Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Yunice had no intention of stopping. She chased after her, pouring more tea over her head. Genna couldn’t sit still anymore. She jumped up and ran, screaming, “Lily! What’s wrong with your daughter?!”
Yunice said sharply, “I have a mental illness. Sorry, when I have an episode, I like to hit people. Please be understanding!”
With that, she grabbed a teacup from the table and smashed it near Genna’s feet. Genna clutched her chest in fear and ran outside, yelling at Lily as she went, “If she’s mentally ill, why didn’t you say so earlier? Are you trying to make my son go crazy too? Lily, you’re a fraud! I’m going to expose you on the matchmaking site!”
“Oh,” Lily stood up anxiously. Yunice turned to look at her. Lily opened her mouth but hesitated, then sat back down on the couch, not daring to make a sound.
Seeing that Lily didn’t dare move and Giana wasn’t home, Yunice went straight to the yard to find the tree Gill had mentioned. She then started digging.
She knew that once Owen came back, she wouldn’t escape a beating. So she figured, since she was already in trouble, she might as well get everything done in one go. The shovel hit something solid. Yunice crouched down, brushed away the dirt, and pulled out a plastic box.
She carried the box back to her room. Lily kept glancing at her but didn’t dare intervene. Inside her room, Yunice threw a piece of clothing over the surveillance camera, locked the door with a chain, then sat on the floor and started going through what Gill had left her.
The plastic box was filled with things wrapped in plastic. The moment she opened it, a musty smell hit her. Most of it was old paper, notebooks, and random scribbles. Gall wasn’t well-educated, but she knew Yunice treasured written records. So instead of keeping any valuable items, she had only saved these scraps of paper. And it was precisely because they were worthless that the Saunders family hadn’t noticed them. But to Yunice, these tattered pages were priceless!
She checked the surveillance feed and saw Elsie’s car pulling in. Owen stepped out, rubbing his temples, looking exhausted. Elsie, on the other hand, had reddened eyes and looked like she had done something wrong.
According to their original plan, Owen and Elsie were supposed to be out discussing business deals. But not only had they come back early, they both looked troubled. What happened?
Owen walked straight into the living room, with Elsie trailing behind, apologizing nonstop. “Owen, it’s all my fault. I was too eager to prove myself, too eager to help the family, and that’s why things turned out like this. This accident is entirely my responsibility. I’m willing to go to jail for it.”
Owen reassured her, “No one goes through life without making mistakes. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. I’ll take care of it.” He stood beside her, holding a plate of food. As he spoke, he looked up and saw Lily sitting on the couch, wiping her tears, trying to comfort her. Lily shook her head, a few tears falling as she said she couldn’t eat.
Owen quickly walked over. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
Lily shook her head and forced a smile. “I’m fine.”
Giana huffed. “Fine? You’ve been crying all day and haven’t eaten a single bite.”
Owen noticed the iPad next to Lily and picked it up. It was open to a matchmaking website. A post had been pinned to the top in bold, eye-catching letters-Shameful Lily. She’s a fraud! Beware!
Owen clicked on the post and read through the details. That was when he found out that Yunice had beaten up the mother of her matchmaking prospect!
The online insults were getting worse. It wasn’t just Lily being cursed out; both Owen and Oscar were being dragged into it as well. People were saying their whole family was dishonest for hiding a person’s medical condition.
Elsie was heartbroken. “They’re going too far,” she cried. “It’s one thing to insult Mom, but why are they attacking Oscar and Owen too?”
Owen gripped the iPad tightly. He didn’t blame the netizens; this was all Yunice’s fault for being so rebellious. If she hadn’t acted out, none of this would have ended up online. He turned around and started pounding on Yunice’s door.
As soon as Yunice stepped out, Owen grabbed her. “How much more trouble are you planning to cause this family?”
Yunice looked at him. “I’m not getting married.”
“What woman doesn’t get married? You think you can just stay in this house forever?”
Yunice remembered how Elsie had once playfully said she didn’t want to get married. And what had Owen said back then? He had told her she didn’t have to, that the family could afford to take care of her.
Yunice laughed at herself. “If you think I’m a burden, I can move out of the Saunders family.”
Owen said, “You think it’s that simple? If you move out, people will just say we abandoned you and kicked you out.”
So they wanted to get rid of her, but they also wanted to keep up appearances. The only way to do both was to find a man to take her in. Yunice didn’t respond. She just took the iPad from Elsie’s hands, scrolled through the comments, then turned the screen toward Owen. “So if you marry me off to a man with CAIS, that would make you all look good?”
Owen froze. His eyes landed on one particular comment: “That woman isn’t any better. Her son has CAIS, is prone to violence, and can’t even have kids. And she still insists on a grandson? What a joke. No wonder they got kicked out.”
