Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Yunice stared stiffly at the scene, like her blood had frozen in her veins. She couldn’t move a muscle. Her eyes burned red; she could taste the metallic tang of blood in her throat and wanted to move, to pull away, but her whole body felt like a rusted machine-every twitch grinding painfully. Her mind flashed back to Lauren-the girl who’d died playing this very game. She’d gone through the same thing. When she died, her eyes had never closed. Those lifeless pupils, set in a face bruised and pulped, had stared through the iron bars above her with endless resentment. When Yunice went to see her, those dead eyes still seemed to hold a faint glimmer, like they were bursting with words-but never got the chance to speak them.
Just thinking about that moment made Yunice feel like someone had clamped a hand around her throat. She couldn’t breathe. Right as she slipped back into that paralyzed nightmare, a warm hand wrapped around hers, firm and steady against her skin. Yunice blinked back to the present and looked up, her gaze nervous and uncertain, meeting Wyatt’s. He was watching her curiously, like he didn’t quite understand what she was going through-but the faint smile on his lips carried a quiet steadiness.
Yunice took a deep breath. After a few seconds, she finally found her voice. “That’s enough… Stop.”
Wyatt slid his arm around her shoulders and guided her away, never intending to let her see Owen’s full humiliation. Gill quickly followed after them.
Only then did the bald man bark, “Alright, get off him!” The bodyguards slowly began peeling themselves off the pile. Even though they were the ones doing the damage, the ones at the bottom had still felt their organs being crushed; they were short of breath, dizzy. What kind of person thinks up a game like this-one that kills without spilling a drop of blood?
If they felt like this, then Owen, stuck on the very bottom, must’ve been a hundred times worse. But no one paid him any mind. As soon as they got up, they all followed the bald man and walked out.
Owen, facedown on the floor, didn’t move for a long time. Pain. The word filled his mind. He couldn’t even tell where in his body the pain was coming from anymore-he just hurt. Pain surged through every nerve until it exploded in his brain. He didn’t know how long it had been, but eventually, the darkness clouding his vision began to lift. He tried to pull himself up, but the moment he moved, it felt like every bone in his body shattered.
Cough! He managed to prop himself up just enough to spit out a mouthful of blood. As someone who’d worked in medicine for years, Owen knew what that meant-he was suffering from internal organ trauma. Internal trauma?
Suddenly, it clicked. Yunice had said she’d sustained internal injuries… Back then, he hadn’t believed her. Could it be that she really had been hurt? And that box of Alphasirox pills… was that actually for treating her injury? But… but I actually made her give that box to Elsie…
Owen clutched his chest, staggering to his feet with fury in his eyes. He turned in the direction Yunice had gone. No, I have to find her. He had to ask her-face to face. He had to ask why she hadn’t told him what was really going on. If she’d just told him clearly that she was injured, he never would’ve handed over that medicine to Elsie. He had to ask how she managed to survive without it if she’d gotten any better since then.
Had she felt pain like this too? Owen stumbled forward a few steps, but the world suddenly went dark-and he collapsed.
Meanwhile, Yunice had been brought back to her hospital bed. Gill had drawn a bowl of warm water and was gently wiping Yunice’s hands and face, her eyes filled with worry.
Wyatt wrapped an ice pack in a towel and handed it to Yunice. Yunice took it silently, then pressed it to her face where the slap had left a mark. Because of this slap, Wyatt was ready to chop off Owen’s hand. Yunice’s gaze shifted slightly, and she stole a glance at Wyatt. Maybe being with him was not so bad, after all; he really did protect her.
Wyatt sat sideways, casually watching Yunice. Perhaps because he was used to not caring about others’ opinions, even if he stared intently at someone, Wyatt would never think it was offensive. He looked at her openly, while Yunice didn’t know where to direct her gaze. Noticing her discomfort, Wyatt spoke up. “You fought back well earlier, but it didn’t help. An evil person never thinks they’re wrong. They don’t reflect on themselves; they just believe it’s your fault, that you’re not obedient enough.”
Yunice understood and replied with a heavy tone, “So I need to stand higher than him. I need to be even more evil.” Rather than foolishly hoping for an evil person to repent, it was better to grow stronger and make the evil person look up to me.
Gill proudly said, “Ms. Saunders is very smart. If it weren’t for…” Gill realized she had spoken too much and stopped abruptly. But Wyatt knew exactly what she meant. Yunice was being held back by a lack of identity. If she had it, she would have already fled and developed her own career. But now, without an identity, it was like taking an exam without writing her name. No matter how hard she tried, it would all be in vain. Wyatt had thought about this too. Creating a fake identity is not difficult, but a fake one can never become real.
Yunice understood. She did not want someone else’s identity; she just wanted her own. One day, she would make Elsie give her back her identity.
