Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Upon seeing this, Elsie reached out her hand and pleaded, “Freya, you cannot seize Yunice from us and stop her from meeting her family!”
Freya was caught off guard for a moment, as she gasped and looked down at her arm. Elsie appeared to be weak and begging for mercy, but beneath her act, she was digging her fingers into her inner arm with all her might.
Cold and expressionless, Freya slapped her on the face with the back of her hand. Elsie’s eyes were gleaming with smugness before-smack! A slap landed on her face as she spun from the momentum before stumbling onto the floor.
Little did she know, instead of hitting the ground, she fell right into someone’s lap. As she opened her eyes in shock, she saw Jordan holding her.
With a faint smile, Jordan covered her mouth and dragged her out of the banquet hall as he thought, No one is going to stir up trouble at Wyatt’s wedding.
On the other side, Owen was pushing Oscar out of the banquet hall. Neither did he pay attention to Wyatt’s wedding, nor did he look back at the people on stage.
After forcing Oscar back into the car, it came to his mind to call Elsie. However, the call didn’t get through. Elsie should be at Mr. Carl’s banquet hall by now. She is probably getting on stage to wish her blessings. That might explain why she doesn’t pick up the call. Owen thought naively.
He didn’t want Oscar to wreck her plans, so instead, he stayed there and kept an eye on him. As for Mr. Carl, Owen was confident that Elsie had what it took to win him over.
Moving to the wedding scene of the Powell family, Taylor was grinning on stage as her parents were delivering speeches via a microphone.
The video is nothing but live feed monitoring of the wedding scene of the Cooper family.
On stage, the bridal veil of Yunice was uncovered by Wyatt as she lowered her head and eyes and slipped the ring onto his finger with a gentle smile. Wyatt lifted his gaze; his deep-set eyes sparkled with confidence and pride as his gaze fixed on Yunice.
Paul frowned as he looked towards Taylor, who was holding her fake smile on stage; nothing meant more to her than fame. He couldn’t bring himself to smile as he looked at Taylor. He then averted his gaze to the crowd below the stage.
There wasn’t the slightest glimpse of Elsie. He hadn’t expected her not to attend his wedding, Paul thought. Paul was in a bad mood. He intended to use Melina to lure Yunice so she couldn’t attend the wedding. He hadn’t expected that plot to fail. Paul watched the ring on her finger from the video. He held tight to the ring in his palm as he went through the wedding ceremony with a cold look.
During the banquet toast, Paul finally learned that Wyatt had married Yunice, who was Carl’s daughter.
“Wyatt had married Yunice, which practically meant he had secured the Northvale project. Lucky you, Mr. Paul. You can just tag along with Wyatt without doing a thing. You’re the real winner in life here.”
“Mr. Jackson founded the Powell Corporation, now you have the Kendall family supporting you from behind, and Wyatt clearing the path ahead-the future’s all yours, Mr. Paul!”
These complimentary words sounded so mocking to him. Lucky? Come on, you’re just implying that I’m winning everything by doing nothing. When he was young, he enjoyed those words. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Without doing anything, he was loved by the entire family. From the moment he was born, he was the heir of the Powell family.
Back then, to him, Wyatt was nothing but a dog that could only feed on his leftovers. If he didn’t feel like sharing, Wyatt could go starved for all he cared. Little did he expect, Wyatt was not raised to rot; instead, he made something of himself. Yunice, once a woman being mocked and insulted, turned into the daughter of a top-tier family as they got married. Now, not only didn’t people sneer at this marriage as a scandal, but instead, they were praised as a perfect match.
What Jackson wished to see-none happened today. No one talked about Yunice’s medical history or her past marriage. Even Wyatt’s leg had somehow recovered. All those wounds in the past that were made fun of by them vanished overnight. Jackson could barely manage to put on a smile throughout the wedding; he was so enraged that he was on the verge of a heart attack more than once.
Paul couldn’t stay at the venue anymore. Without telling anyone, he left the banquet early.
Wyatt was still busy entertaining the guests and drinking while Yunice was sent to the hotel room to rest. Outside the banquet hall, Oscar was found pushing Owen away as he roared, “I’m sure the bride is Yunice. All of you are lying to me; she never dies!” Watching Oscar charge towards the banquet hall without second thoughts, Owen cursed under his breath as he rushed to stop him.
