Chapter 189: Play With Fire

“Yunice—” Owen turned, about to speak, only to find her spot empty. He froze, scanning the room until his gaze landed on his expensive desk. Then he shouted, his voice sharp with alarm, “Yunice! What the heck are you doing!”

Everyone’s eyes shot toward him.

Yunice was standing on the desk—nearly waist-high—hauling a heavy wooden chair, staring intently at the ceiling’s decorative paneling. Nobody knew what she was up to; they just thought she looked dangerously unhinged.

Before anyone could stop her, before anyone could pull her down, Yunice suddenly swung the heavy chair overhead and smashed it into the ceiling.

With a thunderous crash, chunks of plaster and dust rained down; everyone instinctively dove toward Elsie, terrified she’d be hit.

Yunice didn’t stop. She slammed the chair into the ceiling again and again until a loud metallic sound rang out.

In the midst of the dust and debris, Owen’s panicked voice cut through. “Yunice! What are you doing? That’s the gas line! If you rupture it, we’re all dead!”

Almost instantly, a sharp hiss filled the room as the gas valve cracked. The collective gasp was nearly lost beneath the sound of Yunice’s ragged breathing.

She stood on the desk, clutching the chair, smiling darkly at what she’d done.

Owen rushed to the study’s door, fumbling to unlock it, but it was bolted from the inside. His hands were clumsy; the door wouldn’t budge.

Paul and Lily held tightly onto Elsie, dragging her as far from the leak as they could.

But what good was distance? All it would take was one spark, one burst of static—and none of them would make it out alive.

Yunice stood in the thickest cloud of gas, watching the others scatter like terrified vermin.

“You’re the ones who wanted me dead,” she said with a crooked, half-mad smile.

Owen shouted, “Yunice, what are you saying? That’s crazy talk! Get down right now—it could blow any second!”

The sudden concern caught her off guard. So he actually did care about me? A little. But what does that matter now? No one is getting out of this room alive.

Owen kept struggling with the door until he realized the key was missing.

Yunice finally jumped down from the desk. Her voice was clear and cold. “You all insisted on going to Madam Melina. Then I’ll just have to make sure you never leave.”

Paul was filled with both rage and fear. He shouted, “What the heck is wrong with you? We went to Madam Melina for you! To help you!”

Yunice yanked Elsie out of his arms in one sudden move. Paul started to block her, but she raised her other hand—revealing a lighter—and stared him down.

Owen shouted, “Nobody moves! Static sparks could set this whole place off! Yunice, calm down!”

Elsie was frozen in Yunice’s grasp, trembling in pure terror. She was certain Yunice would light it. With the gas this thick, even if it didn’t kill them instantly, it would tear them apart.

Dragging Elsie with her, Yunice turned to face the others. “Madam Melina only has one thing left in her life—Lauren. If she lives the rest of her life in peace, then fine. But if any of you go stirring things up in front of her and let her find out Lauren’s dead—this is what you’ll get.”

“You don’t want us to see Madam Melina?” Owen raised both hands in the air, trying to calm her. “Okay. Give me the key first. We’ll talk, alright?”

Yunice tightened her grip on Elsie. “No.”

Yunice pondered. After all these years of empty promises, you think I’d still fall for that?

Elsie’s legs were giving out, her body sinking lower as she cried and called for her mother.

Lily’s fingers twitched, trying to inch closer and save her daughter—only to be stopped again by Yunice and her lit lighter.

Lily broke down, sobbing. “Yunice! Don’t underestimate a mother’s determination to protect her child!”

She’d do anything for Elsie. She’d forgotten, in that moment, that the person she was treating like an enemy was her child.

But Yunice had no time for sentiment. The gas concentration was rising fast; her time was running out.

She stared Lily down. “And don’t underestimate the resolve of someone with nothing left to lose.”

“I’ll protect Madam Melina no matter what. None of you can keep your mouths shut—then you might as well shut them forever.”

Yunice moved as if she were about to spark the lighter. Everyone screamed and ducked, ready to beg her for mercy if that’s what it would take.

“No one will say a word about any of this!”

Yunice finally looked at him. “Then swear all of you will take this secret to the grave—because if anyone talks, Elsie will never die in peace.”

The moment the words left her mouth, everyone’s face changed. They thought Yunice had gone too far—too cruel.