Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
“Stop making things up for her!” Owen exploded. “I’ve taken her for checkups how many times? Not a single report said she had a condition that causes fainting! And if it’s really uncontrollable, then why didn’t she faint even once during those three years Yumice was gone?”
Lily insisted, “Today was different! She was triggered-“
“She brought it on herself!” Owen shouted, pointing at Elsie. “How many times have I told you to have some self-respect? Were all the men in the world dead that you had to go chase a married one like Paul!”
“And you got slapped by Taylor. Don’t you feel humiliated?”
Elsie had never been yelled at like this by Owen. She clutched her mouth and started crying, expecting her usual tactic to work. It didn’t.
Owen warned coldly, “You’d better cut Paul off completely. Now.” He turned to leave, then suddenly spun back around and roared, “And if you dare faint at one more of Yunice’s events-don’t blame me if I slap you!”
Elsie froze, eyes wide, tears streaking her face as she stared at Owen’s retreating back, unable to believe what she’d just heard. The moment he was gone, she burst into sobs and threw herself into Lily’s arms. “Mom, what’s wrong with Owen? He’s never talked to me like this before! I used to do the same things and he never minded-why is it not okay now?”
Before Lily could comfort her, someone else burst into the room. Without a word, the woman grabbed Elsie by the hair and dragged her off the bed.
“You little tramp! Where the hell did you hide my son!”
She climbed on top of her and slapped her across the face over and over. She wasn’t just angry that Elsie had lied to her-she was even more furious that her husband had loaned Elsie five million. Now Jason was in jail. She was broke, wandering from place to place with her child, while Elsie still held onto their money. Her money.
Jason’s wife hit and clawed at her, gripping Elsie’s throat with a snarl. “Give me my money back, or I’ll rip your mouth apart!”
Elsie couldn’t even speak, let alone fight back. She was completely overpowered.
Meanwhile, Owen had no idea what was happening back at the hospital. Lily tried to call him, but he hung up without a second thought. He slammed the car door shut and looked up at the glowing lights on the top floor of the Hotel Marcellus. It was clearly still hosting a banquet. He headed for the elevator but was stopped by security at the entrance.
“The top floor is fully booked. No one is allowed up,” one of the guards said.
Owen replied, “I’m the brother of the person hosting that banquet. I can’t even go up?”
The security guards looked him over and ignored him, acting like they hadn’t heard. Owen quickly realized what was going on-too many people had probably tried to sneak in by claiming to be Yunice’s relative, so security no longer believed anyone. He pulled out his phone, determined to prove his identity with a photo of him and Yunice. But after scrolling for a full minute, he couldn’t find a single one.
That’s when it hit him. It had been a long time since he’d taken a proper photo with Yunice. More than that, he couldn’t even remember the last time they sat down and really talked. He scrolled all the way back to five years ago-before Elsie had entered their lives, back when he and Yunice still had a good relationship. Sure enough, he found an old photo of them together and showed it to the guards.
Upstairs, in the banquet hall, Wyatt stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, taking a phone call. The manager crouched slightly and hurried over to Yunice, doing his best not to draw attention.
“Ma’am, there’s someone downstairs claiming to be your brother. Should we let him up?”
Oscar sat beside Yunice and heard everything. His gaze grew solemn as he looked at her. But this time, he didn’t try to preach about family is family.
Yunice smiled calmly. “I don’t have a brother. Thank you.”
With that, the manager nodded and relayed the message back downstairs.
Owen stood in disbelief as security shoved him away. “She said… she doesn’t have a brother? Did she really say that herself? I don’t believe it-I need to ask her myself!” But the guards wouldn’t budge. One gave him a shove that nearly sent him stumbling. Surrounded by curious onlookers, Owen had no choice but to retreat. Still, he didn’t leave entirely. Instead, he paid for a hotel room across the street, one that had a partial view of the top floor of the Hotel Marcellus.
From that distance, he could make out vague silhouettes. A tall figure moved toward Yunice and stood behind her. Laughter and joy seemed to ripple through the room. Wyatt handed Yunice the cake knife. Amid the group’s cheers, Yunice raised her hand to cut the cake. Wyatt placed his hand gently over hers, helping guide the first slice. Yuna and Gill clapped loudly beside them, cheerleaders of the moment.
After everyone had tasted a symbolic bite of cake, they began inspecting the extravagant confection itself-a towering two-meter-tall castle cake, the likes of which most had only ever seen online. Especially the intricate jewel embellishments. Just looking at them made people feel nervous. It was… too luxurious.
Seeing Yuna and Gill practically drooling as they hovered near the cake decorations, Yunice turned to Wyatt. “Can I keep the cake?” Wyatt blinked, clearly caught off guard by such a silly question. Still, he gave her a simple answer. “Yeah.”