At that moment, Jordan knocked on the door outside, his face grim. “Wyatt, Mr. Jackson called again.” Yunice tensed. “Is it about me?” Jordan hesitated, then said nothing but did not deny it. Yunice recalled how Wyatt had been isolated and helpless the last time he was beaten. Instinctively, she said, “Should I go with you?” Wyatt stopped her, laughing at her reaction. “Stay and rest. Don’t go running around.”
Gill also persuaded her, “Ms. Saunders, you won’t be of any help. Mr. Cooper will be fine. Nothing is going to happen to him.” If there were trouble, it would have shown up long ago, and he would not still be alive and well. Gill’s words, though meant as reassurance, made Yunice feel uneasy. Why did it sound like she and Wyatt had some kind of ambiguous connection? Wyatt stood up and walked out. Jordan nodded to her and left as well. Gill chuckled, “Mr. Cooper comes and goes like this; it’s like he’s always looking for an excuse to sneak in here.”
“No.” Yunice answered without a second thought. Her marriage to Wyatt was just a formality; they might part ways any day. Her father had prepared just a few bottles of wedding wine for her, and she wanted to save them for the day she truly wanted to marry.
“Gill, take me somewhere,” Yunice said, getting up from the bed and beginning her plans. Gill hesitated. “Ms. Saunders, your health…” “It’s fine. I’m used to it.” After all, when she was in the asylum, every day had been filled with injuries. She could endure this dull pain.
Gill drove Yunice out in her secondhand car. She was surprised when Yunice led her to the asylum. Yunice got out and said, “Gill, wait for me here. I’ll be back soon.” Gill hesitated, thinking this was the last place Yunice should want to return to. Had she forgotten something? Yunice quickly disappeared behind the walls of the asylum. Not long after, she snuck into a storage room. Closing the door behind her, she turned to see a dusty, rickety table where a man was sitting.
“Kingsley,” Yunice walked over, acting as if she knew the old, scruffy man well. The man, called Kingsley, held an ID card between two fingers and handed it to Yunice. “Here’s the ID you wanted.” Yunice took it. The name, age, and photo on the ID were all hers, but the address was in some rural mountainous area she had never heard of. Kingsley gave her a knowing look. Yunice understood, and from her pocket, she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and handed them to him. Kingsley glanced at the brand and grinned. “Wow, this is expensive.”
When Yunice came out, she casually took Wyatt’s cigarette; of course, it was the kind not found on the market. An exclusive, high-quality brand. Kingsley lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled calmly. “With the village chief’s seal, this ID is as good as real. You can use it anywhere.”
Holding the ID, Yunice felt a sense of relief wash over her. Though the number on the ID was a string of completely unfamiliar digits, this ID granted her a brand-new identity. It could not replace her original one, but it was enough to allow her to do what she wanted.
She raised her eyes to look at the scruffy man in front of her, smoke swirling around him. “Kingsley, do you want to get out of here?”
Kingsley shot her a glance. “I got you this ID. Do you think I can’t get out?”
Yunice understood. It wasn’t that he couldn’t leave; it was that he shouldn’t. His hands were stained with blood, and there were many people outside who wanted his life.
Kingsley smirked. “If you had a bit more filial piety, you’d come by more often and bring me a couple more packs of these fine cigarettes.”
Yunice nodded, and just as she was about to leave, she turned back and reminded him, “You should smoke less.”
Kingsley took another puff, savoring it. “You’ve talked too much.”
Yunice left the asylum. Gill was waiting in the car, but when she saw that Yunice had nothing in hand, she did not ask any questions.
On the way back, Yunice stared out the window, lost in thought. Gill, driving, could not help but gossip. “Ms. Saunders, what are you thinking about?”
Yunice rested her chin on her arm, replying casually, “I was wondering if Mr. Jackson will make things difficult for Wyatt.”
In fact, Yunice was thinking about her own future arrangements. But she did not want to tell anyone about her new ID, nor did she want to expose Kingsley’s existence. Though Gill treated her well, after everything Yunice had been through, it was hard for her to trust anyone easily. She did not want to drag innocent people into her mess. So, there were some things she did not plan to share with Gill.
But Gill did not catch the hint that Yunice was brushing her off. Instead, she swerved the wheel and said, “Since you care so much about Mr. Cooper, why don’t we go to the Powell mansion and find out?”
“Huh?” Yunice was surprised, but before she could react, Gill had already turned the car in the direction of the Powell mansion.
What could she possibly do at the Powell mansion? If Wyatt went there to be scolded, then if she went, it would just be the two of them getting scolded together. But Gill probably just wanted her to see the situation from outside the door.
Before they reached the Powell mansion, Gill suddenly stretched her neck, peering ahead as if she saw something. “Ms. Saunders, my eyes are a bit blurry, but doesn’t that person look like Mr. Cooper?”
