Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Lily said in a hushed tone, “So all this time you’ve been pretending you don’t care, but deep down you hate that Paul chose Elsie. That’s why you resent the whole Saunders family, isn’t it?”
What kind of twisted logic was that? She had no valid argument left, so now she was just trying to paint me as jealous!
Yunice scoffed. “I was the one who requested the separation. I dumped him. If someone else wanted to pick up the trash, I’d laugh, not get jealous.”
Lily clutched her handkerchief tightly, her jaw quivering. “If that’s really how you feel, why are you still trying to seduce Paul? Why are you sabotaging his relationship with Elsie?”
Yunice looked at her coldly and repeated, “Seduce?”
Lily took a shaky breath. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her face said it all-a mother torn between daughters, painfully forced to tell the truth. “Paul went to your room. You two met in secret. There are messages between you. People have seen it. Are you really going to deny it?”
Yunice scoffed. “Let me guess. Your witness is Elsie, right?”
Bracelet
Elsie’s eyes reddened as she adopted a pitiful expression. “Yunice, you met Paul first. It’s understandable that you still have feelings for him. I can give him back to you.”
Gill’s temper flared at this pretense. “Oh, shut up! That filthy cucumber you used and threw away-our dog wouldn’t want it! If you don’t want it, just chop it up and throw it in the garbage. Don’t use it to disgust our lady! You don’t have any proof, just a dirty mouth. If you can’t prove that Ms. Saunders has seduced anyone, I’ll tear that lying mouth right off your face!”
Yunice sneered. “Enough talk. Let’s get the presents.”
Lily had clearly brought this up to buy time and distract from the real issue, preventing us from taking the gifts. Gill thought the same. No use wasting breath on them! She squared her shoulders, pushed Owen aside with one strong move, and pulled the safe box open. Yunice quickly returned the remaining nine items to their original gift boxes.
As he watched Yunice coolly repack the boxes, Owen’s face darkened with anger. He stepped forward, pressed his hand down on the boxes, and gritted his teeth. “Yunice, I’ll say it again! No one here wants these gifts! If you don’t explain your relationship to Quinton right now, I won’t let you take them!”
I was worried that Yunice had done something shady with Quinton and needed answers. “No one here wants these gifts!” Yunice’s gaze landed mockingly on the jadeite bracelet on Elsie’s wrist.
Owen’s face tightened. “Elsie, give her the bracelet. I’ll buy you something better later.”
Elsie nodded proudly, tears in her eyes. “I don’t care about that vulgar thing!” She tugged hard at the jadeite bracelet, her wrist turning red, but it wouldn’t come off.
Gill rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward. “Here, let me help!” The moment she moved, Elsie jumped in fear and ducked behind Owen. He instinctively shielded her and scolded Yunice. “Don’t push it! I already said we’d bring her back. It’s not her fault if it doesn’t come off!”
Yunice laughed coldly. “It’s on her wrist; that makes it her problem. What, if you can’t take it off in a store, you just get to keep it for free?”
Owen snapped, “So what do you suggest?”
Yunice replied calmly, “This bracelet is worth four million dollars. Either you pay me the full value, or you sacrifice the wrist and keep the bracelet.”
Sacrifice the wrist? Lily looked confused. Gill smiled. “You really don’t get it? It means if the bracelet won’t come off, then cut off the hand; it’ll come off just fine.”
Shock flashed through Owen’s eyes. He yelled, “Yunice, are you even human?!” And he was the one who agreed to suppress his own father’s spirit for eternity, and I wasn’t human?
Yunice, long accustomed to Owen’s hypocrisy, smiled. “I thought you’d never agree to pay. In that case, I have another solution.”
Elsie lowered her eyes, perfectly composed. Whatever Yunice came up with didn’t matter. As long as the jadeite bracelet stayed on…
Yunice didn’t bother to answer. She just pulled out her phone and dialed. “Hello, is this the police! I want to report a theft!”
Lily screamed and grabbed the phone from her. Her voice quavered as she said into the speaker, “Sorry, my daughter isn’t mentally well. She’s just talking nonsense. No need for the police.” She ended the call with a loud snap.
Elsie’s face had already gone white. Owen was just coming to terms with what had happened. Yenice really called the cops over a bracelet? But Yunice wasn’t angry about the call being cut off. That had never been my goal. I didn’t want to put Elsie behind bars; I just wanted the jadeite bracelet back.
Lily’s voice shook. “Your sister wasn’t going to take it. How can you call it stealing? And now you’re accusing her in front of all…”
“When you take something without asking, it’s stealing. Isn’t that what you all told me when my bracelet with the Confucian classics went missing?” Back then, the bracelet belonged to me, and they still called me a thief without blinking an eye. So why couldn’t I file a report now?
Lily was at a loss. Finally, she said weakly, “We can talk this out. We’re family, after all.”
Yunice turned to Owen. “I have no relationship with Quinton. That’s exactly why I can’t accept such an expensive gift. It has to be returned. So what do you suggest we do with the bracelet?”
