Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Yunice’s chest tightened. He knows I went to the Johnsons?
Seeing the flicker in her eyes, Owen patted her head and said, “I know you still care about this family. Build a good relationship with Mr. Johnson. They won’t treat you badly.”
A cold wind seemed to blow through her heart. So Owen still hadn’t given up on marrying her off to that man. The Johnsons worked in the healthcare system. Getting in good with them would benefit the whole family’s future. So what if it meant sacrificing just one person?
Elsie stood beside Owen in a chic little Chanel-inspired outfit, her jewelry sparkling. She offered sweetly, “Yunice, this phone was mine, but it’s practically brand new. You don’t mind, right?”
Owen’s voice turned firm as he chimed in, “Even if it’s used, it still cost real money. You don’t have a job right now, so don’t be picky.”
The more someone feels guilty, the harder they try to act like they’re not. Owen knew deep down he owed Yunice. But instead of facing it, he turned it around-making it seem like she was the one being unreasonable. He was also trying to keep her in line, reminding her not to cause trouble.
To everyone’s surprise, Yunice accepted the phone. Elsie felt a surge of satisfaction. When she first joined the Saunders family, what bothered her most was how Yunice always gave her the best of everything. Now, finally, it was her turn to hand Yunice the unwanted scraps.
After Yunice took the phone, Owen waited a few seconds-but she said nothing. No thanks, no complaints. Not a single word. That wasn’t like her at all. Yunice had always been the jealous type. In the past, even if she didn’t argue, she’d at least return a gift if she didn’t like it. When had she ever accepted something so quietly?
Owen frowned, unsettled by the feeling that something was off. Just as he was about to say something, Yunice turned and went back to her room, closing the door behind her. Owen’s eyes widened in disbelief. He kicked the door and shouted, “Are you not even going to say thank you!”
Inside the small room, Yunice sat at her desk, watching the security feed until Owen and Elsie had left. She picked up the phone Elsie had given her, turning it over in her hands. It had a SIM card-Elsie’s secondary number.
Giving gifts for no reason… There’s always a catch. They’d seen her visiting the Johnsons, and now they wanted to monitor her more closely! Yunice pulled open a drawer and tossed the phone inside.
Owen and Elsie wouldn’t be home for lunch. Lily usually went out every other day to play cards or have tea, so she wasn’t around much either. But today, Lily had stayed for lunch-and, unusually, started making small talk.
“I know you’ve always had a knot in your heart about me cutting down those rose bushes your dad left behind,” Lily said as she placed food in Yunice’s bowl. “Last night I talked to Owen. We’re planning to turn over the soil in the yard and plant new roses. Elsie agreed, too.”
Yunice’s lips tugged into a smile. Now even decisions about the Saunders family needed Elsie’s approval. The real joke, though, was that no matter what the decision was, she was always the last to know. Sometimes, not even worth informing at all.
Noticing Lily watching her expression closely, Yunice quickly averted her eyes and offered a soft objection: Elsie’s allergic to pollen. Maybe it’s best not to plant anything.
Lily’s gaze flickered. She knew full well Yunice didn’t care a bit about Elsie’s allergies. She only said that to stop them from turning over the soil. Lily was certain Will had buried the Saunders family’s ancient texts in the yard, so she ignored Yunice’s warning. After lunch, she ordered workers into the garden with an excavator to dig up the entire yard.
The result? A mess of dirt, a torn-up garden, and a few bottles of whiskey Will had buried for Yunice. Nothing else. Yunice picked up the bottles and carried them back to her room, ignoring Lily, who stood amid the wreckage, her face dark with rage.
They hadn’t found the texts, and the yard was now a disaster. Lily was probably fuming inside. But Yunice didn’t give her the chance to vent. Carrying her few bottles of fine whiskey, she headed over to Gill’s place.
Yunice gave a bitter smile. She’d never even imagined getting married. When even your own family is full of betrayal and manipulation, how can you ever trust a man with your life? Chances were, those bottles would never be opened.
After leaving Gill’s, Yunice made a stop at the black market. She was still thinking about her lost agarwood bracelet. Holding onto a sliver of hope, she asked one of the shop guys if there was any chance she could get it back.
Deep down, she already knew the truth-if Wyatt had bought it, even if he tossed it aside, he’d never return it. But just as she was preparing to hear “no,” the clerk asked her to wait and dashed to the back.
Yunice leaned toward the small window to get a better look inside-and to her shock, the guy returned with several bodyguards, charging out from behind the counter and pinning her down. Panic surged. What is this-a trafficking ring?
Then she saw Jordan waving her over. Only then did she realize this was probably Wyatt’s doing. The bodyguards backed off as soon as Jordan gave the signal. Yunice crossed her arms, glancing at Jordan before walking over.
He was as casual as ever, pulling aside the curtain to the back room as he explained, “Wyatt gave orders when he bought that bracelet-if anyone matching your description showed up, we were to hold them here.” Back then, Wyatt hadn’t known who she was, so he’d made the call just in case.
Behind the curtain was a whole other world. Jordan gave her a nod, motioning that she could go in. Yunice tightened her grip on her purse strap and stepped inside. The place was filled with smoke and chaos. Laughter and shouting echoed everywhere. Someone had one foot on the table, the other on a stool, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he squinted at his hand of poker.
