Chapter 181: No Mercy
Yunice continued, “Elsie didn’t even have a scratch on her. She cried and said she was scared—asked if that heavy thing was going to kill her. And you comforted her, told her, ‘Don’t be scared, it’s okay, it wasn’t going to hit you; see? It hit Yunice.’ You sounded so relieved when you said it—so calm. But you never once looked back at me. Elsie was already fifteen, and I was just sixteen, but you never comforted me. That day, while you held her and wiped her tears, you told me to clean the blood off my hand so I could drive you both to the hospital. Did you beg for me then, like you’re begging now? Did you get down on your knees and plead with the doctors to treat the kid with a fractured hand? Did you tell them if it wasn’t treated right, it’d heal wrong, leave scars, ruin her grip—destroy her dream of becoming a lead surgeon?”
Paul looked at Yunice, slightly stunned, as if he’d never heard any of this before. If it was true, then Lily really had gone too far.
Owen stayed half-crouched on the floor, not saying a word; Lily sat in silence, tears running down her face.
Time ticked by. Finally, like he couldn’t take it anymore, Owen suddenly snapped—he threw the disinfectant tray from his hands and shouted, his voice shaking with emotion, “How much longer are you going to keep dragging up the past!”
Tears streamed down Owen’s face as he broke down, yelling, “Can’t you see we’ve been trying to make it up to you? Sure, you were wronged—but haven’t we done everything we could to fix it?”
He grabbed Yunice and shoved her forward, pointing straight at Lily. “Look at Mom. Look at her! She’s begging you for mercy—can’t you see she’s bleeding, crying too? You think you’re the only one who’s been wronged? You think what she’s been through isn’t just as bad?”
Yunice said flatly, “I never asked for your compensation. I’ve tried again and again to cut myself out of your lives, but you’re the ones who keep dragging me back. Elsie lost her finger because she had bad intentions. She brought it on herself. That whole thing had nothing to do with me. Whether she can get treatment or not—that’s not my problem.”
Owen gritted his teeth. “You’re really not going to give an inch?”
Yunice answered, “That’s right.”
The air grew heavy again; only the sound of grinding teeth broke the silence. This feeling—Yunice knew it too well. It usually meant one thing: when they felt they couldn’t take it anymore, they’d turn to violence.
“I had no idea the hospital refused to admit her,” Yunice said quickly, just before they made a move.
Seeing her back down, Owen thought his threats had worked. His expression eased a little.
But then Yunice continued, “But I’m guessing Wyatt saw the marks on my neck—that’s probably why he told the hospital not to take Elsie in.”
About how much Wyatt cared about her. None of them believed Wyatt would go that far for her.
Owen said, “I might not know Wyatt, but I sure know you. You don’t understand people; you’ve got no real talent—yeah, you’re pretty, but Silverburgh’s full of beautiful women. What could Wyatt possibly see in you? All that kindness he showed you? He was putting on a show for us, and we all knew it. Do you think we don’t get it? Why lie to us?”
Honestly, it wasn’t surprising Owen didn’t believe her. Even Yunice didn’t know why Wyatt had gone so far to protect her—but he had. He’d treated her better than her own blood, who never stopped preaching about family.
Yunice glanced at Paul, surprised he hadn’t chimed in. Isn’t he always the one shouting the loudest?
But Paul just sat there, quiet, eyes focused like he was lost in thought. Yunice noticed how odd he was acting, but now wasn’t the time to ask.
She checked the time, then said, “Here’s a word of advice, you’d better send me back before Wyatt finds out. Otherwise, Elsie’s the one who’s really going to suffer.”
“Stop waving Wyatt’s name around like it’s a badge of honor. You think—” Owen had just raised his voice when Lily suddenly threw her arms around his leg and shook her head.
Owen frowned. “Mom, you don’t believe her too, do you? What could Wyatt possibly like about her? She’s just riding his coattails; now that she’s climbed the ladder, she thinks she can act all high and mighty—like we’re supposed to bow to her or something…”
He shot Yunice a defiant look. “There’s no way she’s really that tough. You don’t know pain until the knife’s in your own hand. If she lost a finger like Elsie did, then she’d understand what Elsie’s going through!”
Yunice snapped her head toward Owen, voice cold as ice. “You want to break my finger?”
Owen had only meant to scare her. He knew Yunice feared pain; just mentioning it would make her cave and agree to get Elsie the treatment she needed.
“Yunny, don’t push Owen,” Lily pleaded. “He doesn’t want to hurt you—but we really can’t delay Elsie’s treatment any longer. Owen knows you’re jealous of her; you’ve always wanted to ruin her. But hurting yourself just to get back at her? It’s not worth it… Yunny, please. Let it go.”