Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Why couldn’t I just tell the truth… The search was still on. To keep it quiet, they had to search discreetly, avoiding any public announcements that might cause a scandal.
They even tracked the surveillance footage from the Powell wedding, but it stopped where the roads became too narrow to follow. Everyone at the Powell banquet was still waiting. Time passed, and the whispers among the guests grew louder.
Jordan suggested, “Wyatt, maybe we should make an excuse and get through this first.” Wyatt didn’t respond, which meant he didn’t agree. Jordan looked around the banquet hall again, now completely at a loss.
“Actually, I think Madam Lily’s idea might work. We could have Elsie step in and make the toast. No one saw Ms. Saunders clearly during the ceremony anyway, what with the veil and the distance…”
The wedding toast was for the newlyweds to accept the blessings of the elders and guests. It was also a way to introduce the bride to the groom’s circle. But Yunice was missing. Wyatt couldn’t make the toast alone, but it would be rude not to.
Jordan was practically tearing his hair out. “No, no, Elsie won’t do. You just ordered someone to sew up her mouth. How is she supposed to go out there bleeding like that?” Argh, this was maddening. Jordan almost wanted to put on the veil herself and go with Wyatt.
Wyatt looked at his watch again…
Yunice was tied to a chair, her arms twisted behind her back.
The room was cramped and easily overlooked, as if it had been made to be forgotten. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she glared at Paul with obvious disgust. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” Yunice asked. Paul sat across from her in his white tuxedo.
He is undeniably handsome. At school, he was always the popular one. Everyone knew he had a fianc?e, but that didn’t stop anyone from pursuing him. Because Paul never stood up for her. So no one took the fianc?e seriously. And today, Yunice saw her past self reflected in Taylor.
Paul Powell is really an awful partner. Even someone as wild and unruly as Wyatt managed to follow all the traditions on our wedding day, every little detail in place. But Paul had left his bride behind just to mess with me. Even if it meant that his bride would be criticized or looked down upon. Now, not only had he ruined his own wedding, he wanted to ruin mine.
Yunice struggled slightly against the leather strap binding her wrists behind her back, but even that small movement was caught by Paul.
He said, “Don’t bother. I won’t let you escape.”
Yunice stared at him, as if he were crazy, and said coldly, “What the hell do you want?”
Paul’s eyes wandered from the floor to her face. With a suggestive grin, he said, “What do you think I can’t do right now?”
Yunice didn’t answer, but her eyes remained fixed on him.
Paul leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, shortening the distance between them. “I’m just curious,” he began, “what do you like about the cripple anyway? I understood before. You had no identity, no status, no reputation. It made sense to settle for someone equally pathetic. But now you’ve become Carl’s daughter. You have the standing to be my equal. Why don’t you come back to me? Why do you still marry Wyatt Cooper? Are you trying to spite me?”
Yunice let out a soft laugh, more amused than angry at his twisted logic. She looked up at him, her tone full of contempt. “You think you’re worth my petty annoyance? I’m not after you because you’re not worth it. I’m just not into you. Simple as that. And it’s not because I met Wyatt. I’ve never been into you.”
The false sense of superiority Paul had clung to shattered in an instant. Humiliated, he grabbed her chin and forced her to look him in the eye. Through clenched teeth, he said, “Do you even remember your situation right now?”
Yunice sneered. “So what? I’m just a piece of bait. If you do anything to me, Wyatt and Carl will have every reason to destroy you. If my life can take down the entire Powell family, I’d call that a win.”
Paul’s fingers tightened, anger twisting his expression. He released them with a shove, gritting his teeth. “Do you think Wyatt really cares about you?”
He leaned back in his chair and shrugged lazily. “I don’t have to do anything today. I’ll just keep you locked up for two hours, and we’ll see what Wyatt does.” He grinned, dripping with sarcasm.
Yunice’s expression changed. The hours… The wedding banquet will be over by then. No one will wait for me that long.
She tried to struggle again, but the leather strap only dug deeper into her skin. It tightened with every movement, offering no relief. Paul sat across from her and waited stubbornly.
Twenty minutes later, Paul received a phone call from his father, Jensen. He hung up impatiently. The phone rang again. Then a third time, fourth, and fifth. Finally, fed up, Paul answered. Jensen’s voice was shaking with panic. “You useless brat, where the hell are you?”
Something was wrong with Jensen’s tone. Paul was about to answer when Wyatt’s cold, authoritative voice came through the phone. “You have three minutes to show me Yunice’s condition.”
Before Paul could say anything, a bloodcurdling scream ripped through the phone. There was a mechanical whirring in the background, like a chainsaw. For all the resentment he harbored toward his father, Paul’s heart clenched at the sound. But he tried to play it cool. “Three minutes? That’s not a lot. If you happen to see something unpleasant, Yunice might end up blaming you for not being considerate enough.”
The words had barely left his mouth when another agonized scream rang out. “Paul Powell, do you want to kill your own father? Wyatt! Wyatt!”
Jensen’s cries shook Paul to his core. He couldn’t keep up the act anymore. Swallowing hard, he murmured, “Wait.”
He only spoke again when he heard Jensen’s ragged breathing. Lowering his voice, Paul said, “I was just bluffing. Yunice isn’t with me. I haven’t seen her. But she sent me a message about an hour ago saying she wanted to meet. I can send it to you. Believe it or not, it’s your call.” He took a screenshot of the message and sent it to Wyatt.
