Chapter 5: He's a Cripple
Gianna forcefully dragged Yunice from the bathtub. Finding no phone on her, Gianna searched the bathroom. As she attempted to open the toilet tank, Yunice frantically flushed it. Seeing Yunice's nervous expression, Gianna swiftly lifted the toilet lid, but found nothing except rushing water. The phone was gone. Gianna seized the moment, triumphantly accusing Yunice, “Stealing? Mr. Owen won’t let you off for this!” She excitedly ran to report Yunice.
Owen sat in his room, feeling unsettled by Yunice's recent distance. Uneasy, he retrieved a necklace he'd prepared for her—a gift she'd longed for after their father's death, a request unmet due to family troubles. He murmured, “If she still refuses to be nice after accepting this gift, then she’s just being ungrateful.” He was about to find Yunice when Gianna rushed in, but before she could speak, Lily urgently grabbed Owen’s arm. “Owen, hurry! Go check on Elsie, she’s having another attack!”
Chaotic footsteps and Lily’s sobs echoed, then silence fell. Yunice emerged from her room, her hair wet, her feet bare. The villa’s stillness amplified her heartbeat. She knew tonight, no one would care about her return. Elsie, she realized, was an expert at this—orchestrating episodes to steal attention whenever something significant happened in Yunice's life. Elsie's "attacks" had marred Yunice's college entrance exam, her coming-of-age ceremony, and even their father's death anniversary. After the last incident, Oscar and Lily had stopped holding memorials.
Yunice smirked coldly. The overgrown grass on their father's grave—a consequence of her psychiatric hospital confinement—underscored Elsie's manipulative behavior. Lily’s words about family seemed hollow.
In the psychiatric hospital, Yunice had harbored dark thoughts. What if Lily hadn't brought Elsie back? What if Lily hadn't been rescued? But time had dulled her hatred. She no longer craved Oscar, Owen, or Paul. She simply wanted to leave the hospital and keep her father's few remaining possessions. But first, she needed to survive.
Yunice gazed at her old room on the second floor. Her expression darkened.
At the pawnshop, the clerk swiftly slid a bank card across the counter. “Dead pawn, three months. No extension. 300,000 in the account, no password.” Yunice snatched the card. This black-market establishment required no ID or explanation. She had pawned a bracelet, one of her father's keepsakes, needing 500,000 to reclaim it in three months. Oscar had manipulated her registration, replacing her fingerprints with Elsie's, rendering her unable to obtain a new ID or bank account. This money was all she had.
Securing the card, Yunice asked, her face hidden by a scarf, “Have the Alphasirox pills been sold yet?” The clerk indicated a nearby alley. “Still at the back.”
Yunice thanked him and hurried toward the alley. Alphasirox pills, effective for internal injuries, were rare and only available on the black market. Rounding a corner, she collided with someone, losing her balance and dropping the card. As she reached for it, strong hands seized her arms, pinning her against the wall. Heavy footsteps echoed. “He ran this way! That cripple can’t have gotten far!”
Yunice stiffened, looking up at her captor. He removed his jacket. She felt a cane press against her abdomen. He finished disguising himself, then frowned at her. Her disguise—a thick hat, scarf, and Gianna's maid uniform—was too obvious in the black market. Wyatt Cooper scoffed; his luck was terrible.
As he moved to push her aside, Yunice grabbed his collar with surprising strength. Their positions reversed. She pulled down her hat and scarf, her hair partially concealing her face. Wyatt froze. Without hesitation, she transformed the maid uniform into a revealing off-shoulder outfit.
The pursuers burst into the alley. Yunice pressed against Wyatt, swaying against him. “Oh… you’re too good, I can’t take any more… ah… you’re ruining me…” she moaned, tilting her head back.
The men, flashlights sweeping the scene, saw a man with a woman. Assuming a streetwalker encounter, they dismissed their suspicion. The man wasn't their limping target.
Once they left, Yunice moaned again, then glanced cautiously at their retreating figures. Believing herself safe, she turned, only to meet a pair of sharp eyes.