Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Yunice didn’t spare him a glance-she was scanning every corner.
Wyatt was nowhere to be seen.
That alone was enough to ease her tension.
Then she turned-and locked eyes with the lead officer, who looked absolutely furious.
“Everyone, back to the station!” he barked.
Someone had managed to breach security and assault a protected witness on their watch. The consequences would be brutal.
Yunice and Jordan were perfect scapegoats.
As they were being led out, Jordan leaned close and whispered, “Don’t worry, Mrs. Cooper. They’ve got no evidence.”
Yunice, technically Elsie’s relative, might face a minor obstruction of justice charge. A couple of days in holding and a fine-at most.
As long as they hadn’t caught Wyatt, they were fine.
Yunice stayed quiet. She wasn’t nervous-she was deep in thought.
She’d only seen Elsie briefly, but her years of medical experience told her one thing: Elsie wasn’t faking.
Her face had the dullness of prolonged unconsciousness. Real. Not an act.
But why?
If this was all to frame Oscar, why go so far?
Why risk her own life when she hadn’t even managed to hurt Yunice?
What was really going on behind the scenes?
As expected, after the usual round of questions at the station-and without any evidence-Wyatt appeared at the front doors and bailed them both out.
Back in the car, once the door closed, Yunice turned immediately. “What happened?”
Wyatt said, “She was already unconscious when I got there. I tried pressure on the philtrum-she didn’t wake up.”
Which meant they had no new leads.
Seeing Yunice’s brows furrow even tighter, Wyatt handed her his laptop.
A video.
Yunice pulled the computer onto her lap. The footage was shaky, clearly taken in a rush.
The camera zoomed in on the chaos at a hotel entrance.
People bustled around, the angle jittered-then it centered.
Elsie was sprawled inside a bathtub, her wrist slashed open, blood everywhere. Her body was limp. It wasn’t clear if she was alive or dead.
In the same frame, Oscar stood in shock-face pale, knife in hand, stunned and panicking, mouthing denials. He tried pulling out his phone, but someone bumped into him, and it flew out of his hand.
Before he could recover it, police burst in and arrested him.
Yunice stared, frozen.
She’d heard Oscar had been framed, but seeing it-watching it-was different.
The visceral dread hit her in waves.
“There’s something wrong with all of this,” she muttered, her voice rising. “None of this adds up. Nothing makes sense!”
Elsie wouldn’t go this far-not even she would bleed herself half to death to pull a stunt.
And Oscar? As impulsive as he was, he’d never use such violence.
So what the hell actually happened? Who’s behind this?
Yunice pressed a hand to her forehead, dizzy with questions.
Then a strong hand landed gently on her back. Wyatt’s voice was calm but grim.
“Oscar just got back into the country. He’s had no time to make enemies. Whoever did this must be close. Someone around us.”
The Saunders family was the most likely suspect. Or perhaps someone targeting Wyatt and Yunice directly.
Yunice’s frown deepened. “Owen and Lily treat Elsie like she’s untouchable. They’d never risk her like…”
“…this. Could it be Peggy?”
She thought aloud, “Peggy’s greedy. She uses Owen for money. She’d definitely see Elsie and Oscar as threats to her claim on the Saunders inheritance. So maybe she set them both up…”
Then she hesitated. “But it could be someone else entirely.”
Wyatt said, “If we’re the real targets, then that makes things easier. If they want something from us, they’ll have to show their hand sooner or later.”
Yunice nodded, eyes still fixed on the laptop as she rewound the video.
She studied the angles, zooming in, checking every face.
Elsie definitely knew who had done this. But now, with the botched hospital infiltration, it would be much harder to get near her again.
Yunice closed the laptop and exhaled.
“I need to visit the Saunders family.”
Wyatt gave Jordan a glance. Jordan started the car and headed straight for the Saunders estate.
Elsie was under tight police watch-even Owen wasn’t allowed to see her. So the entire Saunders household sat shrouded in a heavy silence, tension hanging thick in the air.
As Wyatt’s car pulled into the estate, Yunice noticed another car parked outside.
“Paul?” she murmured.
The moment they entered the living room, Owen jumped up from the sofa, visibly agitated-but Peggy yanked him back down before he could charge over.
“This has nothing to do with Yunice,” she said flatly. “What are you trying to lash out at her for? It was Oscar who assaulted Elsie. Would she really sabotage herself just to take someone else down?”
The moment she said “assault,” Owen’s fists clenched so hard they trembled. His molars ground together with audible force.
Elsie had been violated-physically and emotionally. He couldn’t even bring himself to imagine the horror of it: Elsie alone, helpless, trapped in despair.
But what shattered him completely-was that the bastard responsible might be his own brother.
Yes, he’d known Oscar had issues with Elsie. But he never imagined Oscar-his clean-cut, ambitious brother-would do something this vile.
Yunice glanced toward Lily, who sat utterly still, eyes glazed, like the life had been drained out of her.
A scandal like this? Elsie’s entire future was destroyed. Lily’s dream of seeing her daughter married into a powerful family was now ash in the wind. Worse yet-it was Oscar who had done it.