Chapter 242: You Think You’re Yunice?
The auction was still ongoing…
Oscar was dead drunk. Owen and Elsie brought him home. Lily came out to meet them and exchanged a look with the two. Upstairs, Elsie’s room had already been restored to look like Yunice’s. As long as they didn’t say anything, no one would know Yunice had once lived in the maid’s quarters. Yunice was already gone. They hoped her affairs wouldn’t continue to stir up trouble in the family. As for Oscar… they’d just keep it from him. As for the mess Yunice made when she was still alive, no one would ever bring it up again.
Oscar slept until the sun was high in the sky before waking up, his head pounding from the hangover. When he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, he realized this was the home he hadn’t seen in years. The smell of herbal tea reached his nose. Oscar sat up and looked at the bowl of tea by the bed. It was still warm.
“Yunice?” Only Yunice would make tea for the family.
The door opened, and Elsie walked in. “Oscar?”
Oscar frowned. He had always struggled to hide his dislike for this “sister” who had been brought in from the outside. After all, her blood was filthy. If it weren’t for their mother threatening death, he would never have allowed this girl to enter the family. He always treated her with an attitude of cold indifference.
Elsie flinched slightly, but she spoke with a mix of fear and determination, “Oscar, Owen’s gone to the hospital. Mom went to see Mr. Carl to arrange the funeral for Sis. I’m the only one at home.”
As she spoke, she came over and picked up the bowl. “The tea’s gotten cold. I’ll warm it up again…”
“You made this tea?” Oscar asked.
Elsie nodded timidly and softly said, “Big Sis used to make tea for you and the others. From now on, I’ll do it for her.”
“You’re you. She’s her. You think you can replace her?” Oscar’s face was cold as he stood up. When he grabbed his jacket, he suddenly remembered something and said coldly, “Yunice might be gone, but you still have to give her name back. She only used that fake name to avoid the stigma of mental illness. Now that she’s gone, we’ll add her real name to the Saunders family genealogy.”
The implication was clear: even if Elsie had taken Yunice’s name, she was still not a true member of the Saunders family. Elsie’s eyes turned red. She bit her lip, on the verge of tears.
Oscar ignored her. As soon as he left the room, he went straight to Yunice’s room. The moment he walked in, the overwhelming scent made him frown deeply. He immediately turned around and shouted, “Elsie, come here!”
Elsie hurried over. Oscar stood at the doorway, pointing into the room. “You’ve stayed in here, haven’t you?”
Elsie froze, panicking under Oscar’s stare. The room had been completely restored to match Yunice’s preferences. How could Oscar tell?
Oscar said, “Don’t try to play dumb. The scent in this room is the same as the one on you. Yunice never used perfume. Her room always smelled like herbs and medicine.” But now the scent had soaked into the walls. It made him nauseous just standing there. Who knew how long Elsie had lived in it?
Elsie immediately tried to defend herself: “I did stay for a while, but only because Yunice wasn’t home at the time. The room was empty, so Owen and Mom let me recover here… but I swear, as soon as Yunice came back, I gave it back to her…” Elsie added weakly, “Yunice liked dressing up too. She had a lot of pretty dresses, and she wore perfume on dates. Maybe… maybe you just haven’t seen her in a long time…”
“Hmph,” Oscar sneered. “You lie just like that father of yours who tried to call human trafficking rescue work.”
Elsie’s eyes snapped wide, tears brimming like she’d been humiliated beyond measure.
Oscar said, “I’m scent-sensitive. Yunice would never touch aromatherapy or perfume. And if you needed to ‘recover,’ my room was empty for even longer. Why didn’t you stay in my room? Why did it have to be Yunice’s? Her name, her room – you want it all, don’t you? Do you really think you’re the real daughter of the Saunders family now? Competing with her for everything?”
Elsie looked up at him. “I didn’t…”
Oscar continued. “You say you’re allergic to pollen, so you had every rose tree in the garden cut down. Not a single flower left in the house. And now you’re claiming you were sick and had to recover in Yunice’s room?”
Every word from Oscar hit like a blade. Elsie had no argument left.
Oscar pointed downstairs. “Go kneel by the front door. When Owen gets home, we’ll talk this through together.”
“You thought you could fool me with Yunice’s name? Looks like I’ve been away too long – you’ve all forgotten who your brother is!”
Smack! He slammed his hand on the banister with a loud crack.