Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Elsie had no one. But Yunice, even if she stayed behind, would still have protection.
Yunice snapped, “A stranger is doing everything he can to save me, while my own brother is scheming to kill me. Aren’t you ashamed?”
Owen replied, “We all do what we can with the resources we have. I could only save one. You think I wanted to leave you behind? I’m still here too, aren’t I?”
Yunice scoffed. “As if you had any way to get out yourself.”
With the sedative wearing off, she slowly got to her feet.
Owen couldn’t be trusted. If she had to die, she’d rather do it treating Mr. Gerardo than be locked in a room with him.
She staggered to the door and jiggled the handle, trying to attract attention.
But the corridors were deserted. The entire facility was under tight control. No one was coming.
When that failed, she stormed into Owen’s private office and began rummaging through his drawers.
She remembered he kept various test kits and medications on hand-especially to help Elsie practice. There had to be anesthetics and other common drugs.
She glanced at Owen. He probably thought neither of them was leaving, so he hadn’t bothered to guard anything.
Yunice tucked a small inhalable anesthetic into her clothes.
She’d already fallen for his trick once. It wouldn’t happen again.
And so, one person in the lounge, the other in the office-they remained like that from morning to nightfall.
No phones. No people. Just silence.
Time slowed to a crawl, dragging itself forward in thin, fraying threads-a kind of psychological torture.
Yunice busied herself planning treatment protocols in her head, focusing on Mr. Gerardo’s case to distract herself.
Owen, weighed down by guilt, paced the room nonstop. Every few minutes, he tried to start a conversation.
But Yunice refused to respond. As far as she was concerned, he didn’t exist.
By ten o’clock that night, the chaos within Saunders Hospital finally gave way to a new development. Dinner was delivered. It was the only window for any sort of contact with the outside world. Not that it mattered-no one knew anything about what was going on out there. No answers could be found.
Yunice and Owen took their trays and were about to return when one of the doctors stopped Yunice and handed her a two-way radio. This time, there was no confusion. The device was handed directly to her, without mistake. Yunice instantly understood-this had to be from Wyatt. Owen realized it too. So the moment the door was locked again from the outside, he reached toward her, trying to get a closer look at the device. But Yunice spun around and pointed an anesthetic injector straight at him. Owen recoiled. “What the hell are you doing?” “You trying to take it from me?” Yunice snapped. Owen frowned. “I just want to ask about Elsie. Do you have to be so selfish?” “Get lost.” Still, Owen followed her, step for step. He knew Wyatt would try to contact her. That two-way radio was now their only link to the outside. He had to know how Elsie was doing… and their mother too-still abroad, unaware of any of this.
Back at the desk, Yunice powered on the device. Static buzzed, followed by silence. Then Wyatt’s voice came through, cold and direct. “Talk.” “This is Yunice,” she replied. He didn’t answer her immediately. “Who’s with you?” Yunice looked up at Owen, her voice flat. “Owen.” Wyatt’s tone dropped, laced with menace. “Let him take the call.” Irritated, Yunice still handed the radio over. Owen’s palms were sweating as he took it, but he wasted no time. “Wyatt…” Yunice sneered. First time calling him “Wyatt”-guess it took desperation to finally acknowledge a brother-in-law. The moment she received the radio, Owen knew Wyatt had already figured out the switch. All he could hope for now was that Wyatt wouldn’t take it out on Elsie-that for Yunice’s sake, he’d let it go. Yunice was trapped inside. Owen was all she had for protection. Wyatt would understand that… right? Even if he was furious, he wouldn’t risk Yunice’s safety just to punish someone.
“I’m begging you,” Owen said, voice shaking. “Please… take care of my sister Elsie, I swear I’ll watch over Yunice in here. I won’t let anything happen to her!”
What a joke. The audacity to beg with such shamelessness. Wyatt’s voice was slow, cold. “I don’t take care of people. But I do have a million ways to ruin someone.” Owen faltered, softening his tone. “Wyatt, you can’t get in now. At least for Yunice’s sake… cut me some slack…” “Rely on you?” Wyatt scoffed. “All you do is hurt her. What the hell are you good for?” Then his voice darkened like a blade drawn in shadow. “If you so much as look at Yunice the wrong way, I’ll find a few men to take turns with Elsie-shoot a couple of films just for you. What do you think?” Owen froze, eyes wide. He hadn’t expected Wyatt to say something that disgusting, not right in front of Yunice. But on second thought… why was he surprised? Wyatt had always been a vicious bastard. His history was infamous. This was exactly the kind of thing he’d do. Yunice’s expression didn’t change as she watched Owen’s face go pale. He’d tried using her to guilt Wyatt-but he hadn’t counted on Wyatt being even crueler than he was. As she moved to take the radio back, Owen panicked. “Wyatt, I swear! No matter what happens, I’ll protect Yunice with my life. Just don’t hurt Elsie!” Those words made Yunice’s heart twist. All her life, she’d longed to hear something like that from her brother. But now, hearing it only because he wanted to protect Elsie-she was nothing more than a bargaining chip. That kind of “protection” hurt more than any betrayal. Without a word, Yunice left him and returned to the lounge, shutting the door behind her. She raised the radio. “Wyatt…” The moment she spoke, Wyatt responded with biting sarcasm. “Should I apologize? I almost ruined your shot at becoming a hero.” Yunice rubbed her forehead. “Can you speak like a normal person? I’m having trouble understanding you.”
