Chapter 508 The Whip
Gill was quick to react and smacked a soft cushion right onto Mr. Terrance’s head. “You old bastard, who are you trying to fall on? You think you can touch my lady?”
Mr. Terrance was hit squarely and stumbled backward, landing hard.
The whole living room erupted in chaos. Other relatives, who had been watching for fun, shrieked and ducked for cover. A few unlucky ones even got caught by the swing of Peggy’s chair leg.
Owen watched the pandemonium and yelled. “Stop! All of you, stop right now!”
No one listened.
Yunice remained calm and composed in her seat. It wasn’t until Peggy had beaten Mr. Terrance’s sons into a whimpering huddle that Yunice finally spoke, “Stop.”
She only said one word, but it was far more effective than Owen’s flailing and shouting.
Peggy and Gill halted. The rest froze, not daring to move a muscle.
Everyone eyed Yunice warily, completely confused as to why Peggy would listen to her so obediently.
And even more confused—why would Owen want to marry a savage like Peggy?
Yunice rose to her feet and said, “Peggy, go upstairs to Owen’s study. On the bookshelf, bring me a whip.”
Peggy blinked at her in confusion. She didn’t know why Yunice needed a whip, but thinking Yunice might want to personally teach Mr. Terrance and his sons a lesson, she happily trotted upstairs to get it.
Owen’s face changed the moment he heard the word “whip.”
Putting together everything Yunice had done so far, he had a pretty good idea what she intended.
He immediately stepped forward to confront her. “Yunice, our father died young. These are the relatives who came out of concern for my wedding. Even if they weren’t completely respectful to you, that’s no reason to beat them! Apologize to my uncle, and let’s just put this behind us.”
He thought he was being diplomatic, but Yunice looked at him and said, “You want me to apologize to your great-uncle!”
Owen’s face fell. Yunice’s status now was far from what it used to be. Who could afford an apology from her!
“She can apologize all she wants, I don’t care!” Mr. Terrance shouted, “Owen, I got beaten in your house, along with my sons. What are you going to do about it?”
Owen furrowed his brow and tried signaling Yunice with his eyes.
As long as she backed down, this could all blow over.
But Mr. Terrance snapped, “Don’t you give her those looks! I’m not letting this go! Didn’t she ask for someone to fetch the whip herself? Fine then! Just like old times—she gets down on the floor, and you whip her twenty times. Then I’ll drop it.”
“Uncle.” For the first time, Owen showed a flicker of compassion for Yunice.
He had grown up. He wasn’t that kid anymore—willing to use his sister as a tool to earn favor from his elders.
He no longer wanted to whip Yunice.
Elsie also stepped in to plead. “Even if she’s wrong, she’s still our sister. Twenty lashes might kill her. Just do ten….”
Mr. Terrance snapped. “Twenty! Not one less. I want to see if twenty lashes really kill her!”
Gill moved to stand in front of Yunice, fists clenched. These bastards used to bully Yunice when she had no one. Now that she did, they still dared?
Mr. Terrance not only insisted Yunice be whipped—he wanted Owen to do it.
“Found it!” Peggy shouted from upstairs, holding a polished, oil-dark whip as she jogged down the stairs.
She stood before the group, holding it up.
Gill only had to glance at the whip for her eyes to go bloodshot.
In this house, probably only she and Yunice knew just how much that whip hurt.
It was almost laughable. That whip—shiny and bristling with thorns—had been a birthday gift to Owen from Elsie, back when he turned eighteen.
Elsie had said she didn’t have anything valuable to give, so she handcrafted a whip as an “art piece.”
That very whip had become the weapon used to break Yunice into submission.
Back when Gill was still working for the Saunders family, whenever Yunice got beaten, she was the only one who’d rush in to shield her. So she knew how much that whip hurt.
But even her pain was nothing compared to Yunice’s. No matter how hard she tried to protect her, the others would always pull her away. Yunice never escaped a single lash.
The physical pain aside—what hurt most was the betrayal. The hand that held the whip was her own brother’s.
Gill stared at the whip, rage in her chest. She wanted nothing more than to grab it and beat every one of them to death.
Now that Yunice had someone to back her up, they could finally fight back.
But Mr. Terrance moved faster. He snatched the whip from Peggy’s hands and shoved it into Owen’s.
“Teach her who holds power in the Saunders family! She thinks she’s above us now!”