Someone nearby cursed under their breath, yelling at the guy to hurry up. Yunice looked around and figured this was probably some kind of upscale gambling den.
They walked all the way to the back. Jordan pulled back a curtain and stepped through first. Just as Yunice was about to follow, someone suddenly tumbled out at her feet. The man was curled up on the floor, screaming in pain, clutching his thumb-which was gone-and gushing blood.
Yunice didn’t even flinch. She hated being hit, but blood and gore didn’t scare her. She calmly stepped over the injured man and stood behind Wyatt, alongside Jordan, careful to avoid standing dead center and drawing attention.
As her slight frame passed by, Wyatt-seated at the card table-glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. He twirled a domino between his fingers, then set it aside and leaned back, finally looking at the man bleeding on the floor.
Someone crouched down and yanked the guy’s hair to force his head up. “You knew the pill had side effects, and you still pushed Wyatt to sign off on it in bulk? How much did the Powell family pay you?”
Yunice’s fingers clenched. She instinctively glanced at Wyatt. Am I even supposed to be hearing this?
Wyatt didn’t say a word-just watched, entertained. He couldn’t stand up, let alone beat anyone himself. Stuff like this, he never got directly involved in.
The guy on the ground sobbed and pleaded. “No, Wyatt, I swear-there’s no way I knew the Alphasirox pills had side effects…”
Before he could finish, there was a flash of metal. He let out another blood-curdling scream-he was no longer clutching just his thumb, but his entire hand. Four fingers had been chopped clean off.
And it wasn’t over. The bald man with the knife grabbed the guy’s other hand, clearly ready to do the same. The man broke down. “It was Jensen! Jensen gave me ten million!”
The bald man pressed a foot down on the guy’s one good hand, waiting for more. The man’s face was ashen. He kept gasping, licking his lips between each word. “Jensen told me to cover up the side effects… Once the drug hit the market, Wyatt would be hit with massive lawsuits, Huaxin’s reputation would crash, and the old man would never acknowledge him as part of the Powell family…”
Yunice looked at Wyatt again. So he’s the old man’s illegitimate son-and Jensen’s biggest threat.
Jensen was pushing forty with a mediocre career, so of course, he saw Wyatt as a thorn in his side. And Wyatt-while sharp in business-was constantly backstabbed by his own people. He didn’t know medicine, so he had to trust whatever the department heads told him. That’s how he’d almost walked straight into a trap.
Once the guy had confessed, he was useless. The bald man hauled him up by the jaw and dragged him out. As the guy’s terrified gaze briefly met hers, Yunice quickly turned her back so he couldn’t see her face.
The moment he was gone, a cleaning crew came in to mop up the blood. No one batted an eye. They just went right back to…
Yunice glanced at the dominoes on the table and shook her head. He didn’t seem disappointed. Still lounging lazily, he gestured toward the table. “Help me draw.”
The young man across from him grinned. “Oh ho, Wyatt’s had rotten luck all morning-finally switching it up for some lucky hands, huh?”
“Women’s hands are always lucky, right? Watch, next round Wyatt’s gonna turn it around!”
Another guy pulled up a chair for Yunice right beside Wyatt. She glanced at him. He was looking down at his phone, clearly not paying attention to the game.
When it was her turn to draw, she hesitated a moment, then picked two tiles and placed them face-down on the table. The other three players used their fingertips to feel the dots on their tiles.
Yunice peeked again at Wyatt-he still wasn’t playing. So she quietly felt her way through her own tiles while reading the others’ expressions.
The loudest one flipped a tile with a dramatic flair. “Nine! Who’s raising?”
Yunice was playing for Wyatt, so naturally she didn’t add anything. After some joking and bickering, the other three all revealed their hands-nothing impressive.
Yunice glanced at them, then laid down her two tiles before anyone else could. The three men paused, caught off guard.
“Double nines… Not bad!” Two of them threw their own tiles in, then looked at the last guy. Seven-seven, eight-eight-not nine. If he had nines, he could’ve had triple bottom, double nines, or even a king pair-all stronger than Yunice’s hand.
But to everyone’s surprise, he sighed dramatically. “Ugh, busted, busted.” Then he pushed his tiles away.
“All that noise and you pulled junk.”
“Pay up, pay up! Congrats to our boy Wyatt-finally got a win!”
The other two players pushed their chips toward Yunice. The liveliest one-Bale-slapped down a thick wad of cash in front of her, probably around thirty grand.
That’s when Wyatt finally sat up. He leaned his elbow against the armrest, tilted his head, and stared at the stack of cash in front of Yunice for a while.
As the others reshuffled the tiles, Yunice reached out to draw a new hand-but Wyatt tapped her hand twice. She looked at him. With a cigarette between his teeth, Wyatt leaned forward and drew the tiles himself, leaving her on the sidelines.
They started a new round. Before long, Wyatt had lost all the money Yunice had just won.
“Man, Wyatt’s luck is cursed today,” someone commented.
The other three raked in piles of winnings while Wyatt looked utterly unfazed.
After a few more rounds, one of them excused himself to use the bathroom. Bale seized the opportunity to pull Jordan aside.
In a quiet corner, Bale leaned in and asked, “Jordan, who the hell is that woman?”
Jordan played dumb. “What woman?”