Wyatt’s voice came through the radio, heavy with frustration. “When you made that final call, why didn’t you tell me what was really going on? I spent ten billion trying to get you out, and you stayed inside?!”
“Ten billion?!” Yunice’s voice cracked with disbelief.
Wyatt gave a sharp laugh. “You could spend your whole life treating patients and never earn ten billion.”
Yunice didn’t see it as generosity. All she could feel was the gut-wrenching waste, the sheer stupidity of it all.
“Are you insane? Got money burning a hole in your pocket? What a waste on Elsie-ten billion down the drain!”
Her voice brimmed with heartbreak-over the money, not the man who spent it trying to save her.
The more she thought about it, the more it gnawed at her. She asked cautiously, “Since I didn’t make it out… can you get that money back? I mean… ten billion-I really can’t pay that back…”
Wyatt took a slow, audible breath. “You think this is about the money? The problem is, even with that money, I still couldn’t get you out. So tell me, what should I have done instead? You teach me.”
Yunice huffed. “I wanted to leave. Owen drugged me-he knocked me out with anesthesia!”
Wyatt cut her off, furious. “And before that? You contacted Laurie. You contacted Taylor. You said your goodbyes to every irrelevant person in your life. But you never once told me the truth.”
“If you had told me what was really going on from the start, do you think things would’ve escalated like this?”
Yunice fell silent for a long time before finally saying, “There’s still no treatment plan for this outbreak. Mr. Gerardo’s assistant was young and strong, and he died within 36 hours. Mr. Gerardo himself isn’t doing much better.”
She paused for a few seconds, then added, “I didn’t want anyone else to risk getting infected, especially you.”
“But when you sent someone to pick me up… I really did want to go. I thought, if I got infected, at least Wellinges Pharma could use my case for research. It’d mean something.”
Wyatt didn’t respond immediately. Neither did Yunice.
But they both understood.
When death was a possibility, money and power couldn’t guarantee anything. Even if Wyatt had pulled her out, if she’d already been infected and no cure was ready… she’d still die.
After nearly a minute of silence, Wyatt finally spoke again. “I’ll give the radio to Laurie. You two work together and find a treatment. Fast.”
Yunice smiled-an honest, involuntary smile.
Wyatt heard it, and his tone immediately darkened. “You’re laughing? You think this is funny?”
“No,” Yunice said, still smiling. “It’s just… suddenly, you seem kind of admirable.”
Wyatt didn’t get it. “What?”
“You know what makes a man most attractive?” she asked.
Wyatt waited.
“It’s his ability to solve problems,” she said without hesitation.
Wyatt fell quiet again, then muttered, “Save the compliments for when you make it out alive.”
Just before he ended the call, he added, “And don’t forget-you still owe me ten billion.”
The mention of money made Yunice’s face collapse again. She was dead broke-still in debt to Quinton for another billion. Now with this new ten-billion tab, she didn’t even dare die anymore.
After hanging up, she stepped out of the lounge.
Owen was waiting by the door. The moment he saw her, he rushed to ask, “Did you tell Wyatt to contact our mom? She’s traveling abroad-if she can’t reach us, she’s going to panic!”
Lily was overseas. If she came home and couldn’t get in touch with Owen or Elsie, she’d be terrified.
Yunice’s eyes flickered. She hadn’t given a second thought to anyone in the Saunders family, not in a long time.
She’d remembered to consider Melina’s safety-but not once had Lily crossed her mind.
Owen grew angry. “That’s your mother!”
Yunice shot back, unbothered. “And if the roles were reversed-if she were the one who knew danger was coming-do you think she’d warn me?”
“You’re paranoid! You always think the worst of people, like everyone’s out to get you!” Owen fumed. “I got stuck in here because of you-have I said a single word about it?”
Yunice turned slowly to face him. Owen fell quiet immediately.
She gave him a cold, sweeping glance and said with crystal clarity, “If you want your sister to stay safe out there, don’t push me.”