Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Elsie held her cheek, tears brimming in her eyes, her expression full of helpless grievance. “She was mentally ill…”
Owen scolded Yunice too. “What are you getting at? Are you saying there was some other reason Lauren was institutionalized?”
“Just because someone’s in a psych ward doesn’t automatically mean they’re mentally ill,” Yunice said, turning to face Owen head-on.
Owen fell silent. He knew that wasn’t true. Yunice herself had been committed on a forged diagnosis. She’d been perfectly sane.
Wait. Owen’s eyes widened with realization. “Lauren’s uncle and aunt forged documents to get her committed?”
Not completely brain-dead after all. Yunice curled her lips into a cold smile. “Lauren was an orphan. Her uncle and aunt were her legal guardians. They treated her like free labor. Then one day, when their kid got into trouble, they used Lauren as the scapegoat. That’s how she ended up in that institution.”
Owen hesitated. “Even so, they were still her legal guardians. Elsie going to them with compensation wasn’t technically wrong.”
‘t Pretend It’s Charity
“If you’re so determined to compensate someone,” Yunice said bluntly, “why not compensate Melina directly?” She exposed them without hesitation. “When Lauren died, the Drake family took a sum of money and walked away. They never cared about her. So why should they be compensated? They don’t deserve it. That’s not kindness-that’s enabling the wicked.”
Owen didn’t reply, choosing instead to defend Elsie. “Elsie didn’t know the full story. She didn’t mean any harm.”
“No harm?” Yunice’s eyes locked onto Elsie. “She’s the worst of you all!” She stared her down, her voice rising with each word. “Everyone knows the Drake family treated Lauren like garbage. If you could dig up information on them, then you must have seen what kind of people they are. And instead of feeling outraged, you hand them compensation like a reward. Are you praising them for what they did? Or are you just hoping they’ll come after me next?”
Elsie let out a shocked gasp, startled by the accusation. She pushed away from Paul’s protective embrace, flustered and eager to explain. “It’s not like that! I didn’t say anything! They still don’t know Lauren died in your place…”
Yunice’s voice cut in like a blade. “I’ll say it again-Lauren didn’t die in my place. Don’t try to trap me.”
Elsie’s eyes darted, avoiding her gaze as she subtly slid her phone behind her back-recording. But Yunice had been too sharp, too guarded. She hadn’t given them even a sliver of evidence.
Owen, of course, had no idea Elsie was recording. He still jumped to defend her. “Elsie didn’t lie. I did tell her about your situation, but I made it clear-nobody’s allowed to leak anything.”
Elsie chimed in earnestly. “That’s right, Yunice. Your reputation is tied to the Saunders family’s reputation. I’d never say a word.”
Yunice said flatly, “You don’t have to pretend. The less you do, the safer we all are. But now that you’ve gone and delivered gifts to the Drake family, with their greedy nature, they’ve probably already set their sights on our family. When they come knocking, are you all going to throw me under the bus to calm things down again?”
Owen snapped, “Well, you caused this mess! Are we wrong to try and fix it?”
Lily, who’d been silent until now, quietly added, “Yunny, if we really wanted to throw you under the bus, why would we go out of our way to speak up on your behalf?”
“Madam Lily,” Yunice sneered, “do you really think that’s fair to say? The Powell family’s accusations were just a few days ago-did you forget that already?”
They were always willing to protect her over small things; but once things got serious, she’d be the first one offered up as a scapegoat.
‘t Pretend It’s Charity
When Lily lowered her head in shame, Yunice continued, her voice heavy with irony. “Lauren’s death was already closed and buried. No one cared. Yet here you are, digging it back up just to pin the blame on me. You stirred up the Drake family and pointed them straight at the Saunders family-real clever of you.”
Owen was speechless, suddenly struck by how dangerous things really were. He’d signed off on Lauren’s autopsy report himself. He’d seen the true nature of the Drake family-shameless and ruthless, willing to stoop to anything.
Owen hesitated, glancing at Elsie. His look clearly carried a hint of blame. When Paul first brought up Lauren, Owen had originally wanted to keep it buried. After all, so much time had passed. No one was going to reopen that wound. But it was Elsie who kept preaching about conscience, saying they couldn’t stay silent just because no one else knew. She even threw it back at him-asked if he wanted to be as heartless and cold-blooded as Yunice.
He’d been provoked, and that’s what led him to agree to let her take the money to the Drake family. But now that he thought about it, they had completely overcomplicated something that could’ve stayed simple.
