Spoiled by Eight Uncles (Lily)

Bettany made a decision there and then to skedaddle. “Let's head back, Lilly.” The mention of a ghost did not scare Lilly.

That was great. Pablo was most keen when it came to ghosts.

With Pablo levitating away, Lilly ran and chased after him. She said, “Be good, Granny. Just wait for me here.” Bettany was not having it.

“Lilly!” Anxious, Bettany tried to keep up as she whipped out her phone to give Anthony a call.

By the time they passed the tree line, darkness had overtaken the sky.

Bettany could see Lilly ahead a moment ago, but Lilly quickly disappeared in the blink of an eye.

With an unknown bird hooted and flew by the deserted woods, Bettany was left alone, scared, and on the verge of tears.

“Lilly! Lilly!” Bettany called out.

Following the sudden rustle among the bushes, Bettany nervously looked around and saw Lilly carrying a ghost on her back.

The ghost was covered in blood. Its drooping arms were black.

Its clothes were wet, and its hair draped over its face.

As a matter of fact, Lilly did not have a hard time piggybacking the ghost. That was why all Bettany saw was a ghost floating behind Lilly.

The thing that popped into Bettany’s head was a ghost haunting Lilly.

“Lilly...” Bettany put her hand on her chest. The quiver in her voice did not go unnoticed.

Lilly picked her head up in a daze, only realizing now that Bettany came along too. The old lady looked frightened.

She immediately ditched the ghost. Wham. The ghost fell onto the ground and let out a grunt...

That was the least of Lilly's worries as she ran over to give Bettany a hug.

Thinking Lilly was scared, Bettany wanted to offer solace only to find the little girl comforting her instead.

“There, there, Granny. Don’t be scared.

“I'm here.” Bettany was at a loss for words.

She did not feel much at first, but Lilly's gesture made her eyes well up.

“Don’t abandon me, Lilly.” Bettany sobbed while holding Lilly.

The fear of losing Lilly finally sank in.

Blaming herself, Lilly gently patted Bettany’s back. “My bad. I'm sorry, Granny...” She promised Mom to take good care of Granny. Yet, she ditched Granny just now.

Sob, sob. Lilly did not want to be an irresponsible kid.

Anthony rushed to the scene to find the adult and child locking arms and crying away.

He was speechless.

“What's going on?” Anthony went up to them and spotted the ghost not too far away. He immediately stood before Bettany and Lilly in defense.

The other family members soon arrived.

Hunkering down on a nearby tree branch, the parrot flapped its wings and cawed, “My, oh, my. It's a ghost! Check it now!” Anthony had no words.

Narrowing his eyes, Anthony drew close and tipped the ghost with his toes to turn it over.

It turned out to be a child instead of a ghost.

“It's a boy,” Anthony said. “No need to be alarmed.” Holding Lilly by the hand, Bettany asked, “A boy? Is he dead?” Lilly shook her head. “No.” She initially thought it was a ghost too, but she realized it was a boy upon closer inspection.

Pablo mentioned something about saving a life as a doorway to never-never land. While she carried him out of there, she managed to frighten her granny.

Anthony got down and felt the boy's pulse before uttering, “He’s not dead.” Edward furrowed his brows. “Why is there a child in the middle of the woods?” The Crawford brothers examined the child on the ground. Since the boy was still breathing, it was the family’s duty to give him a fighting chance to live.

Gilbert went up to examine his breathing and heartbeat while Edward called the police and ambulance.

Levitating in a corner, Pablo appeared quite delighted.

“See. | taught you about medicine this morning, and here you have a practice case,” He said. “He lost a piece of his soul. It's a classic scenario. I'll show you what you can do.” Lilly nodded her head. “Sure. Saving a life is a doorway to never-never land.” Pablo was speechless.

Saving a life is a doorway to heaven, not never-never land.

Nevertheless, it amused Pablo that the little girl appeared conflicted. He decided against correcting her.

Unable to offer assistance, Bettany was dumbfounded. “...Huh? What never-never?” It was hard for Lilly to wrap her head around it.

Back when she was with the Hatcher, Lilly was not exposed to anything about saving lives or spiritualism for that matter.

She could not quite figure out why saving a life could take her to never-never land.

“Granny, what's a doorway?” Bettany dug into her mind for simpler words. “Huh... It means a path or a way to something.” It was not easy to explain...

Finally getting it, Lilly pursued with further questions. “What's never-never land?” Why was saving a life leading a path to never-never land?” Hiding her chuckles, Bettany replied, “It's heaven, not never-never land.” Lilly corrected herself. “Heaven.” Bettany earnestly taught the child.

Lilly listened intently.

In the end, the girl got it straight that saving a life was a gateway to heaven. She turned around and rolled her eyes at Pablo.

Catching her master in stitches, Lilly found out that Pablo did it on purpose.

Hmph! Pablo was such a meanie! Just then, Gilbert said, “Alright. Let's bring him back with us.” Lilly inquired, “Is he alive?” Gilbert carried the boy and uttered, “He’s unconscious, but his breathing is stable.” The group headed toward the tent to wait for the police and ambulance. As medically skilled as Gilbert could be, he could not possibly examine the boy for internal injuries in the middle of nowhere.

With the sky getting dark, Cheryl's family took notice of the Crawfords carrying something from afar. They thought it was strange that the Crawford family was finding their way back with torchlights.

“What's that...” Tina murmured.

Thomas remarked, “I think it’s a child.” “Huh?” Unable to see Lilly who was sitting on Bettany’s lap in the dark, Tina asked, “Don’t tell me something happened to Lilly.” If that were the case... The brat got it coming.

Hit by an idea, Tina said, “I'll go and check it out.” Thomas stopped her. “Didn't you cause enough problems? I'll go. You two stay here.” Either way, they had to see if anything happened to the Crawfords’ golden child.

Thomas went over.

Cheryl craned her neck, but there was no way she could get a better look if Tina could not see at her height. Still, the prospect that Lilly possibly met with an accident excited Cheryl.

She made a worried face though. “Mommy, will Lilly be alright?” Tina answered, “She should be okay...” Time went by until Thomas hurried back.

He whispered, “It's not Lilly. It's a boy. The boy is wearing the Sdnchv label.” Tina was surprised. “Sdnchv? Could that child be a member of the Shaw family...” Sdnchv was not a clothing label available to the public anymore, only focusing its business on wealthy and powerful families.

The label serviced foreign blue blood and the three local families — the Crawfords, the Shaws, and the MacNeils.

Since the Crawfords’ kids were accounted for, and the MacNeils had no young children in the family, it could only mean that the child belonged to the Shaw family...

The couple exchanged glances, seeing the feverishness in each other’s eyes.

There had been news reports that the young heir of the Shaw family was kidnapped.

The Shaws had been unlucky with the search. Should the Millers report to the Shaw that they found the heir...