Chapter 363 Blood and Blame

+8 Pearls

Oscar was the first to catch the sharp scent of blood. He looked down and saw that Yunice’s hospital gown was soaked red.

Owen turned as well, and his face went blank with confusion.

"What’s going on? Where’s all that blood coming from?"

Oscar and Carl both went pale. One jumped forward, panicked, while the other rushed to press the call button.

But it didn’t work.

Oscar looked down and realized the cord had been yanked out.

He turned his head sharply toward Owen. "Who did this?"

Owen avoided his eyes.

But everyone knew.

Oscar clenched the snapped cord in his fist, his voice shaking with rage. "So when Yunice tried to call for help, you bastards made sure she couldn’t!"

He threw the cord in Owen’s face.

Owen muttered weakly, "She never said she was hurt…"

"Her face was white as a sheet! You couldn’t see that? You couldn’t ask? No, you were too busy covering your own ass to let anyone in and find out what really happened!"

Carl growled, "Get the doctor. Now."

He stepped up to Yunice’s bedside, taking Oscar’s place. "How did you get hurt?"

Owen scoffed from behind. "Seriously? We already said—Wyatt hit her. Why else would she be in the hospital?"

But Yunice pointed to Elsie. "She did it."

"She knew I had surgery right here, and she still pressed on the wound over and over. It hurt so bad I couldn’t take it. When she wouldn’t stop, I bit her."

Elsie let out a loud cry. "Yunice! Don’t lie in front of Mr. Carl—I didn’t touch your injury!"

Owen jumped in too. "That’s right. Even I didn’t know where you were hurt. How could she press it exactly? If it happened, it was an accident. You didn’t even say anything."

Yunice answered calmly, "Let’s hope that next time you’re in a hospital bed, someone jabs your wound. I hope you’re able to scream for help."

Owen had no comeback.

Yunice went on. "And you say she didn’t know where I was hurt—then why did you come to the hospital at all? Who told you I was injured? Didn’t that person mention where the injury was?"

Owen hesitated.

He looked at Elsie. She was the one who’d told him Yunice had been hurt.

Elsie stammered, "A friend from work told me. I passed it along to Owen right away."

Yunice narrowed her eyes. "What friend? Got a name? A number? Let me see some proof. Don’t come crying to me later about being falsely accused. You hit the one and only injury I have—what a coincidence, huh?"

With Carl on her side, Yunice had no fear of Owen defending Elsie.

Elsie hesitated, and Carl’s voice dropped low. "Show me your call log."

Elsie clutched her phone behind her back. "I won’t betray a friend like that."

Yunice scoffed. "You’re not betraying her. You’re protecting yourself."

+8 Pearls

Owen tried to smooth things over. "Yunice, you’re being unreasonable. It was a mistake. There’s no need to push her this hard."

Yunice turned her gaze to him, voice cold. "Do you know the difference between a true saint and a fake one? A real one says, 'You’re hurting—let me take the pain for you.' A fake one says, 'Life’s hard for everyone—just suck it up and move on.' So which one are you?"

Owen glanced uneasily at Carl. He thought Yunice was being too harsh.

Just then, Oscar returned with Joe in tow.

Joe carried a tray of bandages and supplies. He pulled the curtain around the bed to block the others from view and began dressing Yunice’s wound in private.

The rest stayed outside, where the argument continued.

Oscar yanked the phone out of Elsie’s hand. "Let’s see if this 'friend' even exists."

Owen stepped in. "Hey! Can you at least try not to be a brute?"

Oscar shoved him aside with his shoulder. "You were all about brute force when you were tying Yunice up. Don’t preach to me now."

Using facial recognition, Oscar unlocked Elsie’s phone and called the last dialed number.

The line connected.

Just as Elsie opened her mouth to speak, Oscar clamped a hand over it.

A woman’s voice came through the phone. "Ms. Elsie, I was right, wasn’t I? Now that it’s confirmed, can you send me the money—"