Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
To be honest, even Owen was floored by how she handled those test questions.
The difficulty level? Not even he could’ve pulled that off.
As the livestream ended, Owen said quietly, “Technology is really something these days. Even in a livestream environment, under direct filming, someone can still manage to cheat. The funniest part is, even Tommy got fooled by Yunice’s acting. I can’t imagine how much he’s going to regret defending her in the livestream when he sees what she’s really capable of in college.”
Elsie slowly munched on some fruit. “Tommy could’ve stayed a legend at MedTech forever. It’s a shame Yunice is going to end up being a stain on his life. Just goes to show, you can’t go sticking your neck out for people casually.”
Owen nodded.
Just as the two finished talking about Yunice, someone knocked on Elsie’s hospital room door.
The department director from General Hospital came in, coughed awkwardly with his fist over his mouth, and said, “Ms. Yunice, after discussion in our hospital meeting, we’ve decided that you should take a break from work for a while.”
Elsie asked, “Why?”
Paul hadn’t shown up at the hospital for a long time, and the director had started looking down on Elsie because of it. He didn’t even bother to be tactful anymore. “You’ve been in the spotlight a lot lately. The hospital’s worried that someone might use your internship against us and cause negative publicity. We’re suspending your position for your own good. Once things settle down, you can come back to work.”
Others might not know how Elsie got her internship at General Hospital, but the director and hospital president did. They didn’t want to take that risk.
After the director left, Elsie burst into tears again. “Owen, I’ve been working so hard this past month, and I was just about to get a full-time offer. Now it’s all gone because of one sentence from my sister…”
Owen was furious too, but he couldn’t interfere with the hospital’s decision.
“People online are still questioning Yunice. I’m worried that if she gets desperate, she’ll throw you under the bus. Let’s just keep a low profile for now.”
Yunice had an audience now. One sentence from her could steer public opinion. Owen could only step out of the spotlight for the moment.
What he didn’t expect was that Yunice didn’t post anything online – instead, she came to the hospital alone.
When the Saunders family saw her, they were all pretty surprised.
Owen stood up angrily, “Didn’t you say you block people and mute them? Didn’t you say you didn’t dare confront me? And now you’ve actually got the nerve to come find us?”
Lily pulled Owen back and spoke gently. “Owen, talk properly. Maybe she came to apologize.”
Yunice was carrying a fruit basket, and she really did look like she was here to apologize.
Owen’s expression softened a little.
Yunice walked in. Elsie sat on the bed, wiping her tears. “Yunice, I got suspended from the hospital.”
Yunice said, “It’s all my fault for calling your name during the livestream. If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have been dragged into this.”
When Owen heard she really had come to apologize, he turned his face and said, “What’s the point of saying this now? I think you did it on purpose to drag Elsie down with you.”
Yunice explained, “I really wanted to prove I didn’t cheat. I thought, since my sister’s a grad student, I could ask her for help.”
Hearing that, Lily frowned, and Owen stood up abruptly. “So you were cheating. You were trying to drag Elsie into it. You knew her academic background…”
Owen said angrily, “No matter what, this was your mistake. You’ve been away from home for a long time. You don’t know how bad business has been. Elsie’s been working so hard during her internship at the hospital, doing everything she can to go full-time. She hasn’t even had time to come home at night. And now, just because of you, she got suspended. With consequences this serious, all you bring is a crappy fruit basket?”
He kicked over the fruit basket Yunice had brought.
Yunice looked down at the orange that had rolled to her feet, then slowly looked up and said, “Then what should I do?”
Owen took a deep breath. Knowing Yunice wasn’t good at picking up on things, he just laid it out for her. “You got Elsie fired, so of course you have to get her another job.”
Yunice said, confused, “But I don’t know anything, and I can’t do anything. I can’t even find a job for myself. How can I get one for her?”
Owen lowered his voice, furious. “You don’t know anything, but doesn’t Wyatt?”
