The rest of the Crawford brothers narrowed their eyes when they heard Anthony's words.
Gilbert loosened his wrists and cracked his knuckles; Edward, an architectural engineer with a fiery temper and tanned skin, scoffed and grabbed a rebar from nowhere.
"We're law-abiding citizens. How can we openly assault someone in public?" Bryson, the good-natured Captain, said gently. He interjected a nurse nearby and said, "Hello, do you have a gunny sack in the storeroom?"
The nurse stuttered, "Yeah… yeah… we have a polybag and some paper boxes in the pharmacy." She suggested the paper boxes instead, assuming they wanted to store something.
Bryson smiled and said, "Thank you. A gunny sack will be sufficient."
The Crawford brothers thought, a sack will be useful to beat up someone.
Meanwhile, Stephen shivered in the cold as he waited outside the VIP wards. He swore in his heart, I've been up all night, and it's almost daylight. Where the hell are the Crawfords?
Richard left earlier because he could not stand the cold any longer. He reminded Stephen to stay put and demonstrate their sincerity before he left.
Spring nights were colder than winter nights. Stephen could feel the biting cold filling his lungs with every breath of the stale air. The long wait had also left him hungry and exhausted. All he wanted to do was return home, take a warm, relaxing shower, and sleep the rest of the day away.
Things became even more unbearable when he considered the cozy environment he could be at. Stephen decided it was pointless to wait any longer after another hour had passed.
The man spoke on the phone while walking to the underground car park. "Remember to call me once the Crawfords leave…" Before he could continue, he experienced total darkness surrounding him. He was covered in a gunny sack!
"What the hell! Who are you?" Stephen screamed in agony as his attackers landed forceful punches.
The perpetrators were none other than the eight brothers from the Crawford family. They did not typically get their hands dirty but could not help themselves when they considered Lilly's unfortunate situation. Their resentment grew as they remembered Lilly's body of injuries and how she had cautiously asked if there would be food when she returned home and if they would hurt her.
"Stop it!" Stephen begged. He was helpless and at his captors' mercy. "Do you know who I am? I'm the President of Ador Hatcher Corporation. How dare you attack me! I swear that I'll…"
Anthony scoffed and loosened his tie. He then motioned for his brothers to stop the assault. Everyone complied with his instructions, and Edward clung to the rebar as he prepared to resume the attack.
Stephen heaved a sigh of relief after his opponents appeared to have backed down. However, the rebar landed forcefully on his leg, much to his surprise.
"Ahh!" His agonizing cries rang out throughout the parking lot.
Although Stephen survived the attack, he was injured so badly that he had to be carried into the hospital. What made matters worse was that he had no idea whom was to blame and had no way of finding out. His adversaries did not leave any clues suggesting their identity.
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