Chapter 547 A Taste of Bitterness
What Lily didn’t know was that life in the Saunders household was just as miserable for her and Owen. Peggy was lazy and definitely unwilling to cook or care for the whole family. She didn’t want to hire anyone either–afraid their family’s dirty laundry would be aired out, and even more unwilling to spend the money. So she made use of what she had and put Lily to work around the house. But she was also afraid Lily would poison her like Elsie supposedly did. That’s why, every time they ate, Peggy would scoop her food into Lily and Owen’s bowls, pouring the sauce from every dish into their portions and mixing it all up. If there was poison, at least they’d all go down together.
Lily found it disgusting. Whenever she refused to eat, Peggy would force-feed her with a spoon. Owen and Lily were both miserable, but they had no way to fight back. Seeing the two of them suffering actually made Yunice feel pretty pleased.
She said leisurely, “Before Elsie passed, what did she say to you?”
Lily’s eyes were cold as she shot Yunice a sidelong glance. “She’s already gone, and you still won’t let it go.”
Yunice replied, “Elsie may be dead, but my brother is still alive.” She hadn’t come for Lily or Owen–she came for Oscar. Her eyes swept over the attic of the Saunders home, and she said softly, “This place is barely recognizable anymore. It doesn’t even look a bit like it used to. When I walked in just now, I couldn’t even tell what happened to the swing in the yard. And you, Lily–you must’ve forgotten, haven’t you? Over twenty years ago, you were sitting on that swing, and my brother was behind you, pushing.”
A faint shadow of time passed over Lily and Owen’s faces. It was true–if she hadn’t been reminded, who would’ve remembered something from over twenty years ago? It felt so far away that Lily had nearly forgotten it herself. Her heart, hardened for two decades, suddenly softened with a pang of sourness at the memory of those warm days in the Saunders home. Compared to then… life now was unbearably hard.
Yunice seemed to read her mind and sneered. “Is it harder than back in the mountains?”
Lily was startled and looked at Yunice with a complicated expression.
Yunice scoffed. “Some people reflect on the past with gratitude. Others don’t know how good they had it. The difference between people really is something.” If Lily had returned to the Saunders family and managed things fairly–guided the kids to get along properly–things wouldn’t have turned out like this.
Yunice raised her eyes again. “I didn’t come here to reminisce. If you won’t help Oscar, I will.”
Then she turned to Owen. “What did Elsie say to you before she died?”
Yunice knew Elsie well–she was always clear about her goals. If she knew she was dying, there was no way she wouldn’t leave a final message. If someone had harmed her, she would’ve told Owen.
Peggy frowned like she was trying to remember, then suddenly said loudly, “That’s right, Owen, didn’t you ask her? I remember hearing you ask!”
“So, who was it that killed Elsie?”
Elianna also looked at Owen. With all the online chatter around the case, she was curious like everyone else.
Owen frowned. “Elsie barely had the strength to speak. I couldn’t make out who she said.”
Yunice cut in sharply, “So you do know it wasn’t Oscar, right?”
Peggy was stunned. “But didn’t Owen just say he couldn’t hear clearly? He didn’t say it wasn’t Oscar–” If it wasn’t Oscar, that would mean he might come back to claim his share of the inheritance.
Yunice sneered and reminded Peggy, “The inheritance was written into my father’s will. Even if my brother ends up in prison, what’s his stays under his name.” The only way someone else could get the inheritance was by impersonating, like Elsie did.
Peggy’s face turned red with embarrassment, exposed by Yunice’s words.
Yunice turned calmly to Owen again, her tone mocking. “Oscar is the obvious first suspect. So when Elsie left her final words, we were all subconsciously inclined to interpret whatever name she said as ‘Oscar.’ If she had said Oscar–even if it was faint–you’d have recognized the sound. But you said you couldn’t make it out at all. That means the name she said sounded nothing like Oscar. Not even a single syllable matched.”
Peggy turned to Owen in surprise. Owen still frowned but didn’t refute Yunice’s deduction. Elianna looked like she was watching a juicy drama unfold.
At that moment, Yunice stood up. “Now that I know my brother’s not the one, I can rest easy.” She sneered as she added, “The Saunders family is already falling apart. I’m sure without my brother around, you all must be sleeping even better these days.”
With a cold laugh, Yunice walked out. Elianna quickly got up and followed.
Owen and Lily sat there, feeling deeply unsettled. There was a high chance Oscar had been wrongfully accused. His arrest hadn’t done the Saunders family any good. Should they help clear Oscar’s name?
Yunice drove Elianna away from the Saunders home. As soon as the front of their car pulled out, another vehicle’s headlights flashed directly at them, blinding Yunice through the windshield. She slowed down, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the glare. Only then did she roll down the window and glance outside.