Owen was shocked. He turned to Lily. “Mom, the guy you picked for Yunice has CAIS?”
Lily looked bewildered. “I… I didn’t know. But Genna is a nice person…”
A woman who groped people’s butts to test their obedience? How nice could she be?
Lily still tried to justify it. “Their family is well-off, and her husband works at the health bureau. Yunny isn’t actually mentally ill. If we explain things properly, they won’t hold it against her.”
Yunice laughed. How little must Lily think of her, to believe that as long as others didn’t look down on her, that was all that mattered, never once considering whether she looked down on them.
Yunice sneered. “What’s more important to you, Genna or the health bureau that can help Owen’s career? As long as it benefits Owen, it’s okay to marry me off to someone with CAIS and turn me into a baby-making machine, right?”
Lily’s face burned with embarrassment.
Elue immediately chimed in. “If it helps Owen’s career and benefits our family’s hospital, then I’d be willing to marry a disabled person and take care of them myself.”
Yunice shot her a look. “Since you’re so self-sacrificing, why don’t you marry him?”
“Pal!” Owen slapped Yunice across the face. The pain was sharp. Yunice closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again, her expression completely calm.
He must have been holding that slap in for a long time. He had probably wanted to hit her before but had been suppressing it under a fake sense of morality. It was only now, in the midst of defending Elsie, that he finally let loose.
Yunice smiled. “Mom and Owen picked such a great family. If Elsie marries into it, she’ll be living the good life. Owen, why are you so mad! Shouldn’t you be happy for her?”
Owen was still furious. “Are you even comparable to Elsie? She’s in grad school and has won multiple provincial-level awards.”
Even though Yunice had told herself not to care about what anyone in the Saunders family said, words could still cut deep. Even knives stabbed into the bold hurt less. She regretted trying to argue. Bias ran too deep… People like Owen would never think they were wrong. To them, the only problem was that she didn’t know her place.
Seeing that Owen had gone too far, Elsie tugged at his sleeve and gently said, “Yunice, you really misunderstood. Owen isn’t forcing you to get married. It’s just that business is tough. The hospital had a medical dispute, and the impact has been huge. Owen’s been stressed about it for days.”
A medical dispute? Before Yunice could ask what had happened, Owen pulled his arm away. “Why are you telling her that? Someone as vicious as her would love to see the hospital shut down.”
With that, he stormed upstairs.
Yunice turned a scrutinizing gaze on Elsie. “Was it your mistake that caused the accident?”
A flicker of guilt flashed through Elsie’s eyes before she turned and followed Owen.
Yunice went back to her room and checked the news about Saunders Hospital on her phone. That was when she found out that Saunders Hospital had been exposed for surgical malpractice, leading to a patient’s sudden cardiac arrest. Though the patient had been resuscitated, their family had set up banners outside the hospital, demanding an apology and compensation.
What was even more terrifying was that this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. It was just that previous incidents hadn’t caused enough of a stir to make headlines.
That night, Owen knocked on Yunice’s door again. This time, he came alone. His expression was exhausted, the excitement from a few hours ago completely gone. He had no other choice but to come to Yunice.
Sitting on a small stool in her room, Owen rested his head in his hands and sighed. “Yunice, the hospital Dad built is in trouble.”
When the hospital was making money, it was all thanks to Owen. Now that there was a problem, he suddenly brought up their father to play the emotional card.
Yunice scoffed internally. She already knew what he was going to say next.
She asked, “What happened?”
Owen let out a sigh. “The nurse forgot to clear the air out of the contrast agent before injecting it, which caused the patient’s heart to stop. Wasn’t it?”
Yunice sneered. “That nurse was Elsie.”
Owen’s brows furrowed tightly. He was unhappy with Yunice’s attitude, but he couldn’t refute her. If it had been anyone else, he could have just thrown them under the bus and handled it. But it was Elsie. Elsie didn’t have a medical license. Not even a proper intern permit. At best, she was just a hospital volunteer.
If this got out, it wouldn’t just affect the hospital. It would ruin Elsie’s future. So no matter what it took, he had to protect her.
Seeing his silence, Yunice felt her heart twist with anger. She gritted her teeth and said, “Letting Elsie into the operating room was pure negligence!”
Owen snapped impatiently, “What’s the point of saying this now? Do you know how hard it is to train a doctor? Once Elsie finishes her studies, I have a reliable right-hand person. Everyone is doing their part for the Saunders family-except you. You do nothing but complain about everything!”
Yunice’s disappointment deepened. “Did Dad train you the same way? By risking lives?”
She thought back to their childhood. All three siblings had been taught medical knowledge. Owen had always been bold-once, he had tried practicing on a patient just by following diagrams in a textbook. Dad had caught him and beaten him severely, hanging him from a tree in the yard. Dad had told them that human life was sacred, and that they couldn’t treat patients who trusted them like playthings.