Snowbound Punishment: A Six‑Year‑Old's New Year's Eve

Wendy yelled, "Tell me, where did you hide the phone? Give it back now!"

My mind went blank. In a fit of rage, I charged forward and stood in front of Terry, demanding to know why she slapped Terry.

Did she believe every single word that came out of Hudson's mouth?

But no one could see my fury.

Terry looked at Wendy in disbelief, tears streaming down his face. "I didn't take Mr. Clark's phone. Daddy didn't teach me anything bad. That evil monster did it on purpose. He's not as good as you think. He's been bullying me and Daddy. You've been tricked by him."

Terry's desperate cries didn't make Wendy believe him. Instead, they only angered her more.

Wendy threw the feather pen aside and forcefully pushed Terry to the ground, tearing off his clothes. "Where's the phone? Tell me!"

As each piece of clothing was removed, Terry's pride, like those clothes, was trampled under Wendy's feet.

He struggled desperately, like a helpless little animal. "I didn't take it. I really didn't."

Wendy didn't stop. Her grip tightened, leaving bruises all over Terry's body.

Terry cried out in pain, and I could feel my heart shattering. The agony almost drove me insane.

I reached out, trying to push Wendy away, but I couldn't. I was just a useless soul.

Hudson watched with casual amusement, his disdain almost palpable.

When the last piece of clothing was removed, Terry stopped struggling. His gaze was now filled with hatred for Wendy.

Seeing that she couldn't find anything, Wendy froze for a moment.

But when she noticed the hatred in Terry's eyes, her rationality snapped. She stood up, yanked the naked Terry, and threw him into the snow.

"Since you won't listen to me, you can kneel in the snow and think about your behavior."

Terry tried to get up, but Wendy spoke again. "Kneel until I'm satisfied, then I'll give you the feather pen."

A bone-chilling cold instantly seeped through my body.

I knew Terry would do as Wendy said for my sake, but I didn't want him to do that.

As I expected, Terry remained still. He kneeled in the freezing snow on Christmas Eve.

The snowstorm slowly covered him inch by inch.

Hudson sat in the warm room with Gracie in his arms and said with fake concern, "Wendy, Terry's still so young. Don't you think this is too cruel?"

Wendy's gaze remained fixed outside the window. Frustration was written all over her face. "Cruel? He's the one in the wrong. If he can't even handle this little lesson, how can he ever be the heir of the Lloyd family?"

Hudson's smile froze, his envy almost leaking out.

He clearly hadn't expected that Wendy would still be thinking of making Terry the heir.

But the next moment, his eyes swept over the torn clothes on the ground, and he felt more at ease.

So what if Wendy cared about Terry? The boy was no match for him.

With that thought, his smile grew wider, and he gently steered Wendy's attention away.

Inside the window, the room was thick with warmth. Outside, the snowstorm raged on.

Terry finally couldn't take it anymore and collapsed in the snow.

Before he lost consciousness, he mumbled to himself, "If I hang on a little longer, Mommy won't be angry anymore, and then I can wake Daddy up."

Two hours later, while Wendy was working in the study, she finally remembered Terry and called the butler, Kieran Finch. "How long has it been? Has Terry apologized yet?"

Kieran's expression was serious, as he replied hesitantly, "Ms. Lloyd, it's been two hours. Mr. Terry has already passed out in the snow."

"What?" Wendy's face paled instantly, and the pen she was holding fell to the ground.

Suddenly, her phone on the desk vibrated.

"Hello? Is this Ms. Wendy Lloyd? We received a report about a body found in one of your rental properties."