Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
But Margaret did not mind. She was leaving soon. Whether Yunice trusted her or not did not matter, as long as she trusted Gill. That would do.
That night, after Margaret’s flight took off, Yunice hailed a taxi to the private residence. Her phone number was not registered, so it took a while before she managed to find a cheap, off-the-books cab. The driver was irritable, speeding recklessly down the road. Yunice was still reeling from the nausea of sudden acceleration when the car screeched to an abrupt stop. Thankfully, she was wearing a seatbelt, or she would have slammed into the dashboard. Before she could regain her senses, the sharp sound of tires skidding across pavement filled the air. More than one car. Engines roared. Tires burned rubber against the road. It sounded just like a racetrack.
The taxi driver swore. “Damn it, I knew I should’ve stayed home today!”
Yunice glanced at him. His forehead was bleeding; his hand pressed against the wound. Then she turned to look outside, and her breath caught in her throat.
Aside from their decrepit taxi, one other car was caught in the middle. Unlike their stopped cab, the other car fought desperately, its tires spinning frantically in search of an escape route. Yunice’s heart sank. She knew they had been caught in a gang conflict.
She bit her lip. Sometimes, she really wondered if she was cursed. What were the odds of getting tangled up in something like this?
Just as she was calculating her chances of escape, the surrounding cars screeched to a halt. Their doors swung open in perfect unison, and dozens of men poured out like a tidal wave. They ripped the struggling car’s doors clean off, dragging its passengers out and tossing them onto the pavement. The agonized screams sounded eerily familiar.
Just as Yunice leaned closer to the window to see who it was, she felt a presence. A gaze. Strong, piercing, and locked directly onto her. Her back hit the seat as she instinctively shrank away, trying to disappear from view.
With a click, the taxi driver opened the door and fled. No one dared to mess with these lunatics; running into them was just bad luck.
Yunice reacted quickly and immediately jumped out from the other side to escape, but her physical skills were too poor. Before she could even climb onto the hood of the luxury car, someone pulled her down from behind. Instinctively, she curled up, wrapping her arms around her head as she stumbled and was dragged back by the collar.
When she finally steadied herself, her gaze lifted from the bottom of the black cane, eventually landing on Wyatt’s face.
The winter night’s wind was cold. Wyatt wore a black cashmere coat, and his long fingers rested on the silver handle of his cane-the only hint of brightness in his entire figure. Unlike their first encounter, Wyatt now had a slight smile, the corners of his mouth carrying an unreadable expression. At least his hostility wasn’t as sharp, and Yunice’s heartbeat slowed a little.
The man who had been beaten to a pulp was being dragged away, his wails and groans sending chills down everyone’s spine. Yunice recognized him… It was the same man who had chased Wyatt in the alley back at the black market. She didn’t know what kind of grudge they had, but it confirmed one thing-Wyatt always repaid his debts.
So she had no idea what he wanted with her.
Three years in the psychiatric hospital had ingrained obedience into Yunice. When she was beaten, she endured it. When faced with unknown dangers, she would remain numb and wait. Any resistance or trickery would only lead to more beatings from the orderlies. She knew this kind of passivity, just like 1030, was a bad habit, but she couldn’t change it yet.
Wyatt had never seen someone this dull before. She wasn’t like those men who pissed themselves and begged for mercy. But calling her brave? She had the nerve to straddle him and grind before running off.
Seeing her keeping her eyes down and avoiding his gaze, Wyatt tilted his head, deliberately shifting his position to catch her eyes from the side. Yunice’s nervous gaze happened to meet his waiting one, and she immediately shrank back.
“Hmph,” Wyatt let out a satisfied chuckle and adjusted to a more relaxed stance.
“Wyatt,” a young man who looked like one of Wyatt’s associates walked out from the shadows, wiping his hands. Noticing Wyatt standing next to a disheveled girl, he instinctively asked, “Who’s this?”
His question was to determine whether she was an enemy or an ally.
Wyatt casually replied, “Little rabbit.”
Little rabbit?
Jordan took another look at Yunice, his eyes flashing briefly as if he realized something, but he quickly smirked and teased, “Big bad wolves love little rabbits the most.”
Seeing that Wyatt was about to leave, Jordan gestured toward Yunice. “Little rabbit, Wyatt is inviting you for a drink. Show some appreciation.”
Yunice knew that rejecting a toast meant drinking a forfeit instead, but she still sincerely corrected him, “My name is Yunice.” Little rabbit. It sounded like some kind of plaything.
Jordan didn’t care. “I know you. Paul’s soon-to-be wife, right? We met when we were kids.”
Silverburgh’s social circles were both big and small. Because of her ties to the Powell family and her father’s status as a legendary doctor, Yunice had many elite childhood friends growing up. Jordan, as the second son of the Conrad family, was one of them.
