Chapter 38: Poisoned Gifts
To everyone’s surprise, Yunice accepted the phone. Elsie felt a surge of satisfaction. When she first joined the Saunders family, what bothered her most was how Yunice always gave her the best of everything. Now, finally, it was her turn to hand Yunice the unwanted scraps.
After Yunice took the phone, Owen waited a few seconds—but she said nothing. No thanks, no complaints. Not a single word. That wasn’t like her at all. Yunice had always been the jealous type. In the past, even if she didn’t argue, she’d at least return a gift if she didn’t like it. When had she ever accepted something so quietly?
Owen frowned, unsettled by the feeling that something was off. Just as he was about to say something, Yunice turned and went back to her room, closing the door behind her. Owen’s eyes widened in disbelief. He kicked the door and shouted, “Are you not even going to say thank you!”
Inside the small room, Yunice sat at her desk, watching the security feed until Owen and Elsie had left. She picked up the phone Elsie had given her, turning it over in her hands. It had a SIM card—Elsie’s secondary number.
Giving gifts for no reason… There’s always a catch. They’d seen her visiting the Johnsons, and now they wanted to monitor her more closely! Yunice pulled open a drawer and tossed the phone inside.
Owen and Elsie wouldn’t be home for lunch. Lily usually went out every other day to play cards or have tea, so she wasn’t around much either. But today, Lily had stayed for lunch—and, unusually, started making small talk.
“I know you’ve always had a knot in your heart about me cutting down those rose bushes your dad left behind,” Lily said as she placed food in Yunice’s bowl. “Last night I talked to Owen. We’re planning to turn over the soil in the yard and plant new roses. Elsie agreed, too.”
Yunice’s lips tugged into a smile. Now even decisions about the Saunders family needed Elsie’s approval. The real joke, though, was that no matter what the decision was, she was always the last to know. Sometimes, not even worth informing at all.
Noticing Lily watching her expression closely, Yunice quickly averted her eyes and offered a soft objection: Elsie’s allergic to pollen. Maybe it’s best not to plant anything.
Lily’s gaze flickered. She knew full well Yunice didn’t care a bit about Elsie’s allergies. She only said that to stop them from turning over the soil. Lily was certain Will had buried the Saunders family’s ancient texts in the yard, so she ignored Yunice’s warning. After lunch, she ordered workers into the garden with an excavator to dig up the entire yard.
The result? A mess of dirt, a torn-up garden, and a few bottles of whiskey Will had buried for Yunice. Nothing else. Yunice picked up the bottles and carried them back to her room, ignoring Lily, who stood amid the wreckage, her face dark with rage.
They hadn’t found the texts, and the yard was now a disaster. Lily was probably fuming inside. But Yunice didn’t give her the chance to vent. Carrying her few bottles of fine whiskey, she headed over to Gill’s place.
Yunice gave a bitter smile. She’d never even imagined getting married. When even your own family is full of betrayal and manipulation, how can you ever trust a man with your life? Chances were, those bottles would never be opened.
After leaving Gill’s, Yunice made a stop at the black market. She was still thinking about her lost agarwood bracelet. Holding onto a sliver of hope, she asked one of the shop guys if there was any chance she could get it back.
Deep down, she already knew the truth—if Wyatt had bought it, even if he tossed it aside, he’d never return it. But just as she was preparing to hear “no,” the clerk asked her to wait and dashed to the back.
Yunice leaned toward the small window to get a better look inside—and to her shock, the guy returned with several bodyguards, charging out from behind the counter and pinning her down. Panic surged. What is this—a trafficking ring?
Then she saw Jordan waving her over. Only then did she realize this was probably Wyatt’s doing. The bodyguards backed off as soon as Jordan gave the signal. Yunice crossed her arms, glancing at Jordan before walking over.
He was as casual as ever, pulling aside the curtain to the back room as he explained, “Wyatt gave orders when he bought that bracelet—if anyone matching your description showed up, we were to hold them here.” Back then, Wyatt hadn’t known who she was, so he’d made the call just in case.
Behind the curtain was a whole other world. Jordan gave her a nod, motioning that she could go in. Yunice tightened her grip on her purse strap and stepped inside. The place was filled with smoke and chaos. Laughter and shouting echoed everywhere. Someone had one foot on the table, the other on a stool, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he squinted at his hand of poker.