Whether it was because of his own limitations or because Paul’s device was shielded, the signal wasn’t coming through. Jordan shook his head.
Meanwhile, Freya was already leading a team to the address mentioned in the message, searching for Yunice. Paul, on the other hand, ended the call without a second thought, ignoring whatever had happened to Jensen.
Wyatt looked at the disconnected call, calm but deadly. His eyes went back to Jensen, strapped tightly to a machine table, his legs spread and suspended over a massive rotating blade.
Just one more inch forward on the machine’s conveyor belt, and Jensen would be sawed in half. His body jerked and shook violently. He was so scared he couldn’t even scream. After an icy look from Wyatt, he lost consciousness completely.
Meanwhile, Paul returned to the elevator control room after hanging up the phone. He closed the door behind him and met the cold, piercing stare of Yunice. He walked over and looked down at her for a moment. Then he reached out and stroked her cheek lightly, as if she were a small animal.
Yunice jerked away with all her strength, her eyes filled with disgust. The movement infuriated Paul. His hand froze in the air, his jaw clenched, and he glared at her.
“Can’t even touch you now?”
The more she resists, the more I want to push. Paul leaned down, buried his face in her neck, and kissed her with burning intent. The wedding dress Yunice was wearing wasn’t easy to get out of. Undeterred, Paul kissed her while reaching around to undo the leather strap that bound her wrists.
She struggled and twisted away, making it difficult for him to get a good grip. Almost as soon as her hands were free, Yunice reflexively slapped Paul hard across the face. She hit him with all her strength, knocking him off balance. Seizing the opportunity, Yunice jumped to her feet and ran for the door. Paul chased after her for two steps, but when he saw the patrols approaching, he stopped nonchalantly.
Having sex with Yunice had never been my real goal. He looked up at her fleeing figure, wedding dress lifted in both hands as she ran in panic. Then he looked down at the antique-looking ring in his palm and sneered. Without hesitation, he threw it into the nearby sewer.
The wedding gown was a problem. Yunice had to lift her skirt with both hands to avoid tripping over it. It had been forty minutes since I had been abducted. She made her way to the hotel lobby and quickly adjusted the bodice of her dress.
I can only hope that it isn’t too late. I really don’t want to face Wyatt when he is angry.
Jordan, who was coordinating the search nearby, was the first to spot her. Moments earlier he had picked up a signal from Paul’s phone in the area and was about to give the order to arrest him when he saw Yunice instead.
Seeing her again was a godsend. Jordan immediately ran with her to the banquet hall.
“Wyatt’s been waiting all this time. The guests haven’t dared speak up yet, but if you’d been any later, the situation would have gotten out of hand.”
“I’m so sorry,” Yunice said breathlessly.
“Don’t apologize to me,” Jordan said with a sigh. “Just make sure you calm him down.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Yunice caught sight of a figure. Her gaze instinctively shifted and landed on Wyatt walking down the hall. He had been walking calmly at first, but the moment he recognized her, his pace quickened sharply. Yunice ran toward him as well. Just before she reached him, her foot caught in the hem of her dress, and she fell forward. Wyatt caught her in an instant and pulled her into his arms.
Yunice stood up quickly, noticing his strong hand gripping her arm before she dared to look into his eyes. He was slightly out of breath, anger and concern swirling in his eyes.
“I’m late, aren’t I?” she asked nervously.
Jordan jumped in, “No, you’re still on time. Let’s go!”
Just as Yunice was about to move, Wyatt grabbed her wrist. She looked down and saw him staring at the red mark where the leather strap had dug into her skin.
“I can wear lace gloves to cover it. No one will notice,” she said quickly.
She thought I’m worried about how others might talk?
Unaware of his deeper emotion, Yunice hastily slipped on the gloves, then pulled him along.
“Come on, let’s go!”
Jordan finally breathed a sigh of relief. The way Yunice was willing, she clearly wasn’t trying to run away. Everything at the banquet continued as planned. Yunice stood next to Wyatt and played her part perfectly, addressing the guests as instructed. Everyone gave them a warm welcome and didn’t make any trouble about their late arrival.
But when they reached Carl’s table, the group of Wyatt’s friends sitting nearby began to make noise. Then the loudest of them suddenly fell silent, his eyes darting away from Yunice in panic. After a few seconds of awkward silence, he forced a laugh and rejoined the fake cheering. This subtle reaction was immediately picked up by Bale and Amyra. They both followed his gaze into the room behind Yunice, and their faces changed instantly.
They quickly looked away. The action was so obvious that even Wyatt caught it out of the corner of his eye. Without a word, he turned slightly to look behind Yunice. His expression grew cold, so cold that Yunice could feel it.
She tilted her head up to look at him, still smiling, but that smile froze when she saw the look on his face. She had a feeling that something was wrong behind her, so she instinctively reached back. Wyatt stopped her, his voice calm.
“Don’t move.”
He reached behind her and removed something, holding it in his hand. A few seconds later, his friends resumed their cheerfulness, but it felt forced. Yunice could clearly sense that something wasn’t right. Her heart began to race. Until the end of the banquet, her eyes occasionally glanced at Wyatt’s closed fist.