Chapter 249: Blood, Boundaries, and a Broken Name
Owen frowned, feeling a mix of guilt and resentment toward Yunice, but he didn’t want to speak ill of her anymore. Then Lily suddenly thought of something. “I heard Paul’s always been trying to get close to Carl. When it comes to connections, we’re still closer to Carl than he is. If Elsie really becomes Carl’s goddaughter, he might even hand the project over to Paul.”
“If Paul owes Elsie a favor, he won’t be able to ignore her anymore. Taylor can’t compare—she’s just putting on a front with that fake marriage.”
Seeing Owen remain silent, Lily pushed harder. “Taylor’s only advantage is that paper marriage. She and Paul don’t even have feelings for each other. Elsie’s the one who got hurt.”
“So Taylor can steal the man, but we’re not allowed to compete fairly? Just wait—once the Powell family sees what Elsie’s capable of, they’ll kick Taylor out and take our Elsie back.”
Owen still said nothing. In his heart, he didn’t think Paul was a good man. And in situations like this, the sunk cost fallacy shouldn’t drive decisions. The best thing Elsie could do now was cut her losses and find someone better.
But Elsie aimed too high. She refused to lower her standards. All she wanted was Silverburgh’s so-called prince.
Seeing Owen still unwilling to speak up, Elsie pouted and clung to his arm. “Owen, help me. Please?”
Right at that moment, Oscar walked in—and saw the whole thing. “What the hell are you doing?” he burst into the room, furious, yanking Elsie away.
Lily stood up in confusion, looking innocent. Oscar pointed at Elsie and shouted, “What was that? What were you just doing? Who were you hanging all over?”
Elsie’s eyes went wide. Tears shimmered at the edges, like she’d just been gravely insulted.
Lily slapped Oscar on the arm. “What’s wrong with you? You study too much and lost all your common sense? That’s your sister! What’s wrong with her holding her brother’s arm?”
Owen stood up fast. “Oscar, I know you don’t like Elsie, but that was out of line! What are you even accusing us of? If you don’t apologize to Elsie right now, don’t bother calling yourself my big brother again!”
“Owen!” Lily scolded softly. “That’s too much…”
Oscar had only just snapped out of his shock. He hadn’t expected Owen and Elsie to be this close—close enough that Owen would rather sever ties with his real brother than let her take a single insult.
Oscar didn’t apologize. He said nothing and walked out of the room. Owen opened his mouth but didn’t speak. He was both angry and uneasy. He wanted to stop Oscar—but part of him still thought he hadn’t done anything wrong. He thought it was over.
Later that afternoon, Oscar came down for lunch. But Owen and Elsie didn’t join him. Owen acted like nothing happened. “Oscar, Elsie and I aren’t eating at home today.”
Oscar said coldly, “Got plans?”
Owen answered. “Elsie’s birthday is coming up. We’re going to check out venues for her party.”
Oscar set down his utensils, his face growing colder. “When?”
Owen hesitated. “May twenty-eighth.”
Oscar looked past him at Elsie, who was hiding behind Owen pretending to be innocent. “That’s Yunice’s birthday. You’re seriously going to steal even that from her?”
Owen frowned. “No one remembers Elsie’s real birthday, so we thought she could celebrate on the same day as Yunice. They’re sisters—it’s not that big a deal, right?”
Oscar said, “Who wants to share the spotlight on their birthday?”
Owen went quiet, then muttered, “Isn’t Elsie the one who got the short end of the stick? She’s the one borrowing someone else’s day. She never complained. You’re just playing favorites.”
Oscar raised his voice. “So I treat my real sister well, and that’s favoritism? Do you even hear yourself right now?”
To Owen, Oscar was just nitpicking and deliberately making things hard for Elsie, which only made him more determined to protect her. He took Elsie’s hand and left the Saunders home with her.
Oscar lost all appetite. He got up and went straight to the Saunders Hospital. He had no idea that this visit would shake the entire place. Oscar cornered Owen and Elsie at the hospital and, in front of them both, slammed down a thick stack of documents. His chest heaved with rage. “No wonder this hospital’s been in decline. Owen, this is how you’ve been running it?”
He jabbed a finger at Elsie. “What the hell is she? She never studied a single day of medicine, and you let her treat real patients like test subjects! You two have ruined the hospital’s reputation!”
Owen stared in shock at the clean, clear stack of documents, completely stunned. “Oscar… where did you get these? I already destroyed the originals…”