Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Sitting in her wheelchair, Madam Mary gave him a sideways glance. “I came to see Mr. Wyatt. Who wants to see her? Where’s Wyatt?”
The butler was no fool. “Ma’am, Mr. Wyatt is still at work at this hour. Ms. Yunice is the only one available to receive you.”
Madam Mary folded her hands. “Is Yunice ill?”
“She’s perfectly healthy. I’m not sure why you would think otherwise, ma’am.”
Madam Mary sneered. “If she’s not sick, why didn’t she come greet me herself? Is this how she treats her elders?”
The butler’s lips pressed into a line. Even he could see she was being deliberately difficult.
“The Pavilion Hall is Mr. Wyatt and Ms. Yunice’s home,” he said calmly. “If she chooses not to come out, no one has the right to demand it.”
Wyatt had made that clear – Yunice was to be respected. If she couldn’t have a say in her own home, then what was the point of calling it a home? How could he claim to protect her?
Now that it was obvious Madam Mary had come here to stir trouble, the butler’s tone lost its earlier deference.
If she didn’t want to enter, then so be it.
He stood silently nearby, offering no further words.
Sure enough, after several seconds of silence, Madam Mary frowned and said stiffly, “Push me in.”
Only then did the butler step forward and wheel her into the Pavilion Hall.
As the wheelchair rolled across the carpet in the living room, Yunice stood inside, slowly pacing with a book in hand, murmuring lines aloud. She was reading a classic moral text.
Right as they entered, she deliberately read aloud, “Respecting elders is virtue…”
Madam Mary gave a pointed cough, clearly trying to draw attention to herself.
Morgan, standing behind her, glared at Yunice like she was a junior family member who had failed to show proper manners.
Yunice turned her head. Even when she saw them, she made no move to greet them warmly. Her tone was flat. “Mr. Morgan. Madam Mary. Mr. Wyatt won’t be home until after four. You’re welcome to wait here until then.”
Seeing Yunice holding a book, cool and distant, not making any friendly gesture at all, Madam Mary couldn’t resist putting on airs. “You’ve been married to Wyatt for so long. Has he never hired anyone to teach you proper etiquette?”
Yunice glanced at her book. “I’ve read the classics. They teach that elders and virtuous people should be respected. But only the virtuous, the righteous, the honest, and the kind are worthy of such respect. So tell me, Madam Johnson – who once schemed to frame my own brother – which of those virtues do you embody… to deserve my respect?”
Madam Mary’s eyes flew wide in disbelief; she hadn’t expected Yunice to talk back so sharply, so mercilessly. She snapped, “You think just because Wyatt spoils you, you can-“
Yunice looked up and calmly cut her off. “And you think just because Wyatt indulges your family, you can do whatever you want? Morgan’s crimes go far beyond what he did to Elsie. He won’t escape the law, no matter who you beg. Instead of coming here to stir up trouble, maybe go tell your precious grandson to confess and take responsibility while he still has a shot at leniency.”
Madam Mary opened her mouth but couldn’t come up with a single word in response. But her son behind her wasn’t as restrained. Humiliated by how his mother was being talked down in front of others, Mr. Morgan surged forward and raised his hand, aiming to slap Yunice across the face. “Trash will always be trash! No manners at all!”
Yunice didn’t move, but the slap never landed. The butler had stepped in front of her, gripping Mr. Morgan’s wrist tightly. His voice was icy. “Mr. Morgan, take a good look. This is the Pavilion Hall. Ms. Yunice is the mistress here. You, as an outsider, dare to raise your hand against the lady of the house-have you forgotten whose home you’re in?”
Mr. Morgan scoffed, “She’s nothing but a decoration Wyatt married for show. And you people are really treating her like she matters? What a joke.” But no matter how much he looked down on Yunice, the butler held his wrist in a vise, leaving him no chance to even touch her.
Yunice actually felt a little disappointed. If that slap had landed, she could’ve put on a nice little performance for Wyatt later. Still, the way the butler and staff protected her caught her off guard-and even moved her a little.
Seeing the tide turning against them, Madam Mary flared up, spitting, “Ms. Yunice, you’ve been living off the benefits of looking like my granddaughter, lording it over her family. Don’t you feel the slightest bit ashamed?”
But Yunice didn’t step into that obvious trap. She answered coldly, “Funny, I was just thinking how shameful it is to enjoy the benefits your granddaughter left behind and use them to throw your weight around. You raised Morgan-scum of society-and now you run around trying to get him out of trouble. Honestly, your morals and values aren’t even close to qualifying you to judge anyone.”
“You-!” Madam Mary was shaking. “Everyone knows Oscar was a depraved murderer! You’re just trying to get him off the hook by making Morgan the scapegoat!”
