Chapter 456 The Echo of Hypocrisy
Back then, Owen had been so convinced Yunice was lying that he hadn’t even looked at the medical records–he just tore them up on the spot.
Now, Yunice was throwing the exact same words back in his face.
Elsie, fuming, jumped up and stormed over to confront Yunice. “Who do you think you are, saying that about Owen?! Did you see him touch Peggy? Just spouting slander like it’s nothing–do you even care about the law?”
Yunice glanced at her with disdain. “Everything happens for a reason. If Peggy was making stuff up, why pick him? It takes two to tango. Maybe take a minute to reflect on what he did wrong.
“You didn’t see it either, but your word is gospel? Peggy’s got physical evidence, and when the test results come back, your dearest Owen’s reputation will be dragged through the mud. And here you are, stopping me from convincing him to settle privately–do you want him to be convicted?
“Don’t forget, your mom’s already being held by the police and facing a year in jail. If your brother gets thrown in for rape, do the math. Who’s going to look worse?”
With each sentence, the color drained further from Owen and Elsie’s faces.
Especially Elsie. She hadn’t seen anything firsthand–how could she be sure Owen didn’t sleep with Peggy?
Peggy’s accusations sounded convincing. There were bloodstains on the sheets–clear signs of the real deal.
Yunice wasn’t wrong. If the test came back positive, Owen would be done for.
Then what? Their mom and Owen both behind bars, and she’d be left completely alone?
No way.
Elsie quickly changed sides. She threw herself at the holding cell, sobbing and clutching Owen’s hands through the bars. “Owen, maybe just compromise for now. The situation’s bad, but you can fix it later. You’ve only got a chance to fight back if you’re out in the world.”
Owen’s eyes shot open. He yanked his hands away.
“You want me to give in?! You want me to marry that witch?!” he howled. “I didn’t even do anything! I can fight this in court! Elsie, do you not believe me either?!”
“Wha-?” Elsie was caught off guard. She couldn’t outright say she didn’t believe him, so she hedged. “Owen, you said yourself you blacked out. You don’t remember what happened…”
Owen exploded. “I said I didn’t do it! Why are you assuming I did?!”
Elsie backed off, hands raised, totally overwhelmed.
Realizing he couldn’t count on her, Owen turned back to Yunice. “The Zhou family has tons of lawyers. Don’t tell me there’s no way they can win this.”
He snapped, “You just don’t want to help me, do you?”
Yunice said flatly, “No. I don’t.”
Owen stared at her, dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected her to admit it so bluntly.
Yunice lifted her chin slightly, smiling coldly. “What goes around comes around. When I was being slandered, did you help me? Why should I help you now?”
Then she twisted the knife. “And for the record, I really didn’t do anything back then. Can you say the same for yourself?”
Owen had been blackout drunk. He couldn’t say with certainty what had happened with Peggy.
Desperate, he lashed out. “I got drunk because of you and Paul! That’s the only reason Peggy had the chance to trap me! This is your fault–you have to fix it!”
Yunice raised an eyebrow. “Because of me?”
Owen said with total confidence, “I only recently found out Paul lied about you. I felt horrible, like I’d failed you. That guilt’s what pushed me to drink. I was a wreck! What else could’ve triggered me like that?”
Yunice burst out laughing. “So your grand gesture of regret was getting drunk? Not apologizing, not clearing my name, not doing anything that would actually help–just wallowing in self-pity. Who were you performing for?”
Still laughing, she added, “You all should quit medicine and go join the theater. You’d have a packed house every night.”
Owen froze, his face flushed in a swirl of colors, humiliated.
Yunice didn’t say another word. She just stood there, waiting for Owen to make his decision.
After all, she wasn’t the one under pressure here.
Elsie had been hoping Yunice would take on the awkward role of persuading Owen to give in–no one wanted to be the one he’d resent later.
But Yunice stayed stubbornly silent, leaving Elsie anxiously glancing around, unsure of what to do next.