Chapter 123: The Breaking Point

It felt like all those skeletons in the closet had been dragged into the light. Owen’s face burned hot with shame; he didn’t dare turn around to face Yunice. Paul stayed quiet too—after all, this whole idea had been Owen’s.

Owen hesitated for a few seconds, unsure what to do with Yunice. Getting caught doing something wrong, his first instinct was to figure out how to shut the other person up. But Yunice was his sister. He couldn’t threaten her, and he couldn’t exactly beg her to pretend nothing had happened.

While Owen stood frozen, Yunice didn’t wait. She scrambled through the window in a flash; she moved so quickly she didn’t even find her footing and ended up falling inside. Noen panicked and rushed forward to help her, scolding her angrily. “Didn’t that hurt? Why didn’t you wait for me to help?”

But Yunice shrank away from his hand, eyeing him and Paul like they were kidnappers—wary and full of dread. A few minutes ago, she had actually hoped they might be. But now, all she could feel was suspicion and distrust. The only reason she’d risked her life to climb back inside was because she feared Owen might push her off the building himself—to silence her and cover up everything he’d done today.

When Owen caught that look in her eyes, he instantly understood. He frowned and said, “Why are you looking at me like that? You think I’d hurt you?”

Yunice forced herself upright. The trash bag she’d wrapped around herself during the climb had torn in several places, but it was still better than the clothes Owen had left for her. She needed to get out—she had to make sure she was safe.

Owen saw her ignoring him, and a wave of guilt washed over him. He reached out to grab her. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Yunice turned and fixed him with a cold glare. “I already called Wyatt. He’s on his way right now. Go ahead—try touching me.”

“You…” Owen’s face twisted, but his hand dropped away, held back by caution.

Yunice walked out of the bathroom. As she passed through the living room, she spotted a suit jacket thrown over the couch. She didn’t care if it was Owen’s or Paul’s; she picked it up and put it on. It was big, but just enough to cover her legs.

Just like that, she left the hotel without stopping by anyone else’s room. Once inside a cab, she borrowed the driver’s phone and called Gill. But no one answered. Whether Gill was too busy looking for her or something else was going on, the call kept ringing without a response.

The driver asked where she wanted to go. Yunice hesitated, then said, “Police station.” The moment those two words came out, the driver looked at her through the rearview mirror. When he saw her scraped-up body and strange outfit, he seemed to put two and two together. He sped up, driving her.

Yunice didn’t have any money for the fare, but the driver waved her off. “I’ve got a daughter too. Consider it paid.”

3:32 PM

She was going to report them. She was going to charge Owen with kidnapping—and Paul as his accomplice.

She hobbled up the station steps, but just as she reached the top, someone rushed out from the side, covered her mouth, and dragged her into a car. Yunice struggled with everything she had, but she was no match for the person’s strength.

The car drove all the way to the Saunders mansion. Owen and Paul hauled her into the living room and shoved her onto the couch. Yunice got back up, glaring at Owen, furious.

Upstairs, Lily and Elsie had heard the commotion and came rushing down. The moment Lily saw the two siblings ready to explode at each other, she stepped between them to break things up. “What’s going on now? You’re brother and sister—can’t you just give each other a little grace!”

Then she noticed what Yunice was wearing. She froze and asked, “Why are you wearing a man’s jacket?” She glanced at Owen, who was still fuming, and jumped to conclusions. “Yunice, you haven’t been home for days—have you been fooling around with some man outside?” Why else would Owen be this mad and drag her back like this?

Yunice sneered, “Why don’t you ask him why I’m dressed like this?”

Lily looked at Owen suspiciously. Elsie clung to Lily’s arm, frowning as she lectured. “Yunice, no matter what, you can’t just blame everything on him. You should apologize to him.”

Yunice stared at Elsie’s carefully made-up face. When she’d first been kidnapped, she wasn’t sure if Elsie had been involved. Now she was certain—at the very least, Elsie knew what was going on.

Still seething, Owen shouted at Yunice, “What were you trying to do back there? Were you really going to the police?”