Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Owen realized Mr. Terrance was camping out, waiting.
He had no choice but to go downstairs and deal with them.
The other relatives lounged on the sofas like they owned the place, some of them shelling sunflower seeds, devouring the expensive fruit, like it was free.
A couple had discarded half-smoked premium cigarettes directly onto the floor, burning a massive scorch mark into a rug worth tens of thousands.
Someone had opened the fridge.
One guy was pretending to be on the phone by the floor-to-ceiling windows, but his hands were sneakily reaching toward an antique vase nearby-testing to see if it would fit in his bag.
Owen stood on the stairs, watching the scene below with a deep, furrowed brow. Then he let out a heavy cough, the movement pulling painfully at the wound on his back.
When everyone noticed Owen coming, they stiffened up a bit-but still didn’t look like they took him seriously.
Owen walked up to Mr. Terrance. “Uncle.”
Mr. Terrance grunted, rubbing his wrist. “My wrist’s still sore from what that Yunice girl did to me. Don’t you have anything to say about that?”
Owen replied. “I’ll have the hospital’s doctor take a look at it for free.”
“That’s it?” Mr. Terrance took a deep breath, then stood up and pulled Owen aside, lowering his voice. “Cut the crap. Just be honest-did that girl Yunice marry into money or not?”
Owen frowned and immediately denied it. “No.”
“Still pretending? If she didn’t have some rich backer, would you be this scared of her today? That wealthy woman she came with-did you see that ring on her hand? Just one of those could buy Cloud Hospital. Who is she, really? And why the hell would she take a liking to Yunice?”
Owen gave his great-uncle a strange look. So that’s what he was after-trying to build a connection with Gill.
Too bad he’d miscalculated. The one with real money was Yunice. And Yunice would never let him get away with anything.
When Owen didn’t respond, the old man snapped. “If you’re trying to hog resources for yourself, don’t think I’ll let that slide!”
Owen, annoyed, said, “There really isn’t anything. And even if there were, you wouldn’t be able to use it. I can’t even use it myself.”
Mr. Terrance barked, “You haven’t even told me who that rich woman is. How do you know I can’t use it?”
As long as he could find out her identity, he’d cling on like a leech. He’d try every trick in the book-sooner or later, she’d crack.
The Saunders family was finished. He needed a new tree to cling to.
Owen was so fed up, he finally laid it all out. “That so-called rich woman used to be our maid. All those jewels and designer clothes? Yunice bought them for her.”
“Please. I know exactly what Yunice is worth. She doesn’t even wear pearls-she’s dirt poor.”
Owen threw up his hands. “She doesn’t wear jewelry because she doesn’t like it. She married Wyatt. Wyatt! Do you even know who that is? One of the top fifty richest people in the world. There, I said it. That’s her identity. Go suck up to her if you want-but stop leeching off the Saunders family!”
The old man yanked Owen back, sneering. “Still lying to my face?”
“Yunice? A hand-me-down that even the Powells didn’t want? And Wyatt would take her?”
Owen snapped, “So what if he’s into that kind of thing?”
Mr. Terrance retorted, “You can lie about anyone else and I might believe you-but Wyatt? No way!”
Owen laughed bitterly. “Since when do you know Wyatt so well, Uncle?”
One’s a powerhouse. The other’s dirt under his shoe. How the hell would he know him?
Mr. Terrance smirked. “I don’t know Wyatt, I know his brother-in-law.”
Owen found that even funnier. Wyatt only had two brothers-in-law-him and Oscar. Where was this “brother-in-law” coming from!
Seeing that Owen clearly didn’t know, the old man spilled it. “You know Morgan, right?”
Owen hadn’t had much contact with Morgan, but Cloud Hospital did have plenty of interactions with the Johnson family. Otherwise, Yunice wouldn’t have gotten mixed up with them.
Mr. Terrance said. “One time I had to handle something for the hospital, and I went to Morgan. He got drunk and started bragging-said Wyatt was his brother-in-law. Said that guy’s so in love with his sister he’d do anything for her. Anything she wanted, she’d get.”
Then he asked Owen, “Is Yunice Morgan’s sister?”
Owen scoffed. “Morgan doesn’t have a sister. You really believe drunk talk?”
He was mentally and emotionally drained, in no mood to keep arguing.
After everything that happened today, Owen wasn’t planning to let any of those relatives attend his wedding anyway.
When he went back upstairs, Peggy blocked Mr. Terrance and started cussing everyone out. In just a few minutes, she chased all the freeloaders out.
Meanwhile, Elsie quietly followed Owen upstairs.
“Owen,” she said, closing the door behind her. “Mr. Terrance and the others all have shares in Cloud Hospital. Judging by today’s scene, I think they’ve heard rumors we’re thinking of selling-and they want a piece.”
Cloud Hospital had gotten major subsidies because of its location near the medical zone, and it was doing better than ever.
But Owen knew this boom wouldn’t last. When things cooled off, the hospital would fall back into a slump-and by then, it’d be worthless.
If they were going to sell, now was the time-while it was still profitable.
But once they sold, those parasites would take half the money. No matter how, the Saunders family would lose out.
He clenched his fist and muttered. “We never should’ve let those old bastards invest in the hospital.”
Elsie tried to console him. “Wasn’t it because Dad’s relatives kept saying you weren’t good enough? That nothing you did was right? The only ones who supported you unconditionally were Uncle and his…”
Owen sighed. “Dad’s side of the family is fine, but they’re all like Mr. Carl – always praising Yunice and putting me down.”
Elsie said, “That’s because they’re jealous of you. They’re afraid that once you take control of the hospital, you’ll stop feeding them.”
Owen didn’t want to talk about the Saunders family anymore.
Elsie added, “Our money is our money. We can’t give it to the Saunders family, but we also can’t give it to Mr. Terrance. Before selling the hospital, we need to find a way to kick all of them out.”
Owen glanced at her. Truth be told, he’d been thinking the same thing. “But how?”
Would the old man really cough up the fat meat he’s been chewing on?
Elsie said, “Same as before. Dig them a hole. Set them up for embezzlement and get them locked up.”
Owen hesitated. He had done the same thing before to some of the Saunders family members to solidify his position. Now he’d be doing it again to the Moore family…
But when he thought about Mr. Terrance and his antics – if he didn’t act first, that old man would definitely sabotage everything.
Owen nodded. “We’ll do it your way.”
Elsie left the room and brushed past Peggy on her way out of the Saunders house.
She had eavesdropped on the conversation between Owen and Mr. Terrance just now, and the part about Morgan’s sister had piqued her interest. She had to find a way to pry something out of Morgan.
On Yunice’s side, she had just dropped Gill off at the deli shop.
The deli was right next to her small clinic. But with everything going on lately, she hadn’t been by the store in quite a while.