Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Owen hadn’t lied. Their sibling bond had once been real. He had cared for her. And maybe that was why it hurt so much now.
Yunice wiped her cheeks and spoke, “So you remember all of that? Every single detail. You’ve got it all lined up like a case file.”
She took a breath. “I admit it-when we were kids, you were the best big brother. The kind of brother who made me believe… even when I was left to die in a burning house… even when I was locked away in that asylum… I kept making excuses for you.”
He must’ve been misled. This isn’t like him. Someone else must’ve turned him against me.
“You treated me differently. And I didn’t hate you. I blamed myself. I wondered over and over why you changed? Why did the Owen who loved me disappear? Was I just a disappointment? Was I that hard to love? Was I really so awful you couldn’t stand me anymore?”
Owen’s chest rose and fell. Her words unsettled him. But he still didn’t think he was wrong. This was all her fault. He hadn’t meant to hurt her.
Yunice’s voice sharpened. “But eventually, I figured it out. It wasn’t me. And it wasn’t Elsie either,”
Owen’s gaze darkened. If it’s not you or Elsie… then what’s me?
Yunice lifted her chin, her voice clear and unwavering.
“It’s you, Owen. You’re the one who changed. The brother I loved died a long time ago.”
Owen stared at her with wide, wet eyes. Shock and rage collided in his chest, threatening to spill over with the tears.
The Daughter in the Shadows
Yunice said, “The man standing in front of me right now, the one swinging his fists at me, is Elsie’s brother-he’s not the Owen who died long ago.”
“You’re cursing me? You want me dead?” Owen was furious; his voice shook with rage. He couldn’t even tell what was causing the twisting pain in his chest; he only knew one thing-he was angry. The little sister he’d raised like a precious gem had just cursed him to die.
Smack! The slap that hadn’t landed earlier finally struck Yunice square across the face. She took the hit without flinching, without making a sound.
Gill let out a sharp cry, shoving Elsie aside and rushing over to shield Yunice. Her voice was high with indignation. “Owen! You nearly killed her with that kick, and now you’re hitting her again? What kind of brother does this?”
Owen shot back, “She slapped Elsie twice and cursed me to die! What kind of sister acts like that?”
“When a big sister lays down the law, she deserves to get slapped-but when a big brother throws a punch, that’s totally fine?” Yunice leaned against Gill as she got to her feet, her voice icy and sharp. “And you still have the nerve to say you’re not a hypocrite?”
Owen said, “You still shouldn’t have cursed me!”
“You kicked me so hard I couldn’t get out of bed, and you didn’t say a word about it; I say one bad thing about you, and suddenly I’m the devil? And you have the audacity to reminisce about how good you were to me? That so-called kindness-was it just to send me to my grave?”
“You!” Owen was convinced she was only this defiant because she had Wyatt backing her. No way he was letting her get away with this. He grabbed her arm and started dragging her. “You’re coming home with me.”
Gill wasn’t about to let that happen. She yanked at Owen’s wrist, shouting at the top of her lungs to stir up the crowd. “Help! Human trafficker! He’s kidnapping someone!”
It was a hospital; people were coming and going constantly. A small crowd gathered almost immediately. Most would have expected Owen to back off, save face-but he didn’t hesitate at all. Yunice was still injured and could barely walk; Owen dragged her straight to the ground. He didn’t even slow down, just kept hauling her toward the main lobby. Yunice tried to scramble up, only to be yanked down again. Gill chased after them, trying to help, but Elsie grabbed her and held her back.
Elsie shouted loudly, “My sister has a mental illness! You people can’t just take her in whenever you want-show some respect!”
“That’s right!” Owen added. “She’s family; she’s not all there in the head. Some lowlife man tricked her, and as her family, I’m taking her home!”
At that, the crowd that had been about to scold Owen suddenly stopped in their tracks.
“Wait, she’s mentally ill? No wonder she’s just letting herself be dragged away…”
“That tall girl might actually be the kidnapper. Didn’t the news just report that mentally ill women are easy targets for this kind of thing?”
“These siblings are something else-beautiful and kind-hearted. Even with her mental issues, they haven’t abandoned her.”
Elsie wasn’t strong enough to hold Gill for long, but once she saw the crowd getting stirred up, she shouted, “Everyone help us hold down the kidnapper! Let my sister go home!”
The crowd, eager to play the hero, quickly joined in to restrain Gill. A few attention-seekers whipped out their phones to film this “beautiful moment of justice,” zooming right in on Yunice’s face. After all, the victim’s expression always got the most clicks.
Dragged along the floor, Yunice looked over at Gill, who was now blocked by the crowd, then at the person shoving a phone in her face, recording her…
What a joke. In the face of lies, there was no longer any line between justice and hypocrisy. She couldn’t break free. Defeated, she buried her face in her hair, trying to avoid being filmed any more than she already had. But she knew-her full face had probably already made its way online. She was used to being stripped of dignity. Only this time, Wyatt might get dragged into it too, mocked for standing by her. The commotion in the lobby had gotten so loud that it even drew Paul out.
He rolled over in his wheelchair, first glancing at Yunice being dragged, then catching sight of the clear, red swelling on Elsie’s face. Paul’s eyes darkened. “Who hit you?”