Yunice looked down. “He doesn’t really like talking to me. If I say too much, he’ll definitely get annoyed…”
Owen thought she had a point. Yunice had a sharp tongue and always rubbed people the wrong way. If she went to talk about it herself, there was a real chance she’d ruin everything.
Owen coached her. “Just go tell Wyatt to give Elsie a position – anything. For him, it’s just a matter of saying the word. Of course he’ll help.”
Yunice looked at Elsie and said, “But that’s pulling strings. Isn’t she always upright and tough? Would she really do something so shameless?”
Elsie curled her lip, annoyed by how harsh Yunice’s words sounded.
Owen said, “Weren’t you the one who cheated, too?”
Yunice replied, “I didn’t cheat.”
Owen said, “You didn’t cheat, but people still made a huge deal out of reporting you?”
Yunice said, “You didn’t watch the full news report. You only know I was reported, but did you ever look into who reported me?”
Owen said, “Of course it was some concerned citizen!”
From the moment he saw the news, he was dead certain that Yunice had cheated, and that someone who noticed the signs reported her. If that’s not a concerned citizen, what is?
Yunice lowered her head and scrolled through her phone, then handed it to Owen. “This is the video from the inspection team’s investigation on me.”
Owen watched the video in shock. In the clip, Yunice calmly asked the man sitting across from her, “Hello, teachers. Could you tell me how I was reported for cheating? Did someone witness how I cheated?”
The man answered, “We received a report off-campus. Your mother said she gave you cheat sheets and tools, and even bribed a teacher to look after you…”
Owen stared at the screen for a good ten seconds before turning to Lily in disbelief.
Yunice’s phone volume had been loud. After the video ended, she casually put the phone away.
Lily had clearly heard it too. She met Owen’s gaze, a flicker of guilt flashing in her eyes, but quickly composed herself and asked, pretending to be calm, “What’s the matter?”
Owen said, “The video said you were the one who reported Yunice.”
Lily was so startled she jumped up, her expression complex as she looked at Yunice. “Yunice, how could you lie like this? I’m your mother. Why would I hurt you? Even if we don’t get along, I’d never interfere with your SAT… If you succeed, I’d benefit too…”
Yunice knew she’d deny it, so she played a second video.
This one had been recorded by another student’s parent. In the video, a woman in a hat and mask was speaking on the phone.
“Yeah, thanks again for the cheat sheets. Yunice is definitely going to get a great score this time. Good thing you talked to the teacher in advance to watch out for her. With those cheat sheets, there’s no way she’ll get caught. Don’t worry-once the test is over, I’ll take Yunice to treat you to dinner.”
Owen stayed silent for a long time. The woman in the video was masked and hatted, but they were far too familiar with Lily. From the little things-the way she moved, the tone of her voice-they could tell exactly who it was.
Lily denied it flatly. “That’s not me. Her face is covered like that-who’s going to believe it’s me? Yunice, you can cheat on your scores, but you can’t cheat life. What’s the point of lying to yourself like this?”
Yunice didn’t argue with her. She said, “I was falsely accused of cheating, and Lily was the one behind it. So if Ms. Elsie wants compensation, she should be demanding it from Lily.”
Owen’s eyes sharpened as he looked at Yunice. Why did she refer to Elsie as Ms. Yunice? That wasn’t a slip of the tongue. What was she trying to pull?
Owen suddenly caught on!
His eyes darted to the door, but it was empty. No sign that anyone had been standing there.
Yunice stood up. “As for helping Yunice get a job through the back door, I can’t do it. But I’ve already submitted the evidence of the false accusation to the SAT department, and we’re forwarding it to the court. The parties involved will be receiving a lawyer’s letter soon. I hope it won’t be any of you.”
Owen stared, dumbfounded. As Yunice turned to leave, he reached out and grabbed her wrist. “What do you mean? What are you planning? Yunice, you’re becoming more and more of a stranger to me. You’re getting scarier and scarier!”
Yunice turned back and stared at him deeply.