Sensing Owen’s shifting blame, Elsie scrambled to fix things. “Going to the Drake family was my mistake. I didn’t think it through. The person I should’ve made amends to first was Madam Melina. I’ll go to her right now and apologize…”
Whether it was ignorance or just poor timing, Lily actually nodded in agreement and took off a jade bracelet, handing it to Elsie. “Bring some valuable things with you.”
Elsie was moved. “Mom, this was a gift from Dad. You’ve never even let anyone touch it.” The “Dad” in her mouth was Will. Ever since coming into the Saunders family, she really had started acting like his rightful daughter. The worst part was no one thought anything was wrong with that.
Lily stroked the bracelet in her hand, her voice soft and solemn. “Take it. If it helps clear Yunny’s name, Dad would’ve wanted that.”
“Mom,” Owen said, clearly reluctant to see Lily sacrifice something so important, “I’ll find something better to offer Madam Melina. We can’t give away that bracelet.”
But Lily’s eyes welled with tears. “We already lost a jade bangle last time compensating Mr. Quinton. The Saunders family took a massive hit from that. There’s no money left to buy anything better.”
Owen frowned, already eyeing Yunice. If Yunice would just hand over her father’s medical notes, he could sell them to the research institute-and that would more than make up for the…
“Yunice-” Owen turned, about to speak, only to find her spot empty. He froze, scanning the room until his gaze landed on his expensive desk. Then he shouted, his voice sharp with alarm, “Yunice! What the heck are you doing!”
Everyone’s eyes shot toward him.
Yunice was standing on the desk-nearly waist-high-hauling a heavy wooden chair, staring intently at the ceiling’s decorative paneling. Nobody knew what she was up to; they just thought she looked dangerously unhinged.
Before anyone could stop her, before anyone could pull her down, Yunice suddenly swung the heavy chair overhead and smashed it into the ceiling.
With a thunderous crash, chunks of plaster and dust rained down; everyone instinctively dove toward Elsie, terrified she’d be hit.
Yunice didn’t stop. She slammed the chair into the ceiling again and again until a loud metallic sound rang out.
In the midst of the dust and debris, Owen’s panicked voice cut through. “Yunice! What are you doing? That’s the gas line! If you rupture it, we’re all dead!”
Almost instantly, a sharp hiss filled the room as the gas valve cracked. The collective gasp was nearly lost beneath the sound of Yunice’s ragged breathing.
She stood on the desk, clutching the chair, smiling darkly at what she’d done.
Owen rushed to the study’s door, fumbling to unlock it, but it was bolted from the inside. His hands were clumsy; the door wouldn’t budge.
Paul and Lily held tightly onto Elsie, dragging her as far from the leak as they could.
But what good was distance? All it would take was one spark, one burst of static-and none of them would make it out alive.
Yunice stood in the thickest cloud of gas, watching the others scatter like terrified vermin.
“You’re the ones who wanted me dead,” she said with a crooked, half-mad smile.
Owen shouted, “Yunice, what are you saying? That’s crazy talk! Get down right now-it could blow any second!”
The sudden concern caught her off guard. So he actually did care about me? A little. But what does that matter now? No one is getting out of this room alive.
Owen kept struggling with the door until he realized the key was missing.
Yunice finally jumped down from the desk. Her voice was clear and cold. “You all insisted on going to Madam Melina. Then I’ll just have to make sure you never leave.”
Paul was filled with both rage and fear. He shouted, “What the heck is wrong with you? We went to Madam Melina for you! To help you!”
Yunice yanked Elsie out of his arms in one sudden move. Paul started to block her, but she raised her other hand-revealing a lighter-and stared him down.
Owen shouted, “Nobody moves! Static sparks could set this whole place off! Yunice, calm down!”
Elsie was frozen in Yunice’s grasp, trembling in pure terror. She was certain Yunice would light it. With the gas this thick, even if it didn’t kill them instantly, it would tear them apart.
Dragging Elsie with her, Yunice turned to face the others. “Madam Melina only has one thing left in her life-Lauren. If she lives the rest of her life in peace, then fine. But if any of you go stirring things up in front of her and let her find out Lauren’s dead-this is what you’ll get.”
“You don’t want us to see Madam Melina?” Owen raised both hands in the air, trying to calm her. “Okay. Give me the key first. We’ll talk, alright?”
Yunice tightened her grip on Elsie. “No.”
Yunice pondered. After all these years of empty promises, you think I’d still fall for that?
Elsie’s legs were giving out, her body sinking lower as she cried and called for her mother.
Lily’s fingers twitched, trying to inch closer and save her daughter-only to be stopped again by Yunice and her lit lighter.
Lily broke down, sobbing. “Yunice! Don’t underestimate a mother’s determination to protect her child!”