“Wyatt, your leg recovered just in time!” a voice chimed in.
“It looks like Yunice is your lucky charm! Ever since she showed up, Wyatt has been lucky. Today is a day of good fortune!” Another voice remarked.
Someone can be seen counting on their fingers as they exclaimed, “Firstly, Wyatt’s leg has healed. Secondly, Wyatt gets married. Thirdly, Wyatt is now the son-in-law of Mr. Carl, which means the Northvale project is in his hands!”
“As a matter of course, Yunice outshines the Powell family!”
“Here’s what I heard: the Powell family was so mad that their noses were twisted, and the wedding ended in a rush.”
Wyatt leaned against the table, listening to their chatter, barely touching his drink.
“Wyatt is having his wedding night with Yunice. Of course, he doesn’t want to drink with us!”
Wyatt wasn’t ashamed of the laughter that broke out around him. As he put down his glass of wine, he stood up and said, “You guys enjoy. I’m heading back to my room.” The young men exchanged cheeky glances, and their grins grew slyer than ever.
Before Wyatt could leave, Jordan rushed to his side in a hurry. Seeing him in panic, Wyatt frowned as he thought, Jordan wouldn’t run in such an unbecoming manner unless something major was happening. Just as expected, Jordan leaned close to Wyatt and whispered something in his ear.
Wyatt wore a solemn expression as he hurriedly exited the hall, leaving the crowd in confusion. He pushed open the door to the hotel room where Yunice was, only to find Carl and Freya inside, with Yunice nowhere to be seen. Yunice’s dress was seen on the bed. Wyatt strode over and asked in shock, “What happened?”
Coldly, Carl replied, “I’ve just arrived as well.”
Freya said, “I was the one who first found out she was missing. When Yunice was changing into her dress, one of the matching earrings was found missing. Thus, I went for a search in the…”
(190/Finished)
Freya then walked towards the fitting room. As she opened the door, everyone paused their breath for a second. Behind the door lay Gill, her head soaked at the back, with blood dripping from it. She was knocked out, unable to answer any questions. Jordan moved forward as he asked someone to have Gill sent to the hospital at once.
Yunice was missing. Under the heavy protection and surveillance of the hotel, Yunice, in her bridal dress, went missing without a trace. Wyatt walked out in determination as he asked, “Where is the Saunders family?” Freya and Jordan followed him and replied, “Lily and Elsie are both under our supervision; they don’t have a chance to strike.”
“Oscar and Owen tried to make a fuss at the scene but were then detained by us as we locked them in another room,” Freya and Jordan continued.
Jordan pushed open the door and saw Elsie, a red slap mark on her cheek, crying in Lily’s arms. As soon as she saw someone enter, Elsie looked at Carl, wearing the look of someone bullied but silent. Lily blinked twice.
Without warning, Wyatt grabbed Elsie by the throat and pulled her toward him. “Where’s Yunice?” His voice was eerily calm, but his grip was ruthless. Elsie felt like she was suffocating. She flailed her hands at Wyatt’s wrist, her face turning blue from lack of air. Lily was horrified.
“Didn’t she marry you today? How do we know where she is?” Then it hit her. “Wait… Yunny is missing?” Her eyes flickered, and she suddenly remembered the wedding wasn’t over yet. If Yunice didn’t show up, wouldn’t that mean she was missing from her own wedding?
Seeing Elsie about to faint, Lily quickly stepped forward and tugged at Wyatt. “Let go of her! Even if you strangle her, we don’t know where Yunice is. Let her go; I have a solution!” Wyatt gave her a cold look, then released his grip.
Lily collected herself and said, “With Yunny gone, the priority now is to make sure the wedding goes on. Otherwise, people will think she ran away, and Mr. Cooper, you’ll be the laughingstock.” She turned to Elsie. “Elsie and Yunny are biological sisters. They look at least 70% alike. Elsie can step in and help you out.”
She spoke with great seriousness, but Wyatt suddenly let out a deep, sarcastic laugh. The next second, Elsie was thrown violently to the ground, completely disoriented by the impact. Lily froze in fear, unable to move.
“You better pray that Yunice comes back safe. Otherwise, whatever happens to her will happen to you.” Wyatt stepped aside to make a phone call, exuding anger. Meanwhile, Lily ran to Carl as if clutching at her last hope.
