Chapter 537 Four Hours of Silence
“Jensen was so shaken by it, he started talking about having another kid at his age!” Taylor said over the phone. “Paul walked in right as his dad was all over some eighteen-year-old girl. Paul asked if he was planning to have a second child, and the old man didn’t just admit it–he humiliated Paul right there. Paul snapped, grabbed a knife, and almost chopped off his dad’s junk! You should’ve seen it. Dog-eat-dog carnage!”
Yunice wasn’t surprised at all. Three generations of the Powell family had always been selfish and power-hungry. They protected their own–but never a disgrace. Reputation was everything. Paul had crumbled, becoming a lazy, self- pitying mess. If he couldn’t carry the family legacy, they’d simply create a new heir. But Paul was sensitive and proud. He couldn’t handle being cast aside. The more he clashed with the Powell family, the more they looked down on him. The more they looked down on him, the more extreme Paul became.
It was a vicious cycle, and eventually, Paul would fall right into the trap Yunice had laid long ago. She hadn’t sunk all that money into baiting him for nothing.
To accelerate the tension between Paul and the Powell family, Yunice gave Taylor a suggestion. After hearing it, Taylor chuckled darkly. “We’ll do it your way.”
Yunice stepped out of the dressing room. Elianna was still on the sofa, flipping channels with the remote like it was her house. Yunice went into the kitchen to help the maids prepare dinner. Elianna glanced over, then went back to watching TV.
One maid said nervously, “Madam, Sir doesn’t like you coming into the kitchen.”
Yunice rolled up her sleeves and pulled ingredients from the fridge. Seeing this, the maid could only let her be.
While slicing tomatoes, Yunice asked, “Where did the items from the charity gala the other night get stored?”
“In the collection room,” the maid replied.
Anything valuable was always cataloged and neatly stored in the collection room. Yunice removed her apron and headed there. The maid stared at the half- cut tomato on the board, unsure if she should touch it.
Yunice had full access to Pavilion Hall’s collection room. Wyatt had once promised her that anything inside was hers to use or give away. She wanted to check the quality of the rhino horn Wyatt had won at the auction. But after searching through the medicinal storage cabinet, she couldn’t find it.
The maid, back in the kitchen chopping vegetables, turned to see Yunice holding a jar of epimedium. Then she returned to her task, slicing the tomato, “I didn’t see any rhino horn powder in there.”
The maid blinked. “Madam, only one set of fabric was delivered from the gala. Nothing else. We logged it.”
Yunice paused. “Must’ve been my mistake, then.” She went back to slicing tomatoes, then began preparing a piece of beef brisket.
Night fell, and there was finally a sound from Wyatt’s room. Elianna, half- asleep on the sofa, glanced at the time. Exactly four hours. Yunice had been dead accurate. She looked over to find Yunice working quietly at a table in the side room, tapping a stylus against her tablet every now and then.
Wyatt emerged from the bedroom. Elianna jumped up sweetly. “Wyatt!” His gaze brushed past her and moved on.
A maid had just finished wiping the table and greeted him. “Sir, you’re awake. Madam made tomato-braised beef. It’s been stewing for three hours, just waiting for you.”
Wyatt’s expression shifted slightly. He walked toward the side room. Yunice stood up and met him halfway. “Elianna’s been waiting for you a long time.”
Elianna bit her lip, eyes red. It stung, being treated like air. She watched Wyatt walk into the side room–then come back out with Yunice by his side, as it were necessary. Only when he reached her did he say, “Let’s eat.”
The table was already set. Wyatt guided Yunice to sit beside him on one side. Elianna hesitated, then sat across from them. Yunice got up, took the soup ladle from the maid, and began serving.
Wyatt gave her a once-over. She wasn’t usually this eager–what was she up to?
Yunice served Wyatt first, then turned and served Elianna. Elianna gave a glance that screamed entitlement, like Yunice should be serving her. Wyatt’s face darkened. He was just about to say something when Yunice kicked him under the table. He looked stunned. Yunice gave him a glance like nothing had happened and sat beside him as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
Elianna had already stuffed herself with fruit and snacks earlier. She had no interest in food–just Wyatt. “Wyatt, are you annoyed with me again?” she asked. “You don’t know what it’s like–I had nowhere else to go. That’s the only reason I came here…”