Is this what the Thorne Family teaches you, to hit your elders? Go to the small dark room and stay there until I allow you to come out!"

The Thorne Family had a rule: if you made a mistake, you had to reflect on it in the small dark room.

The small dark room had no lights and was a very small storage room without windows. Once the door was closed, it was completely dark inside, with no light coming in.

Although there was nothing else inside, being in extreme darkness would instinctively cause fear. Margaret had been locked in the small dark room when she was young and had a significant psychological shadow from it.

"I did nothing wrong. I won't go in."

Layla snorted coldly upon hearing this, "This is not up to you."

She said this and grabbed Margaret's hand, trying to drag her to the small dark room. Margaret struggled and shouted for her to let go.

But Layla was very strong, and Margaret couldn't break free. Helpless, she took out her phone from her bag to call Leonard.

The call was quickly connected, and before Leonard could speak, Margaret immediately said, "Honey, come quickly, the Thorne Family people are crazy!"

As soon as she said this, Layla snatched the phone and hung up.

"You really have some nerve, calling for help. Even if God came today, he couldn't help you."

As they reached the small dark room, Margaret, who had been in there before, remembered how she had no food or water and almost fainted inside.

So she now had PTSD from such dark places, and once inside, she would feel cold all over.

The Thorne Family knew about this. When John found out she had this trauma, he felt very guilty.

Just as Layla opened the door to push Margaret in, Howard appeared behind Margaret, stopped her, and slammed the door shut.

Everyone was stunned, not expecting Howard to stand by Margaret at this moment.

Hazel looked at her son in surprise, "Howard, what are you doing? Didn't you see her hit me? And now you're helping her?"

Howard looked at his mother, his face dark, "Mom, enough is enough. If Margaret doesn't want to stay here, let her go."

He didn't understand why a simple meal had escalated to this point.

"Let her go? She made a mistake. Shouldn't she be punished?"

Layla, seeing Howard protecting Margaret, was also displeased. She took out a long wooden stick from another place and walked towards Margaret.

Because Hayden Thorne, the Thorne Family's patriarch, was a strict teacher, the family always kept a wooden stick. If anyone made a mistake, they would be beaten with it. After Hayden passed away, this rule was abolished, so the stick hadn't been used for a long time.

Now Layla took it out, making Margaret instinctively shiver.

The stick was long and thick, and if it hit someone, it would definitely cause injury.

Layla saw Howard standing in front of Margaret, protecting her, and tried to persuade him, "Howard, this kind of person is not worth protecting. Step aside. I must teach this unruly girl a lesson today!"

As she spoke, she tried to pull Howard away. Stella, who had been standing by, also helped, and Hazel naturally joined in.

Seeing that there was no one left to protect her, Layla seized the opportunity and swung the stick hard at Margaret's back.