No wonder Gill noticed him right away. His presence was too eye-catching. There were two rows of bodyguards surrounding the area, facing outward as if they were guarding against something. Gill slowed the car and parked by the side of the road. Yunice lowered the window, peeking out with just her eyes visible.
The door of the house opened, and several people emerged, pushing a hospital bed outside. Yunice even noticed a respirator by the bed. Though the person on the bed was covered so thoroughly that their face could not be seen, from the shape of the body, it appeared to be either a woman or a small-framed man.
Gill squinted, leaning forward. But her vision was not clear, and she could not see things sharply. “Ms. Saunders, who’s that on the bed?”
Yunice shook her head. She did not know enough about Wyatt to make a guess. As the bed was rolled out, Wyatt quickly stepped forward. The bed stopped in front of him for a moment, but it was too far for Yunice to see clearly what he was doing or saying. Soon, he stepped aside, allowing them to lift the bed into the car. Then, Wyatt got into the car, and the bodyguards piled into other vehicles.
Five cars led the way, and five cars followed behind, forming a convoy. “Hidden so carefully, could he be hiding a woman?” Gill, the impulsive kind of person, immediately shifted gears and followed the convoy.
Since Yunice was about to marry Wyatt, even if it was just a business arrangement, she could not stay completely in the dark. The convoy quickly merged into traffic, and Gill’s second-hand car was soon left behind. At this moment, Gill said, “Ms. Saunders, I have binoculars in the storage box.”
Yunice took the binoculars and looked ahead. She saw the convoy had changed. Several identical SUVs appeared out of nowhere, blocking the road, and then they each turned in different directions, heading off in separate ways. Yunice knew Wyatt was trying to confuse anyone tailing him. The people following them had probably lost track already.
It seemed that the person lying in that hospital bed truly mattered. Yunice lowered the binoculars and said calmly, “We’ve lost them. Let’s head back.” It was true. Gill had already slowed the car, having long since lost sight of their target.
On the drive back, Gill wore a troubled expression. Yunice comforted her lightly, “Don’t worry. My marriage to Wyatt is just for show. Whatever he does outside has nothing to do with me.” But Gill only sighed again and again without speaking.
After all, with Wyatt’s style, even if he had other women, what could Yunice do? She would have to swallow the bitterness herself. But Yunice didn’t care in the slightest. In fact, she wished he would find another woman. That way, she wouldn’t have to deal with him herself.
Back at the hospital, Yunice buried herself in her studies. Now that she had her ID card, all she wanted was to take the national college entrance exam this year and further her education.
Meanwhile, in the very same hospital, Owen had slept a full day before finally waking up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the thick bandages wrapped around his hands. His palms were numb with pain, the swelling making even the slightest movement impossible. He let his hands fall back down and turned his gaze to the figure asleep beside his bed.
For a second, Owen’s vision blurred. He thought he saw Yunice lift her head, smiling brightly at him. “Owen, you’re awake?” But that gentle, imagined voice was quickly replaced by reality. The face in front of him gradually sharpened into Elsie’s tearful one.
She sat up, sobbing. “Owen, you’ve been unconscious for so long. I was so worried about you!”
“So it’s Elsie,” Owen’s voice was tinged with disappointment. His eyes swept around the room, searching for any sign of Yunice. I had been injured and unconscious; surely she wouldn’t have ignored me completely, right?
Elsie clutched his hand, crying pitifully, “Owen, how could Yunice be so heartless to you? The doctor said your injuries are very serious. You must stay in bed or risk permanent damage.”
Owen slowly realized that Yunice really hadn’t come to see him. His heart sank. “She resents me… she hates that I locked her up in that asylum.” Covering his chest with his good hand, he choked back his emotions. “I never knew she suffered so much. If I had known, I would have brought her home long ago… Elsie, do you think I’ve done wrong?”
Elsie clenched her fists tightly. “I-Owen, an idiot! After all Yunice had done to him, he still pitied her!”
“Look at her now, running around like nothing happened. But you? You’ve been unconscious for an entire day,” she continued, fanning the flames.
Hearing this, Owen opened his eyes and looked at Elsie with gratitude. Anxiously, he asked, “So… does this mean my debt to Yunice is repaid?”
Elsie smiled gently. “Owen, what are you saying? There’s no debt between siblings. If I were Yunice, I would far rather blame you. You’re the best brother in the world.”
Owen beamed, reaching out to pat Elsie’s head. “Elsie is the sweetest.” But as he moved, a sharp hiss escaped his lips. The pain in his hand flared up from the strain.
Elsie immediately held his hand carefully, her face full of worry. “Owen, I forgot to tell you. Your tendons were injured. The doctor said you might never be able to hold a scalpel again.”