“Carl, what’s going on?” Tears streamed down her face. “Why are we locked in here? Why did Freya hit us? What did we even do wrong? Not only will he not tell us if Yunny is alive, now we can’t even attend her wedding?” Freya looked at her in disgust but didn’t bother to explain.
Still, Lily continued, pointing her finger. “Did Freya say something to you? Is that why you’re all targeting us? I admit I’ve contacted Carl a few times, but I’ve already explained! It’s because we’re old friends, nothing more. You’re the one thinking too much!”
Carl turned to Freya with a look. Although he showed no emotion, Freya felt a sour sting in her chest. She spoke coldly. “Madam Lily, the priority is to find Yunny. Is your grievance more important than her safety? Every second you waste now delays the search.”
Lily was at a loss for words. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked sheepishly at Carl. Carl didn’t dwell on her embarrassment. He calmly asked, “Lily, think carefully. Who else knew that Yunny would be at the wedding today? Where could she possibly go?”
After all, the Saunders family had known Yunice the longest and would know her habits best. Lily wiped her tears with her fingertips and thought for a moment. “Everyone knows that Yunice has deep feelings for Paul. Even though he’s getting married, she’s never given up on him. I think her disappearance today might have something to do with Paul’s wedding.” Wyatt looked over at her.
Lily stole a glance at him and continued carefully. “She never liked Mr. Cooper. Being with him was all about status and money. Otherwise, why would she disappear right after stepping off the stage? The hotel had layers of security, and she was wearing a very conspicuous wedding dress. It’s impossible that someone kidnapped her. She must have planned it and snuck out.”
“You’re saying it was Paul Powell?” Elsie seemed to realize something. “But Paul’s wedding is over. What’s the point of going to him now? He’s married, and so is she. Even if they had a history, it wouldn’t continue…”
In the middle of a sentence, Elsie suddenly stopped, as if she remembered something. “Wait, could this be another mission…” Everyone turned to her at the strange words. Elsie looked startled and quickly backtracked. “I’m just rambling. Don’t believe me.”
Seeing Wyatt step forward again, Elsie quickly backed down. “Okay! I’ll talk! Maybe you all don’t know… Yunice may be sweet on the outside, but in private, she and her boyfriend had some quirks… She liked to call Paul ‘Master’ and always made him do weird things… like give him embarrassing challenges… Like that yacht party nine years ago…”
Elsie continued, saying, “Today is Paul’s wedding. Of course, Yunice wouldn’t be happy. So I think her mission today was to run away from her own wedding to ruin your reputation and please Paul,” Elsie said. Then she glanced at Wyatt and added in a whisper, “She stayed by your side for so long, just for this day. She’s loved Paul for over ten years. You’re just a few days.”
Even Carl couldn’t stand what she was saying anymore and snapped at her with a cold voice, disgusted by her scheming. Wyatt’s lips were drawn into a thin line. He didn’t say a word.
Just then, Jordan burst back in. He glanced at everyone in the room before carefully informing Wyatt, “Wyatt, Paul Powell is also missing from his wedding. The Powell family has already called off the ceremony.”
Everyone reacted differently to the news, and no one dared to speak. Except for Elsie, who gave everyone a wicked look and muttered, “I wasn’t lying. My sister left on her own. She doesn’t want to marry Mr. Cooper.”
Wyatt curled his finger. “Someone, come here.” Elsie instinctively recoiled in fear. But Wyatt pointed at her. “Sew her mouth shut.” Elsie went completely pale.
Wyatt adjusted his collar in annoyance and stormed out of the room. “Find Paul Powell. If you can’t find him, find his father.” He was beyond angry.
Jordan followed cautiously. Everything that needed to be arranged had already been done. But… He reminded Wyatt quietly, “The guests are still waiting. If this drags on, people will start talking.”
Wyatt stopped in his tracks, his head bowed with a dark expression. Jordan knew he was trying to think of a solution. He couldn’t help but ask, “Wyatt, is it possible that Elsie is telling the truth? Ms. Saunders and Paul have been engaged since childhood. She’s always thought of him as her future husband. They’d done everything couples do. The only thing missing was the marriage certificate… Could someone who gave herself to a man like that really let go so easily?”
Wyatt’s face grew colder. He gave Jordan a sharp look. “Are you tired of having a mouth?” Jordan remained silent.