Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Naturally, this was Yunice’s doing. Paul had tried to use Moss to humiliate Yunice during the family banquet. So she used the same trick-she sent a message to Elsie, posing as Paul, inviting her to the Powell mansion. When Paul found out, he scrambled to intercept Elsie to keep her from running into Taylor. In doing so, he missed the banquet and ended up neglecting Taylor as well. As luck would have it, Wyatt had just flipped a table and left Jackson fuming. All that anger had to go somewhere-and it landed squarely on Paul.
Yunice said coldly, “He poisoned Moss. A beating was the least he deserved.”
People said pets symbolized a person’s children in their astrological chart. In a way, Moss was a child Paul had raised-and he’d still been heartless enough to use the bird’s life as leverage over her. That alone showed how untrustworthy he truly was.
Yunice was grateful she’d managed to extract herself from their engagement, even though Taylor got dragged into it this time. Yunice didn’t think Taylor was a bad person. If this helped her see Paul for who he really was, maybe she could escape the Powell family before it was too late.
Just as Yunice was reading, a loud pounding echoed from the front. “Hello? Is anyone here? Is the medicine ready yet? I’m in a hurry!”
Yunice looked up and locked eyes with Gill. He walked out and sighed. “What’s the rush? If the timing’s off, the medicinal properties will be ruined. If the medicine doesn’t match Ms. Taylor’s needs, who do you think she’ll blame?”
The delivery guy looked irritated and pale. “Then hurry it up already!”
“Tesh, path,” Gill waved him off and stepped outside Virtue Hall. The man couldn’t sit still-he kept pacing the front hall, checking the time every few seconds. He was distracted. Gill circled around and pulled the rolling door shut.
“Hey!” The guy jumped up, rushing to the door and clawing at the seam. “What the heck? Why are you locking the door in broad daylight? Open it! Let me out! If you don’t, I’m calling the cops!”
He scrambled to his feet, scanning for a window to escape from-there wasn’t one. He lunged for the pharmacy door, but it was locked from the inside.
Yunice stood calmly by the simmering pots, unfazed by the pounding and yelling outside. One by one, she filtered the finished decoctions, her rhythm unbothered. Then came the sound of someone racing the shutter from outside, followed by crashing noises. And then-a scuffle. It didn’t last long.
After a few moments of silence, Gill knocked on the pharmacy door and cheerfully called, “Miss. In’s handled.”
Yunice sealed the last packet of medicine just as he spoke. She slung her bag over her shoulder and stepped into the clinic. The place was a wreck-shattered vases littered the floor. The delivery guy was tied up and shivering. Standing nearby was a well-dressed man in a suit-someone Yunice recognized as one of Taylor’s trusted aides. He nodded at her and said, “De Ryde, I’ve covered the damages to the clinic. I’ll be taking this man with me to hand over to Ms. Taylor.”
Rybe was Yunice’s pseudonymin public.
After Taylor’s medicine was tampered with last time, neither of them had made it public. They were just waiting for this next pickup, baiting the culprit into coming to them. Now that the man was in Taylor’s hands, how she investigated was up to her. Yunice personally delivered the medicine to Taylor.
Meanwhile, at the Kendall mansion, Taylor was furious when she learned her meds had almost been swapped again. “I will find out who’s behind this,” she growled. “Let’s see who’s so desperate to see me suffer.”
‘s a Whole Lie
After saying her piece, Taylor asked Yunice, “You took the swapped medicine back last time-did you ever figure out what it would’ve done if I’d taken it?”
Yunice, wearing a baseball cap and a mask covering most of her face, replied, “It would’ve caused insomnia, loss of appetite, irritability… and eventually, make you ugly.”
“Ugly?” Taylor sneered. “The medicine wasn’t meant to make me sick; it was meant to make me ugly?” Now she was even more intrigued by whoever was behind it. Her trusted aide was still trying to break the delivery guy’s silence. It would probably take some time before they got him to name names.
Yunice was taking Taylor’s pulse as they spoke. “How have you been feeling lately?”
At that, Taylor actually lit up a little. “Pretty good, actually. I’ve been sleeping well at night.”
She’d been anxious and tightly wound since childhood. Every doctor she saw told her the same thing-she thought too much, worried too much, needed to relax. She understood all that in theory, but she couldn’t help herself. Yet, after just one week on Rylie’s medicine, she felt like her mood had genuinely improved.
Even yesterday, after the humiliating scene at the Powell family gathering, her father had hovered nervously, afraid she’d have a meltdown. He practically shadowed her every step. But to everyone’s surprise, she ate and slept just fine. She was convinced the medicine Rylie had given her worked wonders.
Speak of the devil. A maid arrived and announced, “Ms. Taylor, Mr. Paul brought a lot of gifts. He’s here to apologize.”
Paul? Taylor’s expression shifted slightly; her voice turned cold. “Bring him to me.”
She’d lost face at the Powell mansion yesterday-she planned to get it all back from Paul. So he came after all?
Yunice started to make herself scarce, but Taylor stopped her. “I heard real doctors are good at reading people’s faces. Can you?”
Yunice replied, “I know a little.”
“That’s enough.” Taylor motioned for her to stand behind her, then said, “Help me get a good read on Paul.”
