Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
“Only external injuries?” Wyatt looked at him coldly. He walked up to Owen, eyes dark and dangerous. “She was thrown out of a rolling car. You think that’s just an external injury?”
Owen choked on his words, his throat tight. He still insisted, “When I saw her, she wasn’t dead. You must not have tried hard enough!”
Wyatt said in a low voice, “She’s your sister. Why should I be the one to save her? Shouldn’t it have been you?”
Owen’s lips trembled. He tried to defend himself. “I… I had limited ability. I could only save one person…”
Wyatt snapped, “So you gave up on Yunice, and this is the result.”
Owen protested, “I didn’t give up. We divided responsibilities, didn’t we? I saved Elsie, you saved Yunice!”
Wyatt laughed bitterly. “You knew I wouldn’t care enough about her, and you still handed her to me. Don’t act like you really wanted her to live.”
Owen shouted, “She’s my sister! Why wouldn’t I want her to live?!”
“Oh? Really?” Wyatt sneered. “Weren’t you the one who hit her and then didn’t save her?”
Owen froze, his eyes wide in shock. A flicker of guilt flashed across his face.
“I don’t believe it… I don’t believe Yunice is dead…” Owen stumbled back two steps, then suddenly…
The cold air in the morgue made him stop in his tracks. When he saw Lily collapsed on her knees, his heart plummeted to the bottom. Is that really Yunice? He looked at the body lying under the white sheet. His knees buckled, and he dropped to the floor. Yunice is dead?
Owen’s head buzzed like a hive of bees; his whole body felt as though his soul had been yanked out. Lily was also kneeling on the ground, her head tilted back, her face hollow and empty, as if something had been scooped out of her. She felt numb. She didn’t even know what she was feeling. She was a little sad, but somehow, part of her actually felt relieved-relieved that no one would fight with Elsie anymore, that from now on, all the Saunders family’s resources would go to Elsie. But when she realized she had thought that, it felt like someone had smashed a stick over her head. Panic surged.
How can I even think of something like that? When did I become this cruel? Yunice was my daughter, too! I should be crying. How can I possibly feel relief? In fact, tears were running down her face, but her emotions were so tangled, she didn’t even notice.
The only sound echoing in the morgue was Elsie’s loud sobbing. She kept trying to help Lily, then Owen, stumbling between the two, but she couldn’t lift either of them. Both were like people in shock, collapsed on the floor, their faces frozen in grief and numbness. Elsie, who had always been the center of attention, couldn’t stand it. She stopped trying to pull them up and turned to Carl, crying as she begged, “Mr. Carl, please talk to my mom and Owen. If they keep breaking down like this, I’m afraid they won’t make it…”
Carl lifted his eyes. Elsie’s face was twisted from crying, like a faucet had been turned on-she looked heartbroken. But instead of feeling sympathy, Carl felt disgusted. He replied coldly, “Ms. Elsie, have you ever lost a loved one? Do you know what it actually feels like to lose someone close to you?”
Elsie froze, her face blank with embarrassment. Under Carl’s harsh stare, she quickly lowered her head. She glanced pitifully at Owen, then at Lily, hoping someone would step in and speak up for her. But both of them just sat there, quietly crying, completely unaware of her discomfort.
She didn’t dare say anything more in front of Carl and shuffled off to Paul instead, who seemed calmer. She sniffled and said through her tears, “Paul, is that really Yunice? I can’t believe she’s dead…”
Paul was standing. He hadn’t cried. His brows were furrowed, and he was staring at the white sheet on the morgue table with a strange, distant look. He wasn’t related to Yunice, but he had spent just as much time with her as anyone in her family had. Paul had gotten used to her being around. And now these people were telling him she was gone. But he didn’t feel much. Her death felt more like she had just gone on a long trip. He just wouldn’t see her for a while. Nothing really to cry about.
Paul felt like he was being heartless. Maybe he really didn’t love Yunice anymore. It was the only way he could explain why everyone was grieving so deeply while he felt nothing at all.
Carl looked around the room, his face tight with disappointment, and walked out without saying a word. Freya followed after him, huffing angrily. “This is ridiculous! A whole family! A real brother, a real mother, and never mind those two outsiders-none of them even pulled back the sheet to see if it was really her!”
“Even if a mother’s child was smashed to pieces, she would still want to see them. Still want to touch them. I think they feel guilty. Who knows how badly they treated Yunice over all these years.”
Carl was disappointed, too. How can people be this cold? Will has such a big family, but somehow there’s no room for just one Yunice.
After Carl left, Owen and Lily still hadn’t come back to their senses. Elsie had stopped crying. She was getting annoyed, honestly. How long are they going to sit here? It was freezing.
Just as she was about to pull her usual trick-fainting for attention-Paul suddenly moved. He stepped forward. He looked like he was going to pull back the sheet and look at Yunice. Elsie stared at him, shocked. What is he doing?
“Don’t look. Let Yunny keep a little dignity.”
It was Owen. His face was pale, his chin covered in bluish stubble, and at that moment he looked years older. “Don’t look,” Owen said again, his eyes down. He said it with his back turned to the table. Lily didn’t dare look either. She didn’t even dare lift her head in that direction. She stumbled to her feet, half leaning on Elsie, her mouth opening like she was in pain.
“Owen, Mom doesn’t feel well!” Elsie cried. It was like Owen finally came back to reality. He reached out and grabbed Paul.
“Mom must’ve been heartbroken. Take her back to the hospital room, quick!”
