Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Elsie, proud and stubborn, stepped forward with her chin raised, reaching out. Yunice smiled and pulled the box back on purpose.
Was it just so you could steal my ginseng? If you wanted it, you could’ve just said so-I would’ve given it to you.
Yunice raised an eyebrow. “Is it yours to give?”
Elsie frowned, voice shaking but still defiant. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Yunice’s tone was light, but the words cut deep. “You said you bought this ginseng from deep in the mountains? Never passed through a supplier?”
Elsie’s voice turned icy. “What are you getting at?”
-Handed
Yunice kept her hand on the ginseng box, her tone light and deliberate. “Do you know how rare a century-old ginseng is? And do you know that once rare medicinal herbs like this pass through the hands of a licensed supplier, they’re immediately authenticated and tagged with a unique serial number to mark their value?”
Elsie’s face showed clear confusion. She had never heard of medicinal herbs having serial numbers.
Yunice asked, “So, do you think this ginseng might have a number on it?”
Elsie hesitated. “It’s so valuable, I was afraid to damage it, so I didn’t check. I’m not sure if there’s a number on it or not.”
Yunice continued, “Then you must not know that a month ago, someone reported a stolen century-old ginseng. They even provided the serial number-this one right here in my hands.”
Elsie’s eyes flew wide open; she stared at Yunice in shock.
Yunice held up the gift box. “If you can’t provide proof of purchase for this ginseng, I’ll have every reason to believe you stole it.”
Elsie went pale. She never imagined Quinton would discover the ginseng had been swapped-let alone that he would report it to the police. She especially didn’t expect the ginseng to have a serial number, or that she’d get caught red-handed.
Owen stepped up. “You’re just targeting my sister. Someone must’ve switched the ginseng to set her up! I demand to see the security footage!” He glared at Jackson and Taylor, suspecting them of playing dirty tricks just to humiliate the Saunders family.
“Owen!” Elsie was fed up with this idiot of a teammate.
Linda sneered. “So Mr. Owen allows his sister to gift us stolen property, and instead of taking responsibility, you turn around and accuse us? Fine, let’s check the footage. You think the Powell family is afraid of you?”
When the security footage was brought out, Elsie stood frozen in place. Everyone knew that prominent families valued their privacy; for banquets like this, photography and filming were strictly prohibited. Surveillance? Unheard of. But the Powell family had secretly installed cameras.
Linda explained, “Don’t worry-only the gift table was monitored. Since all your gifts are valuable, we had to verify each one to avoid misunderstandings like this. We wouldn’t want to be accused of anything shady.”
That line was clearly aimed at Elsie.
Elsie, face flushed with shame, tugged at Owen’s sleeve and whispered with a trembling voice, “Owen, let’s not watch the footage. We’ve obviously been set up-let’s just take the loss…”
But Owen, ever the blunt one, declared, “Don’t give up, Elsie-don’t be afraid. I’ll clear your name.” Then he turned a cold glare toward Yunice and gritted out, “And I’ll make sure your name is exposed too.”
The footage appeared on the big screen. Clear as day, it showed Elsie at the gift table, proudly announcing herself as the Powell family’s future granddaughter-in-law.
“She really had the nerve to blame it on the staff messing up the registry. Turns out she just inflated her own worth.”
“No wonder she kept trying to leech off Ms. Taylor’s status-she just wanted to get noticed by the Powells.”
“Infamy is still fame, I guess. At least now everyone knows her, huh…”
Elsie shook her head in agony and collapsed into Owen’s arms. “That’s not true! I wasn’t trying to fake anything-Paul promised he’d marry me…”
Owen still believed she was innocent. He shouted, “You all know the truth deep down!” Then he shot a bitter look at Taylor. “Stealing someone else’s man isn’t exactly something to be proud of.” With that, he wrapped an arm around Elsie. “I’m taking you out of here.”
Yunice took the chance to speak up. “Then I’ll return the stolen ginseng to its rightful owner for you.”
Owen shot her a murderous glare. As if things weren’t humiliating enough already.
