Chapter 147: Stabs and Wins as Usual
“Ehin…” Paul’s voice was choked with emotion. Elsie’s tears streamed down. “I know you still love Yunice; she loves you too. If Elle…” The sentence trailed off, unfinished.
Paul’s eyes were bloodshot as he roared, “What kind of nonsense is that? Even if she still loved me, I could never love a woman that cruel. I won’t marry anyone—if I marry in this lifetime, it’ll only be you!”
Elsie clung to Paul even tighter, shielding him from the falling coins. Gill stood there dumbfounded.
Yunice gave a disbelieving laugh and rolled her eyes so hard it could’ve turned back the clock. “The wing—how many amateur moves from the five-story playbook has she mastered to get this good! No wonder Paul falls for her every single time.”
Wyatt, however, only caught the angle of Yunice turning her head away. From his vantage point, he misread her giant eye roll and mocking smile as a bitter, self-deprecating one. He turned his gaze away, lips pressed tight; a sharper edge crept into his stare as he looked at Paul. Finally, he raised a hand and gave a signal.
The hovering backhoe slowly tilted its bucket upright; the long arm retracted. The rain of pain came to a sudden halt. When Paul realized the downpour had stopped, he shouted up at Wyatt, “What, that’s it, backing down already! Come on, keep going if you’ve got the guts!”
Wyatt answered only with a look that screamed “not the sharpest tool in the shed.”
“Blue!” Owen and Lily rushed toward her, but the ground was littered with both cash and coins—there was nowhere safe to step. They tripped and stumbled their way to Elsie’s side, crawling the last few feet.
“Owen… Mom…” Elsie murmured weakly, collapsing into Owen’s arms. Owen’s eyes turned bloodshot as he cried out in anguish, “Elsie!”
Paul’s mouth hung open; his lips and pupils trembled as if Elsie had just laid down her life for a greater cause. “Get her to the hospital! We need to get her to a hospital right now!” Owen shouted in a panic, scooping Elsie up in his arms.
“What hospital? Aren’t you and I both doctors?” Yunice had walked over at some point and now stood squarely in his path.
Lily, sobbing uncontrollably, lunged at Yunice to shove her out of the way—but Gill casually caught her wrist. “Yunny, your sister’s unconscious. You won’t even let us take her to the hospital?” Lily cried.
Yunice calmly pulled a short, one-inch-long needle from her meridian pouch. “Didn’t I already say? I’m the one who practices medicine. If Mr. Owen can’t treat her, I can.”
Gill threw in a jab. “And this guy calls himself a director? The second anything goes wrong, he’s panicking and rushing to send her off to the hospital. No wonder your dad’s hospital went downhill with you in charge.”
Owen choked on the insult, then snapped, “Who says I can’t treat her? Of course, I can!” He immediately pressed his fingers to Elsie’s philtrum. When she didn’t wake, he applied more pressure.
Owen glared at Yunice. “See for yourself—she’s really unconscious!”
Yunice strolled up, calm as ever, and pinched Elsie’s middle finger. “If she won’t wake up, it only means your skills are useless.”
The moment she said it, Elsie let out a shriek and jolted upright from Owen’s arms. Owen flinched in shock, then noticed a long needle sticking out of Elsie’s middle finger. He immediately snapped, “Of course she woke up—you stabbed her! Anyone would wake up if you tortured them like that!”
Yunice replied coolly, “I didn’t just wake her up. I can get her back on her feet, good as new.” She raised the needle again. Elsie, already traumatized, darted behind Owen and sobbed, “Why did it hurt so much? It felt like it pierced my soul!”
Yunice sneered. Of course it hurt. That technique was powerful enough to rouse someone from even the deepest unconscious state. It was the same method she’d used to revive herself back when Owen had drugged her.
Now that Elsie was clearly fine, Owen turned pale and looked at Yunice. “We already paid you back. You got your revenge. What more do you want?”
“What more do I want?” Yunice sneered, stepping closer to Elsie. “Now it’s time to settle everything—one by one.”
Gill crossed her arms with satisfaction, her gaze fixed smugly on Elsie. Every single time in the past, Elsie would fake fainting at a crucial moment to draw everyone’s attention. Then Yunice’s grievances would just fade away, but not this time.
Yunice stared Elsie down, then leaned in close until their eyes met—Elsie’s filled with panic and wariness. She whispered so only the two of them could hear, “I’ve changed my mind. I’m done begging you to give me my identity back. I’ll make you cough up every last thing you stole from me, until you’re running on empty.”
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