Yunice said calmly, “My brother’s charges are still under investigation. But Morgan’s crimes are set in stone. Otherwise, why would you go through the trouble of coming all the way here?”
“You-!” Madam Mary’s face turned pale. She clutched her chest, gasping for breath.
Mr. Morgan instantly rushed to her side in panic. “Mom! Don’t scare me! Yunice, if anything happens to her, you’re responsible!”
Yunice replied, “Only a judge can decide who’s responsible. And last I checked, Mr. Morgan, you don’t have a judge’s license.”
Mr. Morgan gritted his teeth. “Don’t think that sharp tongue of yours means you’ve won. Wait till Wyatt comes home-see if you can still smile then!”
Yunice sat back down on the sofa. She had no intention of waiting on the Johnsons.
Upstairs…
Elianna had cracked the door open and peeked at the drama below. She wasn’t foolish enough to jump into that mess. Quietly closing the door, she sent Wyatt a message, reporting everything that had happened at home. She was genuinely curious-between the Johnson family and Yunice, who would Wyatt side with? She expected a dramatic standoff, but before Wyatt even returned, Madam Mary and Mr. Morgan were suddenly called away by a phone call.
Yunice only caught a few words as Madam Mary picked up. “Nora’s awake? Are you serious?”
She watched the two of them leave Pavilion Hall, crying with joy. Her grip tightened around the book in her hand, and she found herself struggling to breathe. The Nora Madam Mary mentioned-it had to be that Nora. Was she really awake? After three years, if the first thing she said was a plea for Wyatt to save her brother… would Wyatt be able to refuse? A man’s weakness for his first love was often incurable.
Elianna strolled leisurely down the stairs. “Wyatt’s definitely not coming home tonight.” Three years apart-and now Nora was awake. How could he not go see her? What reason did he have not to?
Elianna plopped down on the sofa and glanced at the silent Yunice. “You’ve got the energy to trade barbs with the Johnsons, but maybe you’d be better off getting your brother a decent lawyer… Not that it’d help much. No one beats Wellinges Pharma’s legal team.”
In her eyes, if Nora hadn’t woken up, Yunice might’ve had a shot at turning things around. But now that she had… Yunice was finished. After all, Yunice was only a stand-in. A counterfeit can never be placed on the same pedestal as the real thing.
Yunice clenched the book in her hands for so long that by the time she came to, she realized she’d nearly scratched the ink right off the page-one entire paragraph had disappeared under her fingers.
She took a deep breath. She had to stay focused. She had her own way of bringing Morgan to justice.
Just then, Elianna turned back casually-and suddenly froze, eyes fixed on something behind Yunice. “Wyatt? Why are you back?”
Startled, Yunice turned around and saw that Wyatt really had returned.
She stood up in a daze, just as Elianna continued, “Madam Mary got a call earlier. Nora’s awake. She and Mr. Morgan already rushed over to see her. So why didn’t you go, Wyatt…”
But as soon as the words left her mouth, something clicked. Everyone knew how Wyatt felt about Nora.
There was no way he’d skip seeing her.
Elianna quickly recovered and grinned like she’d figured it out. “Oh! You must’ve found out before everyone else and already spent the whole day with Nora, right? Now you’re just coming back to give her some space to be alone with her family!”
Yunice’s lips twitched, almost imperceptibly. Her expression shifted, clearly uneasy.
Wyatt changed into his indoor shoes, hung up his coat, and shot Elianna a sidelong glance. “Keep spouting nonsense and I’ll toss you out of Pavilion Hall myself.”
Elianna pouted. “Did I say anything wrong?”
Wyatt gave Yunice a quick glance before turning back to Elianna. “You’re talking nonsense right in front of Yunice: What are you trying to do? Start a fight between us?”
Elianna didn’t back down. “But I’m just telling the truth. Nora’s awake. Of course she’s coming back to Pavilion Hall. Yunice’s gonna find out sooner or later, right? You really think Nora would want to live here with Yunice and… with you? You know how proud she is.”
Yunice’s face darkened. “What’s that supposed to mean? Nora’s too proud to live with me in Pavilion Hall, and I’m so shameless that I’d be willing to stay and… share a husband with her?”
Elianna was stunned for a second, then frowned. “Why are you taking it out on me? I don’t care who becomes my sister-in-law, whether it’s you or Nora. But I’m just stating the obvious.”
She wasn’t wrong, even if her tone was nasty.
Two tigers can’t live on the same mountain. Two women can’t share the same house as its mistress.
Now that Nora was awake, it was time to decide-who would stay, and who would leave?
Yunice turned to Wyatt. “Tomorrow’s Friday. The civil affairs office is open. We won’t have any trouble…”
Her revenge plan was moving along smoothly. The bait had already been taken. She no longer needed Wyatt’s power to make her move.