Yunice beamed, then turned to Yuna and Gill. “If you like something, take it!” The girls immediately pulled back, hesitant. This was a work of art-it felt wrong to just start ripping it apart. And besides, it was a gift from Wyatt to Yunice.
“But after tonight, it’ll be taken apart anyway,” Yunice said, plucking the most prominent gem-studded fairy wand from the cake. “I’m keeping this one. You can have the rest.” With Yunice’s blessing, Gill didn’t hold back anymore. She laughed like a goose and pulled Yuna into a full-on treasure hunt, gleefully dismantling the cake decorations. Yunice even joined in to help them.
What girl didn’t love romance and diamonds? The three of them laughed as they passed the glittering stones around for a closer look. Meanwhile, Oscar remained in a quiet corner, watching Wyatt closely. Wyatt had long since noticed and walked over with a glass of wine. Oscar instinctively stepped back half a pace. He was the kind of man who spent all his time in labs and didn’t mingle with people from society.
He’d heard plenty of rumors about Wyatt-and none of them were good. The man was known to cripple others, gouge out eyes, or cut out tongues if displeased. Definitely not someone easy to get along with. Oscar hadn’t forgotten what happened at Yunice’s wedding. Wyatt had someone sew Elsie’s mouth shut. Most people didn’t see it. He did. Her face had been a bloody mess, straight out of a horror film. That image had never left his mind.
What scared him the most was this-if a man like Wyatt ever got tired of Yunice, would he treat her the same way? But Oscar also knew fear wouldn’t help. Someone like Wyatt could wipe out his whole family without leaving them anywhere to file a complaint.
Wyatt tilted his glass, lightly clinking it against Oscar’s tightly gripped one. The crisp sound snapped Oscar out of his thoughts. Wyatt took a sip of wine and walked away. Oscar watched him return to Yunice’s side, where he gently pinched the back of her neck. Yunice turned to him. Wyatt said, “Come here.”
Yunice stepped down from the stool she’d been standing on and followed him to the floor-to-ceiling windows. Wyatt’s gaze was focused outside. Curious, she looked too.
Boom! A sharp whistle pierced the air. Yunice instinctively looked up and saw fireworks blooming from the rooftop across the street. They soared into the sky, then exploded into a cascade of color, shifting patterns that dazzled the eye. Yunice gasped. “A constellation?”
This firework display would last a full minute-its price tag ran into the tens of millions. Just hearing the number was enough to make someone wince. But that was just the warm-up. The real show was still to come. The entire banquet hall was captivated. Beyond the hotel, people all over the city had paused in the streets, phones raised, filming the sky while muttering in awe. Who was this prince showing off for now?
Across the street, from his hotel window, Owen watched the same sky. But his face held no wonder-only a deep, lingering loneliness.
Watching someone else dote on his little sister-when he, her real brother, wasn’t even allowed to be there-Owen felt like there was a hole in his chest. A hollow that let in nothing but cold air.
He was the one who used to bring Yunice surprises, who used to make her laugh. He was her brother.
So how… how had he become the outsider?
Oscar’s voice echoed in his mind.
Not that you didn’t want Yunice. It’s that now, Yunice doesn’t want you.
She had cut him off.
She didn’t even want to be a part of the Saunders family anymore. She’d severed every tie with them.
She didn’t invite them to her wedding. They weren’t welcome at her birthday.
From now on, he had no place in any of the major events of her life.
Outside, fireworks lit the sky in a dazzling display, but under those bursts of color, Owen slowly crouched down, burying his fingers in his hair.
He finally realized-Yunice hadn’t been throwing tantrums to seek attention, or trying to guilt him. Every so-called act of rebellion had been a cry for help, a signal.
A warning, I’m leaving.
But now, even if he finally understood, it was too late.
His phone buzzed. Owen glanced at it like it was a lifeline.
It was a call from the Hotel Marcellus manager.
Hope flared in his eyes as he answered. Had it all been a mistake? Did Yunice still recognize him as her brother?
But the manager’s voice on the other end said, “Sir, the missing child has been found. He fell asleep in the dressing room. He’s completely safe…”
Before the manager could finish, Owen’s hope plummeted.
He snapped, “What does that kid have to do with me? He can sleep wherever he wants-why the hell are you calling me!”
Still, some part of him waited, hoping the manager would say something-anything-about Yunice.
But no. The call had been routine, just a hotel duty to clarify a situation and ease a guest’s concerns.
Seeing Owen was in a foul mood, the manager apologized and ended the call.
“Sorry for the disturbance.”
The dead silence from his phone made Owen want to smash it.
But before he could even breathe, Lily’s call came in again.
He answered, annoyed, only to be greeted by her sobs. She cried that he needed to return to the hospital right away-Elsie had been beaten up, and the attacker was demanding five million. They didn’t have that kind of money.