Chapter 138: Who Really Owns the Bracelet?
Giana walked over and gently wrapped her arm around Yunice’s with a cheerful smile. “Ms. Saunders, I made your favorite braised ribs today. You must try them…” Before she could finish, a strong shoulder pushed her aside. Gill crossed her arms with a glare and stood firm, like a bouncer facing Giana.
Yunice punched a code into the safe box. She knew all the family’s usual combinations; most used her birthday. But this time it was wrong. Lily and Elsie both relaxed visibly. As long as Yunice couldn’t crack the code… Before they could finish the thought, they heard a click. The safe box opened.
Seeing the identical looks of disbelief on Lily and Elsie’s faces, Yunice let out a soft scoff. I knew that family too well. Elsie had always wanted both ends of the stick. The only change they’d made was to swap my birthday for Elsie’s. Too easy.
Inside the safe box were the ten presents. All were still there except the jadeite bracelet, which remained on Elsie’s wrist. Yunice reached out to retrieve it, but, slam, the door was suddenly slammed shut on her hand. The one pushing down on the vault door was Owen.
Yunice looked up and narrowed her eyes. “Mr. Owen, are you trying to keep the wedding gifts meant for me?” Owen was all about appearances; he would never admit to coveting her things. Instead, he frowned and asked coldly, “What is your relationship to Quinton? What kind of connection gets you such expensive gifts?”
Lily spoke sharply as well. “Yunice, you’re getting married. If you keep getting involved with other men, people will say you weren’t raised right—that we didn’t raise you right.” Elsie chimed in with a gentle tone. “Yes, Yunice, we’re just worried about you. We don’t care about material things. Family is more important than money. These things don’t matter compared to our bond. Why split hairs?”
“Don’t care?” Yunice looked amused. She nodded in the direction of Elsie’s wrist. “Then why is that jadeite bracelet on your hand?” Elsie’s eyes turned red. She clutched the jadeite bracelet, her voice breaking. “It’s a misunderstanding; I can explain…”
Yunice had heard it all before. Elsie always “explained” by crying about some nonsense, just long enough for Owen to jump in and defend the helpless little sister. And I always ended up being the aggressor. But this time I wasn’t alone.
Just when Elsie had finished her pathetic act, Gill couldn’t hold it any longer. She imitated in a sing-song tone, “Earn without guilt, spend without hesitation, love an independent life, be your own queen—*” She dragged out the last line with theatrical flair and shot it right in Elsie’s face.
She glanced around, wondering if it was a coincidence… or if her secret identity had been revealed. But Gill was far from done. She whipped out her phone and pulled up the account. “Mr. Owen, you probably don’t know that your so-pure-and-noble little sister has a hidden side, do you?”
Owen took the phone and frowned as he scrolled through the messages. His expression changed from skeptical to visibly shaken. Every item in the posts, every luxury good, belonged to Yunice. Most of them came from the Saunders household. It was painfully obvious where they came from.
Elsie bit her lip so hard it almost bled. But there was no denying it. The profile picture was hers, too. In order to attract rich heirs, she had chosen a provocative, dashing image that was completely different from her usual style. Now, as Owen scrolled through her posts, she felt like she wanted to die on the spot.
“Who is this woman?” Owen asked suddenly, holding up the phone to compare her to Yunice. “Doesn’t look like Yunice.” Gill, and even Elsie, stared at him, stunned. He thought that ugly profile belonged to Yunice!
Seeing her expression, Owen defended himself. “All the captions are written from Yunice’s perspective, and so are the articles. Who else could it be?” Yunice took a long breath. She had never met anyone so dense. Gill snapped. “Look closely. It’s Elsie!”
Owen laughed. “You think I can’t recognize my own sister? There’s no way that plastic-looking face is hers.” Even Elsie was thrown off by that. Owen then turned the phone to Elsie and asked sincerely, “Is that you?”