Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Just then, Owen finally found the first-aid kit. Hearing Lily’s story had him in tears; he rushed over, dropping to a crouch in front of Yunice. He quickly opened the iodine and gauze, ready to treat her wound.
Choking on his emotions, he said, “Yunny, let me take care of this. Once it’s wrapped, it won’t hurt anymore. I care about you. Mom cares about you. We’re family-we should all be okay, alright?”
Yunice couldn’t tell if Owen was crying for Lily or for her. She quietly moved her leg away, refusing to accept a meaningless gesture of compensation.
Owen’s hand, still holding the cotton swab, froze midair like her avoidance had genuinely hurt him.
Yunice took a breath. “I’m not saying you never loved me; I’m saying that love changed. Time and fate moved it somewhere else. It’s just not with me anymore.”
“Maybe you did love me once-but we only spent three days together. Three days of motherly affection can’t compete with fifteen years by Elsie’s side. I only have one mom, but I’ve never been your only daughter. That ‘love’ you talk about? It feels more like duty you’re supposed to give me just because you’re my mother. But do you really love me? Do you-like, something-even know me at all? When you testified against me, you said Elsie was quiet and gentle and I was wild and hyper, so it must’ve been me who caused the injury. But was I really wild and hyper? The scar on my hand-that was from shielding you from falling debris. Do you even remember that? What about the day I broke my finger? I was lying there in pain, asking if you were okay. Do you even remember what you said to me?”
Lily’s eyes went blank; she couldn’t recall.
But Yunice remembered perfectly. “You didn’t answer. You had your back to me. You were busy fussing over Elsie-checking to see if she was hurt.”
Yunice continued, “Elsie didn’t even have a scratch on her. She cried and said she was scared-asked if that heavy thing was going to kill her. And you comforted her, told her, ‘Don’t be scared, it’s okay, it wasn’t going to hit you; see? It hit Yunice.’ You sounded so relieved when you said it-so calm. But you never once looked back at me. Elsie was already fifteen, and I was just sixteen, but you never comforted me. That day, while you held her and wiped her tears, you told me to clean the blood off my hand so I could drive you both to the hospital. Did you beg for me then, like you’re begging now? Did you get down on your knees and plead with the doctors to treat the kid with a fractured hand? Did you tell them if it wasn’t treated right, it’d heal wrong, leave scars, ruin her grip-destroy her dream of becoming a lead surgeon?”
Paul looked at Yunice, slightly stunned, as if he’d never heard any of this before. If it was true, then Lily really had gone too far.
Owen stayed half-crouched on the floor, not saying a word; Lily sat in silence, tears running down her face.
Time ticked by. Finally, like he couldn’t take it anymore, Owen suddenly snapped-he threw the disinfectant tray from his hands and shouted, his voice shaking with emotion, “How much longer are you going to keep dragging up the past!”
Tears streamed down Owen’s face as he broke down, yelling, “Can’t you see we’ve been trying to make it up to you? Sure, you were wronged-but haven’t we done everything we could to fix it?”
He grabbed Yunice and shoved her forward, pointing straight at Lily. “Look at Mom. Look at her! She’s begging you for mercy-can’t you see she’s bleeding, crying too? You think you’re the only one who’s been wronged? You think what she’s been through isn’t just as bad?”
Yunice said flatly, “I never asked for your compensation. I’ve tried again and again to cut myself out of your lives, but you’re the ones who keep dragging me back. Elsie lost her finger because she had bad intentions. She brought it on herself. That whole thing had nothing to do with me. Whether she can get treatment or not-that’s not my problem.”
Owen gritted his teeth. “You’re really not going to give an inch?”
Yunice answered, “That’s right.”
The air grew heavy again; only the sound of grinding teeth broke the silence. This feeling-Yunice knew it too well. It usually meant one thing: when they felt they couldn’t take it anymore, they’d turn to violence.
“I had no idea the hospital refused to admit her,” Yunice said quickly, just before they made a move.
Seeing her back down, Owen thought his threats had worked. His expression eased a little.
But then Yunice continued, “But I’m guessing Wyatt saw the marks on my neck-that’s probably why he told the hospital not to take Elsie in.”
About how much Wyatt cared about her. None of them believed Wyatt would go that far for her.
Owen said, “I might not know Wyatt, but I sure know you. You don’t understand people; you’ve got no real talent-yeah, you’re pretty, but Silverburgh’s full of beautiful women. What could Wyatt possibly see in you? All that kindness he showed you? He was putting on a show for us, and we all knew it. Do you think we don’t get it? Why lie to us?”
Honestly, it wasn’t surprising Owen didn’t believe her. Even Yunice didn’t know why Wyatt had gone so far to protect her-but he had. He’d treated her better than her own blood, who never stopped preaching about family.
Yunice glanced at Paul, surprised he hadn’t chimed in. Isn’t he always the one shouting the loudest?
But Paul just sat there, quiet, eyes focused like he was lost in thought. Yunice noticed how odd he was acting, but now wasn’t the time to ask.
She checked the time, then said, “Here’s a word of advice, you’d better send me back before Wyatt finds out. Otherwise, Elsie’s the one who’s really going to suffer.”
“Stop waving Wyatt’s name around like it’s a badge of honor. You think-” Owen had just raised his voice when Lily suddenly threw her arms around his leg and shook her head.
Owen frowned. “Mom, you don’t believe her too, do you? What could Wyatt possibly like about her? She’s just riding his coattails; now that she’s climbed the ladder, she thinks she can act all high and mighty-like we’re supposed to bow to her or something…”
He shot Yunice a defiant look. “There’s no way she’s really that tough. You don’t know pain until the knife’s in your own hand. If she lost a finger like Elsie did, then she’d understand what Elsie’s going through!”
