Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
“And here…” Freya pointed lower, under the collar.
Yunice ran out of hands and realized-Freya was teasing her. She looked up, flustered and a little annoyed.
Freya laughed at her expression and patted her shoulder. “I just don’t get why a guy like Wyatt would go for someone like you-so soft and fluffy, like a little cupcake.”
Yunice’s heart sank. “We really don’t match?”
Freya gave a long, thoughtful hum, like she was trying to find an answer for her. Then she said, “Maybe you just hit his kink. Maybe you’re exactly his type.”
Yunice shifted her posture, looking at Freya seriously. “How can you tell he actually likes me?”
Freya blinked, not quite sure why she was asking. But she gave it some thought anyway. “He doesn’t have any family restrictions. He’s powerful enough on his own-doesn’t need to marry for advantage. If he likes someone, he just takes them. No need to fake anything. No reason to pretend.”
But Yunice thought-there were reasons. Wyatt had once had a thing with Nora. He never got the chance to have her, so now he used Yunice to fill that void. She was Wyatt’s emotional projection.
But most people wouldn’t think that far. Yunice didn’t mention Nora to Freya.
Wyatt had promised to take her to see Nora. She wanted to understand the truth for herself.
After teasing Yunice, Freya started talking about what happened after she left the Crawford house last night.
Carl was ruthless. And Victor wasn’t a soft touch either. These men might look sharp and refined in the daytime, but once night fell, they didn’t hesitate to get their hands bloody.
Last night, Paul didn’t get thrown into the moat-but they did toss him into the Crawford family pool, tied up in a sack. Every time he was about to drown, Victor would pull him out, have the doctor save him, and throw him right back in.
Yunice asked, “What if he really died?”
Freya smiled. “Then that’s just bad luck for him.” She added, “But I kinda admire that Elsie girl.”
“When Paul fell in, she threw herself into the water crying her eyes out, trying to untie him. Paul was so touched.”
“We were moved too. So we tied them together, back to back, and sank them both.”
Yunice muttered, “You people are demons.”
Freya didn’t take it seriously. She checked the time. “Wyatt should be at the Crawford house by now.”
“Mr. Carl spared Paul’s life. He doesn’t matter, but before he dies, he’s gotta clear your name.”
Meanwhile, at the Crawford house…
Luxury cars lined the courtyard. Rows of chairs were set up in the main hall. A few people were already seated.
Then someone else entered from outside, silhouetted against the light. As the man walked closer and his face came into view, someone greeted him. “Eugene? What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be abroad?”
Eugene gave the others a confused look, then sat down hesitantly. “Mr. Carl invited you all too?”
“He said he wanted to discuss a project. So we came.”
“Come to think of it, we haven’t seen each other in six or seven years-not since the SATs.”
As they chatted, more people trickled in.
Once enough people had arrived, someone finally sensed something was off. “What kind of project needs this many people?”
And all of them… were mutual friends.
“Where’s your Mr. Carl? How much longer till he shows up?”
“Are we missing someone?”
“Paul, obviously. Back in the day, he was the glue that held this whole group together.”
“Yeah, but with his family background, there’s no way he’d show up to compete for some project.”
“That’s a shame. It’s been six or seven years-I was hoping to catch up.”
“Speaking of Paul, anyone heard anything about that little wifey of his? She’s been real quiet lately.”
“I heard Paul got married. She didn’t make a scene?”
“Heh, bet you guys haven’t heard the juicy part.”
At that, everyone leaned in a little closer.
“She married someone else. That illegitimate son from the Powell family-Wyatt.”
Everyone froze for a second. Then the connections clicked into place.
“This Yunice chick, huh… she couldn’t get Paul, so she turned around and married his uncle? And they’re all living in the same compound? Must be some real stepmom fanfic going on behind closed doors.”
Subtle smirks appeared around the room. They were all well-dressed and polished, but their expressions carried a trace of mockery.
They were more restrained now. In their twenties, already worn smooth and fake by the business world-gone was the reckless arrogance of youth.
But even so, mention of those wild, shameless days stirred something in each of them.
Everyone here knew exactly how Yunice had struggled back then. Knew exactly how badly she’d been treated.
But time had passed. And they were eager to bury their guilt, so they let all the blame shift silently onto Yunice.
If she took the fall alone, if she turned her suffering into something “understandable,” then they weren’t really the bad guys.
So they moved on from the topic of Yunice. No one wanted to talk about her. No one wanted to remember who they used to be.
Just then, a sudden noise broke out on the second floor.
Everyone looked up.
There, mounted to the ceiling, was a pulley system. And dangling from the rope below it-was a man.
People jumped out of their seats, scrambling backward as the figure slowly descended.
He was a mess. Dirty gauze covered parts of his face.
One man’s eyes widened in recognition and he shouted, “It’s Paul! That’s Paul!”
“Help him! Somebody help him!”
Several people rushed forward to untie the rope.
Just then-Crash!
A chair was thrown from the second floor, slamming down right where they’d been standing. Pengle screamed and stumbled back again.
When they looked up, they saw a handsome, refined man step out of the shadows at the railing.
But to them, he was a stranger.
Victor. As Carl’s assistant, he wasn’t yet known in Silverburgh society.
In other words-everyone downstairs wasn’t even qualified to know who he was.