>> a punch, a kick, you kind of name it, depending. i would find the sooner i would cry, the sooner it would stop. >> a tough lesson to learn from your dad. >> yeah. he was a very harsh person which made it more fortunate to have my mom in my life, because she was like the complete opposite. >> as tough as he was on his sons, they say magdi was just as tough on his wife. ryan and richard say they never saw their father hit their mother, but they say they heard the yelling and they did see the bruises. >> we never ever called 911. we had the sense of fear that we didn't want to cross the line. >> you were more afraid of what your dad would do to you if you did call 911 than what might happen to your mom if you didn't? >> yeah. we were scared of my dad. we were just like so petrified. >> did you know your dad was more than capable of just hitting people?