Yunice snapped her head toward Owen, voice cold as ice. “You want to break my finger?”
Owen had only meant to scare her. He knew Yunice feared pain; just mentioning it would make her cave and agree to get Elsie the treatment she needed.
“Yunny, don’t push Owen,” Lily pleaded. “He doesn’t want to hurt you-but we really can’t delay Elsie’s treatment any longer. Owen knows you’re jealous of her; you’ve always wanted to ruin her. But hurting yourself just to get back at her? It’s not worth it… Yunny, please. Let it go.”
Owen furrowed his brow and walked toward Yunice with a look of benevolent concern, hoping she would finally understand that hurting others often meant hurting yourself even more. He didn’t want to keep fighting her, but if she pushed him any further, he really might…
“Owen, are you seriously about to lay a hand on her?” A figure darted between them-Paul stepped in and stood protectively in front of Yunice.
Owen’s scheme was cut short; he shoved Paul impatiently. “Get out of the way.”
But Paul didn’t budge. He glared at him. “Owen!”
Owen hissed through his teeth, finally snapping, “Whose side are you on? Can’t you tell I was just trying to scare her? If she won’t give in, what happens to Elsie?”
Paul hesitated, then said, “Even if other hospitals turned her away, doesn’t the Saunders family own one? Wouldn’t getting Elsie treated be better than wasting time arguing with Yunice?”
At that, Owen’s face twisted further. He had thought of using their own hospital, but, “Elsie’s hand needs a top-tier specialist, or she’ll have lasting damage. Our hospital… just isn’t up to it right now.”
That was the polite version. Yunice had seen the current staff list at Saunders Hospital. Over the years, Owen had pulled strings for Elsie, which had stirred trouble for many of the attending doctors. They never said it out loud, but as the hospital’s reputation and performance slipped, the more capable, well-known doctors had all jumped ship. What was left were physicians with unremarkable backgrounds and no drive. Owen knew that all too well-he’d never risk Elsie’s future on them.
Still, he wanted Yunice to help. But Paul blocked him and turned to Yunice. “You should go.”
Yunice studied the situation, then left the Saunders family estate without hesitation. Owen tried to stop her, but Paul held him back until Yunice disappeared completely.
Watching Elsie’s last hope walk away, Owen exploded. “Who do you think you are, playing the hero? First you feed her when she’s just a kid, and now you’re chasing after her like a lovesick puppy right before her wedding?”
Paul’s face turned cold. “We don’t need her to save Elsie’s hand.” He continued, “If Silverburgh’s experts won’t help, we’ll find someone from out of town. I’ll get a helicopter-send her there.”
Owen scowled. “You’re not going with her?”
A helicopter landed directly in the Saunders family courtyard. Owen and Lily hurried to help Elsie board.
After Yunice left, Paul didn’t see any sign of her. He figured she’d gone back to the banquet hall and, pretending nothing had happened, drove over to the hotel. But the moment he arrived, a bald man pinned him down!
The ribbon-cutting ceremony had ended, and inside the banquet hall, Jensen was effortlessly working the room, clinking glasses with top execs. Just one wall away, Paul was being forced to half-beg for mercy at Wyatt’s feet. Paul had never bowed his head to anyone. Now, struggling under the bald man’s grip, his face turned red with rage.
Wyatt glanced down at him. “Where’s Yunice?”
“How the heck should I know!” Paul shot back. But even as he said it, he realized-had Yunice not come back to the banquet hall? People inside were already glancing toward the terrace. Panicking that someone might see him like this, Paul caved. “I took her to the Saunders house, okay? But she left a while ago.” Then he added, snidely, “I figured she’d come crawling back to you. But looks like she couldn’t care less. Ha!”
He’d barely finished before the bald man grabbed him by the collar and smacked his waist with full force. “Out you go!” The guy was strong-Paul stumbled, lost his footing, and went tumbling out the terrace door! He tripped on his own pants and hit the ground hard-right in front of a gawking crowd.
“Who’s that?” “Hahaha, pants half-down-dude must’ve gotten drunk and couldn’t find the bathroom!” “That’s gotta be the most embarrassing thing I’ve seen all year. Anyone know him?”
Paul stayed face-down, too mortified to lift his head as the crowd burst into laughter. In a flash, he yanked his jacket up to cover his face, scrambled to his feet, and ran off-almost tripping again on his damn pants. He fled in humiliation. From the banquet hall, Jensen caught sight of him. No one else might recognize that back, but Jensen knew it was his son. His expression darkened with fury; he slammed his wine glass down hard.
On the fourth day, she arrived at Virtue Hall. She pulled out her key, unlocked the rolling shutter, and shoved it up with force. The clinic hadn’t opened once while she’d been gone.
Gill was sound asleep on the camp bed, wrapped in a blanket, when she vaguely heard some rustling nearby. She stirred, mumbling as she sat up. “Stupid rat, I’m gonna beat you to death!” She opened her drowsy eyes-and froze. Yunice was standing nearby, boiling water.
Yunice pressed the button on the kettle, then turned slightly to examine the herbs in the apothecary cabinet. A slender, pale wrist slipped out from her sleeve and rested against the bronzed wood; the image looked like a painting.
“Ms. Saunders…” Gill thought she was dreaming.
Yunice turned around when she heard her. “Did I wake you?”
It really was Yunice! Gill nearly burst into tears. She shuffled off the camp bed in her slippers. “Ms. Saunders, where have you been the past few days? I’ve been going out of my mind!”
She’d known Yunice would definitely come back to the clinic, so she’d stayed here day and night, just to make sure she returned safe and sound.
Yunice answered calmly, “I went to Quinton to settle a favor.”