Elsie’s tears fell immediately. “It… it was Yunice…” Then she quickly shook her head and added, “But Paul, I’m fine, really. Don’t get upset. Yunice has Wyatt on her side now-she doesn’t even care about Owen anymore…”
Paul’s mood soured even more. Yunice didn’t just ignore Owen anymore; she dared hit Elsie, which meant she didn’t care about him either. His voice dropped cold and low as he turned to the men behind him. “Go help Mr. Owen. Take his sister home.”
“Yes, sir!”
Two bodyguards stepped forward, pried Yunice off the staircase railing she was clinging to, and lifted her up. Owen reached over and hit the elevator button. The doors opened. Just as Owen stepped forward, he was stopped in his tracks by the sight of a jet-black cane.
In that stunned second, Wyatt and Jordan stepped out of the elevator.
The Daughter in the Shadows
Wyatt’s gaze swept past the guilt etched across Owen’s face, and only then did he seem to notice Yunice, held between two bodyguards. She looked completely wrecked; after being dragged around, her clothes hung loose, and the wild mess of her hair barely concealed the anxious fear in her eyes. She looked like a frightened little bird.
Wyatt’s lips pressed into a thin, hard line. When he finally spoke, it sounded like the words were forced through gritted molars. “Some people really don’t care about staying alive, huh? You had the guts to lay a hand on her.”
The moment the words left his mouth, a group of bodyguards surged forward from the crowd, closing in so tightly there wasn’t an inch of space left between them. One bystander, too slow to react and still recording on their phone, had their device snatched away and smashed under a heel.
The air grew tense as over a dozen guards took their positions. No one dared speak up. Wyatt stepped forward, his unreadable gaze fixed directly on Owen. Owen instinctively wanted to look away, but with so many eyes on him, he forced himself to meet Wyatt’s stare.
Trying to stay composed, he said, “Wyatt, she isn’t married to you yet. As her brother, I have every right to take her home. That’s not unreasonable, is it?”
Wyatt waited until he’d finished speaking. His eyes narrowed dangerously, and he answered with a slow, cold smirk instead of words. Owen felt the shift instantly, a threat hanging in the silence-but before he could move, Wyatt tossed his cane into the air. By the time it dropped, Wyatt had caught it three inches below the top, flipped it, and slammed the metal handle straight into Owen’s gut.
Owen didn’t even make a sound-he just stumbled back, breathless, collapsing to one knee, his body curling in on itself like a shrimp. Wyatt might have had trouble walking, but his arms were as strong as ever. That single blow matched the force of Owen’s kick to Yunice-blow for blow.
“Owen!” Elsie cried out and rushed to him. Tears streamed down her face as she spread her arms in front of Owen like a human shield, sobbing, “Mr. Cooper, if hitting someone is the only way you can stand up for your sister, then hit me! Just don’t hurt Owen…”
She bit her lip, red-eyed and trembling like a fragile little wildflower. Paul couldn’t take it anymore-he rolled forward in his wheelchair and snapped, “Elsie! Why are you begging him?” Then he turned his glare on Wyatt. “They’re brother and sister. A brother taking his sister home is perfectly reasonable. You’re meddling in things that aren’t your business!”
“Brother and sister?” Wyatt scoffed, then shot Paul a sharp look. “And what proof do you have they’re even related?”
Paul looked at him like he was an idiot. “They share both parents. You really think we need to prove that?”
Wyatt let out a low, dry chuckle. “Same parents, huh… Then why does he have an identity, but his ‘sister’ doesn’t? Maybe we should get a DNA test-see what that turns up.”
Owen and Elsie’s faces went pale. A DNA test? That would blow Elsie’s cover wide open. Neither of them said a word. Wyatt’s voice turned cold. “I pulled Yunice out of the hands of human traffickers. She’s mine now. She’s not your sister.”
He ran his thumb along the handle of his cane, the smirk on his face razor-sharp. “I’ve said it before-I’m fiercely protective of what’s mine. Since you laid a hand on her, you can leave one behind.”
Everyone froze, doubting what they’d just heard. Even Yunice stared at Wyatt, stunned. Paul exploded. “Have you lost your mind? This is a hospital!”
Is he really about to commit assault in public? But the moment Paul spoke, Wyatt’s guards sprang into action. They swiftly cleared the crowd, sealed off every exit, and locked the place down. One of them even picked up a steel pipe and, without a second’s hesitation, swung it at the lobby’s security cameras-shattering them all.
The air in the lobby thickened. People began to remember what the industry said about Wyatt. For him to cause so much chaos and still stay untouchable-he clearly had systems in place to clean up every mess.
Two guards moved in and pinned Owen down, wrenching his arm out and forcing it flat against the floor. Then a bald man stepped forward, flipping a folding knife between his fingers. Yunice recognized him. He was the same man who’d handled things back in the mahjong parlor.
Owen’s face drained of all color as the bald man slowly approached. He was terrified-she could see it-but he clenched his teeth and refused to beg. Elsie clung to his arm, trembling like a leaf. Gill looked anxiously toward Yunice.
Wyatt wasn’t bluffing; he really seemed ready to follow through. But Owen, even with everything he’d done, was still Yunice’s biological brother. Are they really about to take my hand? He was a doctor. If he lost that hand, his entire future would be ruined.
The Daughter in the Shadows
“No!” Elsie suddenly lunged forward, throwing herself over Owen’s hand. “Don’t cut off Owen’s hand!”