When Rona Langdon heard Vera Xavier mention the word "oil," she grew even more incensed. She was clearly the one who'd been burned, yet Vera dared to tell such a bald-faced lie.
She roared, "Vera Xavier, you little bitch! I'm going to beat you to death today!"
Vera Xavier led Rona Langdon on a two-lap chase around the room before bolting outside. Vera was much younger and her feet were uninjured, so there was no way Rona could catch her.
Vera Xavier unlatched the front door and ran out, only to find several neighbors already gathered outside.
Her next-door neighbor, Grandma Dixon, was a kind woman. She pulled Vera behind her and said to Rona in a cold voice, "Rona, what are you doing now? Vera is eighteen years old. How can you hit her every day?"
Rona Langdon, having lost all reason in her fury, started screaming, "How I discipline my own daughter is none of your damn business! If you get in my way, I'll hit you too!"