Maybe because they had met as kids, or maybe because Jordan seemed easygoing, Yunice subconsciously…
The smell of gasoline was stronger. Yunice could even distinguish the different components in the smell.
As the car started moving, she stole a glance at Wyatt, who sat one seat away from her. He paid her no attention. Noticing that he wasn’t wearing his coat, Yunice grew a little bolder and looked at his wrist. He was still wearing her bracelet.
A pang of frustration hit her. She had been in such a rush when pawning it that she hadn’t even gotten a good look at it. Now, it was on his wrist; not only out of her reach but completely beyond her control.
Feeling annoyed, yet not daring to act out, she could only pretend not to see it. Instead, she took advantage of the good lighting in the car and pulled out a notebook, quietly writing and drawing.
Wyatt glanced over and saw her scribbling-Alphasirox pills component analysis. He watched for a while, noticing that she seemed uncertain about a few parts.
“You’re not going to ask where I’m taking you?” Wyatt asked.
Yunice replied, “Isn’t it for a drink?”
Wyatt crossed his long legs and scoffed, “You dare drink with us?”
He might as well have asked if she wasn’t afraid of being played to death.
“If I were scared, would you let me get out of the car?” Yunice countered.
Seeing that Wyatt remained silent, she added, “Besides, I want my bracelet back. I’m waiting for you to name your conditions.”
This time, Wyatt said, “I like the bracelet. I’m keeping it.” His tone was calm, yet there was no room for argument.
Unwilling to give up, Yunice turned to face Wyatt and bargained, “What if I can cure your leg?”
She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but the car noticeably swayed for a moment after she said that. Yunice glanced at the driver and saw that he had nervously checked the rearview mirror.
Did I say something wrong? For someone with a disability, their biggest taboo was having others bring up their pain. Wyatt was no exception. Besides, with Wyatt’s status, he could have any doctor in the world kidnapped to treat him, yet he was still disabled. That meant he had repeatedly tried and failed. Most likely, he had lost faith and patience in doctors altogether.
Yunice had traveled with her father since childhood and had seen all kinds of patients, so she was familiar with this kind of mentality.
“There’s Datura in the medication you take regularly. I can smell it,” Yunice dropped a bombshell before continuing, “Your physical functions should be fine. Your mobility issues are probably due to nerve paralysis.”
She stole another glance at the driver and saw that he looked completely numb, as if he had already given up on saving her.
Tightening her grip on the ballpoint pen in her hand, Yunice held her breath and waited for Wyatt’s reaction. She was taking a gamble.
The fact that Wyatt hadn’t handed her over to his subordinates meant there was something about her that interested him. This was her chance, and she had to seize it.
Wyatt’s expression darkened slightly, but he didn’t get angry. “You can identify the ingredients of medicine just by smell?”
Yunice felt a twinge of disappointment because he hadn’t followed her lead in the conversation. But at least, for now, she was…
“I can recognize most traditional herbal medicines by scent, but I need instruments to analyze modern medicine,” Yunice explained.
To prove her expertise, she introduced her notebook. “Take Alphasirox pills, for example. I can roughly determine its composition in proportional amounts.”
She spoke without any sense of pride. Instead, she looked troubled. “I spent everything I had to buy this medicine to save a life, but after analyzing it, I discovered a fatal flaw. This drug contains Aconite, which causes irreversible heart damage. The people who spent their fortunes on it to save their lives would never expect that what they bought was a poison that kills a thousand while barely harming the enemy.”
Yunice noticed Wyatt’s brow furrow slightly. This was her second move to corner him.
Alplusirox pills came from Wellinges Pharma. They had been in development for over three years but had never been officially released. Only small quantities were circulated in the black market.
Yunice suspected that the reason Alphasirox pills had not been launched was that issues had been discovered during the clinical trial phase, leading to continuous delays.
Wyatt was the financial power behind Wellinges Pharma. If there was a major flaw in the drug, no one would be more anxious than him. Her guess was spot on-the issues with the drug had a delayed onset.
Initially, Wyatt had full confidence in Alplasirox pills. The early trial results had been promising, prompting widespread media coverage that painted the drug as a medical breakthrough. Demand was boosted. Hospitals lined up to collaborate with Wellinges Pharma, and orders flooded in.
That was when Wyatt realized the problem. He had been stalling the drug’s release, waiting for a solution. But the deadline for delivering the drug was fast approaching.
Wyatt’s gaze toward Yunice turned scrutinizing. “So what if you figured it out? You can’t fix it.”
Yunice smiled. “Not yet. But I lost 280,000 on this, so I’ll keep testing it.”
Wyatt let out a scoff, mocking her for overestimating herself. The car stopped at Star Coast. The driver swiftly got out and opened the door for Wyatt. Wyatt’s black cane touched the ground first, followed by his polished leather shoes. Seeing that he hadn’t invited her to come along, Yunice quickly put her notebook back in her bag and followed him.