Paul hadn’t come willingly-Jackson and Jensen had forced him to visit the Kendall residence to apologize. That being the case, his face was naturally sour.
If he wasn’t going to be polite, then she definitely wouldn’t be. This was a marriage between two powerful families; if it worked, great. If not, the Kendall family wasn’t about to grovel to the Powell family. Why should she care about his mood?
Paul came in and saw Taylor hadn’t even stood to greet him. That made him like her even less. He preferred women like Elsie-sweet, accommodating, and gentle. Taylor’s proud, aloof attitude wasn’t his type at all.
He pulled out a chair and sat across from her, getting straight to the point. “Yesterday was my mistake. I’m here to apologize.”
Even while apologizing, he kept his chin raised, wearing a cocky expression. Taylor had to resist the urge to slap him.
At first, she’d wanted to go along with her parents’ wishes and try to get along with Paul-after all, his family background was impressive. But after a few interactions, she realized Paul was a terrible person. She didn’t bother saving his pride. She sneered, “And I’d really love to know what exactly made you so busy you forgot about me.”
Whatever it was, it had to be important enough for him to completely ignore her at the family banquet.
Paul said, “I slipped up, that’s all. Does it even matter why anymore?”
“So that’s your apology?” Taylor raised a brow. “You can’t even be bothered to make up a decent excuse? Looks like we’re a bad match. Why don’t you call off the engagement right now?”
Paul froze, frowning at her. Taylor stared back calmly, showing no sign of panic. The Kendall family did want this alliance-but not at any cost. It had never been about Paul specifically. He thought she was clinging to him, when in fact, it had been Jackson who reached out to the Kendalls in the first place. They wanted a mutually beneficial partnership, not to serve the Powell family like slaves.
After the humiliation Taylor suffered at the banquet, her parents immediately called Jackson and made it clear the Kendall family had no intention of “marrying up.” That explained why Paul was here today-to smooth things over. Too bad he still didn’t understand what was really going on.
Before he could finish, Taylor cut in. “This personal matter-was it your friend’s sister?”
Paul didn’t follow.
Taylor looked up. “You had a fianc?e once. We ran into her at Virtue Hall. Back then, you told me she was just your friend’s sister.”
Paul’s face stiffened. “That’s all in the past.”
Taylor let out a cold laugh. “Then what’s that on your neck?”
Paul blinked, confused. Just then, Yunice, standing behind Taylor, stepped forward and held a mirror for him to see.
Paul was too busy checking himself out in the mirror to notice Yunice. The moment he did, however, his heart started racing like a drum. He tried to play it cool. “Just a mosquito bite,” he said, brushing it off.
Taylor didn’t say whether she believed him; her gaze stayed lowered, the corners of her lips curling into a cold smile.
Inside, Paul was a mess. He was furious at Elsie for being so clueless. He’d let her stay the night in his room, and she’d gone and left hickey marks on him when he wasn’t paying attention. Jackson had made it clear: if he couldn’t win Taylor back, he could forget about returning to the Powell family. Now Elsie was making things worse.
Just as the tension peaked, a man dressed like a corporate hotshot walked up to Taylor and whispered something in her ear. Taylor let out a chilly laugh. “Perfect timing.”
Yunice and Paul both looked at her, wondering who had just arrived. “Elsie…” Paul almost stood up when he saw her walk in. Elsie was just as surprised to see Paul there. Taylor, meanwhile, had no idea what kind of relationship the two shared. Only Yunice caught onto the tension in the room and smirked quietly to herself. This is about to get good.
Taylor sneered at Elsie. “Stunned?” Only then did Elsie realize she’d been staring at Paul the whole time. His expression was sharp and commanding, silently warning her not to give away anything about their relationship.
Taylor added, “This is Mr. Paul. Not someone you’d normally get to meet. No wonder you’re so starstruck.” There was a hint of smugness in her tone. It didn’t sit right with Elsie, but with Paul’s silent cue hanging over her, she only dared to argue in her mind. I’ve done more than just meet Paul. We did something bad last night…
But why was Paul even at the Kendall mansion? Was he here for business? Since Taylor already had someone, the thought of marriage didn’t even cross Elsie’s mind.
Taylor reached out and motioned for Elsie to sit next to her. Elsie assumed Taylor still saw her as a close friend, so she didn’t think twice. She sat down and was just about to make small talk. “Taylor, my brother has been-“
“Elsie, what do you think are my best qualities?” Taylor cut her off with a smile. Elsie froze for a second; something about Taylor felt off today.
Still, she didn’t want to seem out of place, so she kept up her usual persona. “Do I even need to list them? Anyone with eyes can see them.”
Taylor glanced at Paul deliberately and said with biting sarcasm, “Funny how some people out there have eyes but no taste.”
Paul caught the jab and looked at Elsie. He’d always thought she was honest and kind, but now she was shamelessly flattering Taylor of all people. Taylor clearly wasn’t done. “Be specific.”
Elsie’s smile stiffened. An odd sense of dread started creeping in. She hesitated before saying, “You’ve got a great family background, a nice personality, and really good taste!”
“You think I’m pretty?” Taylor asked next.