Owen’s expression became conflicted. Saunders Hospital isn’t doing well, and the family are financially trapped. Spending four million dollars on a jadeite bracelet is a massive… But making Elsie take the fall for theft? Or cut off her hand? Neither is an option.
Owen hesitated for a long while before finally turning to Yunice. “If someone gives an expensive gift, they expect something in return. Just agree to whatever Quinton asks you to do, and that way, you won’t have to return the bracelet.”
Yunice looked like she’d just heard a joke and burst out laughing. “So you think I’m going to do free labor just to give Elsie a jade bracelet? What exactly would I be getting out of that?”
Owen responded with irritation. “We’re all family: why make it so complicated? If Elsie wears your bracelet in public, anyone who asks will know you gave it to her. Wouldn’t that reflect well on you?”
Yunice clapped for him. “Thanks, Mr. Owen, for the good reputation. How about this-why don’t you just give me the Saunders Family Hospital? I’ll tell everyone about it too; that’ll make you look good, right?”
Owen’s anger flared. “Why are you being so unreasonable? You don’t understand basic decency!”
Yunice couldn’t be bothered to keep arguing. She turned her head away, drawing a clear line. “Mr. Owen, I don’t think I’m a part of your family, so don’t expect me to play along with your lovey-dovey family games.”
Owen snapped. “So you don’t acknowledge me-fine. But what, you don’t acknowledge Dad either? You cut ties with the Saunders family, and you won’t even have the right to visit his grave anymore!”
Gill looked up at the sky, trying not to laugh out loud. Will’s ashes had already been relocated by Yunice a long time ago. These idiots still thought they could use the ashes to threaten her.
Yunice shot Owen a scornful look. She didn’t say a word, but her expression made it clear she wasn’t the least bit threatened.
Owen’s brow furrowed; his fist clenched. “I’m not joking!”
Yunice didn’t even want to play along anymore. She rubbed her ears, as if they’d heard too much nonsense. “Then I guess it’s best to call the cops.”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than Gill picked up her phone and started dialing. Lily panicked and lunged forward, ready to pull the same old stunt. But one glare from Gill froze her in place. There was no way she could compete with someone as strong as Gill. Besides, calling the cops might stop it once, but there was no way to stop it forever.
Elsie finally cracked under the pressure. “Enough! Stop pushing them. I’ll take it off.”
Lily’s eyes turned red as she whipped around, heartbroken. “How are you going to take it off? We’ve tried so many times. If it were that easy, it’d be off by now…”
Elsie’s face was full of determination. “Even if I ruin my hand, I’ll get it off. I can’t stand watching you and Owen beg for me anymore.”
Hearing how thoughtful she was, Owen’s nose stung, and he shot Yunice a hateful look. In that moment, the contrast between the two sisters couldn’t have been clearer in his eyes. But he seemed to forget-the bracelet had belonged to Yunice in the first place. She had every right to ask for it back.
Elsie kept trying; her hands trembled from the effort, and the bracelet had already scraped her skin red and swollen. Seeing her face flush and veins pop from how hard she was trying, even Yunice had to admit-her acting was impressive.
Just as Owen was about to stop her again, Elsie suddenly cried out in pain. The jade bracelet slipped from her fingers and flew across the room.
“The bracelet!”
With a sharp crack, the jade bracelet smashed against the corner of the wall, instantly shattering into pieces. Everyone’s face went pale-except for Elsie, who wore a faint, almost imperceptible smirk. If she couldn’t have it, Yunice couldn’t either.
Owen was the first to rush toward the shattered bracelet. Gill looked at Yunice, her face drained of color. Four million dollars; there was no way they could afford to pay that back. But Yunice-maybe she was in shock-barely reacted at all as she stared at the broken jade.
The others gathered around and watched as Owen tried to piece the fragments back together with his hands. But how could a shattered bracelet magically repair itself? And even if it could be fixed, a jade bracelet like that would lose most of its value.
Owen’s expression turned grim: he had no idea how to handle the situation now. Elsie collapsed into Lily’s arms, her legs giving out. She sobbed, “Owen, it’s all my fault. I used too much force. I’ll take full responsibility for the bracelet.”
Owen knew exactly how capable Elsie really was. What is she going to use to pay for it? All he could do was turn to Yunice with a heavy gaze. Unless Yunice agreed to keep the gift, there was no way out of this mess.
Yunice saw right through him and said softly, “Even I don’t know what Quinton wants from me. How could you accept a gift like that on my behalf?” If she couldn’t handle whatever Quinton asked for, then everything would have to be returned.
Owen’s next words got stuck in his throat. He hadn’t wanted to beg Yunice. He’d never intended to take something that belonged to her. But what was done was done.
Owen closed his eyes, gritting his teeth as he came to a painful decision. “We’ll sell the house.”
“What?” Lily and Elsie exclaimed in unison, both staring at Owen in shock. Lily’s voice trembled. “Which house are you selling?”
Owen replied, “Someone asked about the Saunders family mansion earlier. They offered seven million dollars. I didn’t deal.”
Lily nearly lost her footing. “Then where are we supposed to live…?”