Jackson slammed his cane on the ground, face dark with fury. “You think the Powell family is your stage for drama?” This was his birthday, not a place for public spectacle.
Linda didn’t waste another second. She ordered the Saunders family to be escorted out. The servants pushed them from the hall; Owen kicked back in frustration.
Eluc, pale and trembling, choked out, “Owen, I’m sorry. I was just too naive… That’s how I got manipulated. You can hit me if you want…”
Paul never sent any of it.
Owen turned just to catch a glimpse of Yunice. In that moment, it all clicked. He stormed over and grabbed her. “It was you! It had to be you!”
Yunice looked up calmly, meeting his eyes. “That’s right?”
“I simply mailed myself a package. If someone couldn’t resist taking what wasn’t theirs, well-” she scoffed, “maybe they shouldn’t assume everyone else is as dumb as they are. In the end, it’s her own greed-and her own arrogance-that made her look like a fool.”
, Really?
Owen couldn’t take it anymore. He shoved Yunice. “Who are you calling an embarrassment? If you hadn’t set this whole thing up, how could our Saunders family be humiliated like this? You’re responsible for ruining our reputation today; you’re paying for it!”
Yunice smiled. “Fine. I’ll take responsibility. I’ll expose every single dirty deed Elsie’s ever done and rip off that fake, saintly mask of hers.”
“You-” Owen was at a loss for words, his anger boiling over. Just as he raised his hand, another hand blocked it-and then, smack-a slap landed hard on his face.
Owen was stunned. He looked up in shock and saw who it was. “Mr. Carl?”
Carl stood in front of Yunice, flexing his wrist. “Huh, I saw someone trying to lay a hand on Yunny from across the room, and it turns out it’s my dear nephew?” He was smiling, but it was impossible to tell if he was joking or furious.
Elsie rushed over. “Mr. Carl, it was Yunice who disrespected Owen first. He was just trying to reason with her; he did nothing wrong…”
Carl didn’t even look at her.
Owen, thinking the slap was an accident, added, “Mr. Carl, you’ve been abroad all these years; she did just now? She orchestrated all this to drag our Saunders family through the mud!”
“Oh?” Carl straightened his face and gave a sharp tsk. “Actually, I didn’t see a thing.” He glanced at Yunice, then turned a scrutinizing look back to Owen. “And how exactly did she drag your family through the mud?”
Owen thought he had found his moment. He jumped in, “She made Elsie wear knockoff clothes to make everyone laugh at her! And then she planted a stolen ginseng to frame Elsie!”
Carl raised a brow. “Never heard of this Elsie you keep talking about, but is she that stupid? To wear fakes, and she does? Tells her to give away stolen herbs, and she just goes along with it?”
The moment her name came up, Elsie stepped forward, sweet and pitiful. “I just trusted Yunice too much. But I don’t think she meant to hurt me. I believe someone must’ve misled her.”
Carl treated her like air. Elsie bit her lip, feeling awkward. Why does he seem to dislike me so?
You turned to her. “Thanks for trying to cover for me, but I hate to disappoint you-I did mean to hurt you.”
, Really?
Yunice turned to him calmly. “Mr. Carl, since you’re here, may I ask you to judge this fairly?”
“Elsie claims I sent her a package to set her up. So tell me whose name was on that package?”
Elsie hesitated, then answered meekly, “It was addressed to Yunice, of course…”
Yunice asked sharply, “Then who is Yunice?”
Elsie’s eyes filled with tears. “Yunice, I’ve been called Yunice for three years. It’s my name too-I’m used to it now.”
Yunice gritted her teeth. What a shameless excuse, stealing and acting like it’s justified!
Afraid Carl might misunderstand, Owen jumped in. “It’s like this, Mr. Carl. Yunny spent three years in a mental hospital due to her condition. I didn’t want people talking, so I asked Elsie to pretend to be Yunny in public.”
Carl gave a half-smile and nodded. “Ah, I see.” Then he finally turned to Elsie, “So you open anything that says ‘Yunice’ on it? How were you so sure it was meant for you?”