Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
The grandmother’s face flickered with guilt. She knew full well what kind of child she was raising.
If the police tested the water gun, maybe they’d find Yunice’s prints too – but that’d only prove she took it from him, not that she used it first.
Instead, the grandmother stomped over and smashed the water gun with her heel. “There. Now the evidence is gone!”
Yunice nearly laughed. Brilliant. The only shred of leverage they had, and they destroyed it themselves.
Just then, another man arrived, rushing to the scene. Before he could assess what had happened, the boy’s mother cried out dramatically, “Honey! They tried to kill our son! Call the cops! Get them locked up!”
The man turned – and froze.
He recognized Wyatt immediately.
His whole body stiffened. Then, without warning, he slapped his wife across the face. “Are you blind? That’s Mr. Cooper!”
The woman clutched her cheek, refusing to back down. “You coward! He tried to drown our son and you’re defending him?!”
The man looked like he could explode. “Mr. Cooper taught our son a lesson – that’s a blessing! We raised this brat ourselves, and you have the nerve to make a scene?”
Then he quickly turned to Wyatt and bowed his head, “Mr. Cooper, I’m so sorry. I’ll make sure this stupid kid is properly disciplined!”
Wyatt replied evenly, “He’s a kid – doesn’t know better. We adults shouldn’t stoop to his level. But take him home and put him on a diet before my wife ends up straining her wrist next time.”
“Diet?” the man echoed blankly. Then quickly nodded. “Of course! We’ll make him drop ten pounds!”
Seeing Wyatt’s expression darken, he blurted again, “Thirty pounds! He’ll lose thirty!”
The mother’s jaw dropped. Their kid only weighed sixty to begin with. Losing half his weight? Was he supposed to starve?
But the man couldn’t care less about her meltdown. Instead, he noticed Yunice’s ruined dress and apologized profusely. “About your gown – we’ll cover it, of course!”
Yunice sighed. “Forget it.”
No matter how expensive a replacement was, it couldn’t match the one Wyatt made by hand.
It was a shame, though. The dress had nearly a thousand diamonds, each sewn on one by one. Who knew how much effort Wyatt had poured into it?
Cashmere was so delicate – and now it was drenched in raw egg.
Yunice sighed again. “I’m going to go change.”
The man bowed low, sweating as he watched the two of them walk away.
Only once he was sure they were out of sight did he round on his son – who had just barely finished coughing up water – and slapped him hard across the face.
“You little disaster! Of all the people to mess with, you pick that one? You almost cost me everything!”
The chubby boy burst into tears, unable to say a word in his defense.
None of them noticed the woman lurking in the corner, slipping away with a cold, impatient look on her face.
Back at the hotel, Yunice took a long shower.
Her makeup and hairstyle were completely ruined. Getting them redone would take too long.
She really didn’t feel like going back to the auction.
Yunice sat at the vanity, towel-drying her hair, but her mind kept replaying what that kid had said during the attack.
Wyatt, noticing her gloomy expression, leaned against the back of her chair, his arms braced on either side. “Still upset?”
His gaze met hers in the mirror. “Want me to call that little brat back and hang him up for a beating?”
Yunice muttered, “That kid was strange. The whole time he was attacking me, he kept yelling he was punishing a homewrecker…”
She turned toward Wyatt, her voice edged with frustration. “How would he even know I’m a homewrecker?”
Wyatt’s expression darkened. “You’re not.”
Yunice lowered her lashes, then turned back to the mirror, slowly resuming drying her hair. She didn’t speak again.
Wyatt, clearly irritated, left for the balcony and lit a cigarette. He called Jordan. “Get me the guest list from tonight’s gala.”
That little hellspawn didn’t know Yunice. He didn’t even know who she was. There’s no way he could’ve known enough to target her with that kind of insult unless someone coached him.
Wyatt had already dealt with the kid. Now he was going after whoever was behind it.
It didn’t take long for Jordan to report back. “Wyatt, Maine showed up at the gala. She left earlier, though.”
Wyatt ground his cigarette out between his fingers, his face clouded with anger. Just as he thought.
His voice was cold and edged with hostility. “If she’s that bored, then give her something to do. I don’t want her playing sentry on me like it’s her full-time job-tracking which women I talk to.”
Jordan immediately responded, “Understood. I’m on it.”
Meanwhile, Yunice stayed at the dressing table, knowing Wyatt would handle it. She didn’t let the matter weigh on her. What really concerned her right now was Oscar.
She frowned at her phone. Why was his GPS showing him at a police station?
Right then, Owen’s call came through-abrupt and startling.
Yunice jumped. Her phone slipped from her hand and hit the floor.
Wyatt reached it first and handed it back without a word. Yunice glanced at him. Neither mentioned the earlier tension.
Owen’s call was still ringing. Yunice rejected it. Almost immediately, another unknown number popped up. She answered.
Owen’s voice roared out, already mid-rage, as if he’d just snatched the phone, “Yunice! You venomous bitch! Get out here! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! Aaaaaagh-!”
His sudden, vicious rage left Yunice stunned. She instinctively held the phone away from her ear, staring at the screen in disbelief.
Owen’s furious voice continued, “I won’t let you off the hook! I won’t! You’re going to pay for everything Elsie suffered-tenfold!”
Wyatt silently took the phone from her hand and hung up. When the unknown number tried again, he muted it and placed the phone face down on the table.
He turned to Yunice, eyes calm but sharp.
Yunice, still dazed, suddenly stood up, her voice tense. “Something must’ve happened!”
Owen was hotheaded, sure-but this was beyond even him. He wouldn’t make this kind of call out of nowhere.
She pressed a hand to her chest, frowning. “I have a really bad feeling…”
She looked to Wyatt, who was typing on his phone. Then he looked up and said, “Jordan’s already investigating.”
Yunice nodded grimly. “I’ll go change.”
She needed to be ready to move.
When she returned from the bathroom, she found Wyatt standing in the living room, hands in his pockets, face grim.
Her heart dropped. She knew that expression too well.