A flustered crowd rushed out of the morgue, everyone quietly letting out a breath of relief. It felt like only by escaping that place could they breathe on their own again. Yunice had been asleep in the VIP ward for three days. She still hadn’t woken up. Wyatt stood by her bed, talking to someone. In Jordan’s hand was an evidence bag; inside, a flattened cigarette butt.
“We pulled DNA off the cigarette,” he said. “No match in the database.”
Which meant that person didn’t officially exist. Either their records had been erased, or they had a special identity that was being protected.
Wyatt let out a dry laugh. “Of course the bastard was hard to kill. Always getting tangled up with people.” If Jackson dared to use this person, then he must’ve been sure Wyatt wouldn’t be able to trace it.
With the trail cut off, Wyatt tapped a cigarette from the pack. As he brought it to his lips, something made him pause. He looked again at the evidence bag. The cigarette butt was the same brand as the one in his hand. But his smokes were custom-made, nearly impossible to come across by accident.
Jordan said, “We’re checking with the tobacco supplier. Nothing yet.” Then he shifted his gaze to a spot behind Wyatt. “Wyatt.” He gave a small nod, signaling Wyatt to look behind him. By the time Wyatt turned, Jordan had already walked off.
Yunice felt heavy all over-swollen from fluid buildup. As the anesthesia wore off, pain surged in along with her returning awareness. She slowly opened her eyes, expecting it to be like all the other times: fainting alone, waiting out the night alone, waking up alone. So when she saw the white ceiling, her heart stayed still-until a face slid into view. His sharp…
Wyatt leaned over, eyes locked on hers. “I was thinking, if you didn’t wake up soon, I was going to kiss you.”
Yunice sank deeper into the pillow, both hands clutching a bit of the blanket over her chest. His eyes were bright, the corners curved with amusement, like stars were trapped inside them.
Yunice asked, “Am I really that kissable?”
Wyatt froze. Her voice was still rough, barely louder than a whisper, but clear enough to be understood. When he didn’t respond, she thought he hadn’t heard, so she asked again, “Is kissing me that good?”
He always seemed weirdly obsessed with kissing. Every time he got one, he looked ridiculously pleased.
Wyatt straightened up, moving out of her line of sight. She turned her head, trying to follow, but winced and froze. She couldn’t move.
Wyatt said, “Have you ever respected a car crash before?” The fact she doesn’t die is already pure luck. Does she think she’ll walk away without a scratch?
He brought a straw to her lips. Yunice took it gently, slowly drawing a sip and holding the water in her mouth. “Joe said you shouldn’t move for at least a week,” Wyatt said. That was already the best-case scenario. He glanced at her again, then added, “Owen made it out. His whole family’s been discharged.”
They’d left in such a hurry, they seemed to forget the corpse in the morgue. No one even asked about the funeral. Wyatt didn’t bring that up. Yunice had long given up on that family. She was used to being abandoned. She just followed Wyatt’s movements with her eyes, like it was something new. Even without looking at her directly, he could feel the way she was staring.
He sounded annoyed. “Want me to drag Owen here right now, just to prove I’m not lying?”
Wyatt frowned. “Didn’t you go to Rainier Arc Street because you were worried about him?”
Yunice was dumbfounded.
His grip on the cup tightened. He said, low and cold, “You ignored my warning and went there anyway. Wasn’t that to find Owen?” Then he let out a scoff. “You worry about him. He leaves you in the street.”
Yunice strained her neck, trying to lift her head. “Who said I went for him? I went for you.” Her voice was quiet, but it landed with the weight of a needle dropped in a silent room.
Wyatt turned his head, caught off guard. Yunice looked away, speaking quietly. “You called to get me out of Rainier Arc Street. Wasn’t that because you didn’t want me caught up in your mess?”
In a situation like that, survival was already hard. He could’ve called someone else-someone useful-but he’d thought of her. He called her and told her to get to safety. She had always seen herself as a side character. No one had ever taken her that seriously. That was why she went back, because of him. She wanted to clear a path for Wyatt.
Yunice said, “I did something this big, and you don’t want to admit it?”
Wyatt appeared again in Yunice’s line of sight, his eyes teasing. “So you are actually quite loyal.” He paused, waiting for Yunice to argue, but Yunice just looked at him with a clear and calm expression. She didn’t seem like she wanted to argue at all.
His face darkened slightly, almost imperceptibly. Yunice was also waiting for him to say more. When he stayed quiet too long, she couldn’t help but remind him. “Don’t you reward people who contribute?”
Wyatt’s tone cooled again as he turned and walked in another direction. “What do you want?”
Yunice couldn’t hide her joy. “The beaded bracelet in your hand.”
“No.”
Yunice frowned and lay back down without a word. When Wyatt didn’t hear anything, he turned around again. Yunice looked clearly unhappy. His gaze shifted slightly, then he gave in. “I can give you something else. When you’re better, just tell Jordan what you want.”
Yunice bit her lip, her eyes moved just a little, and she barely stopped her smile from rising. She hadn’t been wrong. Wyatt really was giving in to her. No matter what feeling this came from, it was a good thing for Yunice. She felt that rushing to Rainier Arc Street had been totally worth it!
At least until Joe handed her a mirror and let her see herself. After that, she couldn’t smile anymore.
Joe put the mirror down and said, “You’re wrapped like a mummy.” Then he sighed. “You can’t move for the next few days; how are you even eating?” There wasn’t even a nurse helping out.