"I'll go up and have a look, maybe if too much time has passed, she really might be doing something foolish up there," Joseph Thompson said as he looked at Robert Smith.
Robert Smith nodded, "Right, Joseph, you and Phoebe have grown up together, and you have a strong sibling bond. Try to persuade her."
Phoebe Smith was lying in bed, crying her heart out when she heard a knocking on the door from outside.
"Leave me alone, even if I die, I don't want any of you to meddle," Phoebe Smith yelled, frustrated.
"Phoebe, open the door!" The deep and hoarse voice came with a commanding tone.
"Won't open!" Phoebe Smith shouted defiantly.
"If you don't open it, I'll unscrew the lock with a screwdriver!" Joseph Thompson's voice was utterly uncompromising.
Phoebe Smith knew that her cousin always meant what he said. If he said he would unscrew the lock, he definitely would—in fact, he might even take the door off its hinges if it came to that.
