Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Back at the Powell residence, Jackson had ambushed him. Instinctively, Wyatt had used his phone to block the attack.
The phone was wrecked. He hadn’t had time to replace it.
Jackson was older now, and even with the element of surprise, Wyatt had overpowered him in seconds.
Now, he needed to call Yunice.
He had to know she was okay before making any decisions.
Wyatt took Maine’s phone and stepped out of the car, switching places with her.
Maine was overjoyed. She gripped the steering wheel tightly.
As long as she had her hands on the wheel, she had the upper hand.
She started the engine and drove off in the direction of the Gardison Residence.
Yunice heard the dull ringing of the phone-it was Maine’s. Wyatt was calling her using that phone.
But before crawling into the trunk, Yunice had already set her phone to silent, lowered the screen brightness, and tucked it into her coat pocket.
So even with three calls in a row, her phone didn’t make a sound.
Wyatt frowned. His voice dropped. “Stop the car.”
Maine’s hands on the wheel trembled slightly. She was hesitating. She had to get Wyatt in front of her best friend Nora-this might be her only chance.
She tapped the brake but quickly lifted her foot and stepped back on the gas.
“Wyatt, she’s got tons of people looking after her. One less won’t matter.”
“I’m a woman too-I know exactly what she’s doing. She just wants attention, trying to compete. You can’t fall for it. Don’t spoil her.”
Wyatt said again, “Stop the car.”
Maine’s hands trembled harder. She knew that if Wyatt was truly determined to find Yunice, there was nothing she could do to stop him.
Still, she stubbornly clung to her last chance for Nora.
Tears streamed down her face as she stared out the windshield. Her voice cracked. “Wyatt, how can you change your heart so fast? Nora was always your one true love. You two were the couple everyone envied. The perfect match. And now Yunice shows up, and everything changes?”
“Is that really all your love is worth?”
Wyatt’s voice turned cold. “This is the last time I’ll say it. Stop the car.”
“Unless you never want to go back to the Gardison Residence again.”
Maine froze, startled. Her eyes flicked toward Wyatt, clearly shaken. Slowly, she stepped on the brake.
They switched seats again.
Maine sat there, visibly crushed, and picked up her phone-just as a notification popped up.
She’d gotten a message from an unknown number.
“After reading it, her eyes lit up. “Wyatt! Yunice texted me back! She says you don’t need to worry about her. She just went to the Saunders place to grab something, and now she’s heading back to the Crawford residence.”
Wyatt’s brows drew together. He took the phone from her hand.
The message said exactly what she claimed.
But Wyatt didn’t relax. Instead, he turned the car around and headed the opposite way.
Maine panicked. “Why are you going back?!”
Wyatt said flatly, “Yunice doesn’t know I’m with you. How could she send you that message?”
Maine’s voice rose in desperation. “Are you serious? It had to be Jordan! He must’ve reached her! What else could it be-do you think she has some kind of sixth sense and just magically knew to text me?”
But Wyatt didn’t stop.
Maine snapped. She stood up and threw her weight on the steering wheel, pleading, “Please, just go see Nora! It won’t take long! After that, you can still go to Yunice!”
“Nora turned out like this because of you! You can’t just abandon her like that!”
Her voice broke into sobs.
In the trunk, Yunice lowered her eyes, feeling every bump in the road like she was sitting right on top of Wyatt’s heart, riding the rise and fall of his emotions.
He really did want to go see Nora…
There’s nothing in this world you can’t face. You just have to be brave-brave enough to face it, accept it, and choose.
Yunice dug her nails into her palm and silently closed her eyes.
Suddenly, the sound of someone shifting came from the front seat. The next second, the backseat tilted forward without warning.
Caught off guard, Yunice’s cover disappeared.
She looked up in shock-just as Wyatt’s eyes locked onto hers, equally startled.
Yunice’s mind went completely blank. Her expression shifted – first fear, then calm acceptance.
Maine had been genuinely startled. She hit her back against the console and shrieked, “Are you insane?! What are you doing in there?!”
She was completely…
How the hell did Yunice sneak into the car?
Then it hit her. Her eyes narrowed, wary. “You heard everything we said, didn’t you?”
So Yunice had been in the car the whole time she’d sent that message?
Maine’s chest tightened. This woman isn’t easy to deal with.
Wyatt froze for several seconds as he processed the reality in front of him. His expression shifted, unsure, and then he awkwardly tried to crawl through the seat gap to reach Yunice.
But when he actually tried, it quickly became obvious it wasn’t going to work.
So, clearly flustered, he turned around, got out of the car, walked to the back, and opened the trunk.
That whole back-and-forth took a bit more time.
The moment the lid lifted, the interior trunk light blinked on, casting a soft glow over Yunice.
Wyatt stood outside, staring at her curled-up figure.
She was small and pale, face expressionless.
But those beautiful eyes were filled with emotion.
Wyatt could tell she felt wronged. He held out his hand. “Come out.”