Chapter 600: What She Never Gave You

There was a hint of a sob in Owen’s throat—something raw, something betrayed.

He was trying to find solace in the only family he had left—Yunice. But only now. Only when everyone else had failed him. Only when there was no one else left.

Yunice didn’t lift her eyes from the medical file as she said calmly, “Still feels like a bad dream, doesn’t it? You can’t bring yourself to believe it. You think Elsie should hate the father who brought her into that mountain village. You think she should prefer being the Saunders family’s daughter, living large, admired by all. You don’t get it why she would go back to Timothy after all that. Why she’d stay tangled up with him.”

Owen swallowed hard. His lips were dry. “Timothy’s a thug… maybe… maybe Elsie was threatened. She’s proud. She wouldn’t have asked for help.”

It sounded like a good excuse.

Yunice didn’t argue. She shut the medical file and said, “If our father knew he’d raised such a generous son, I bet he’d be proud.”

Owen heard the sarcasm.

Then Yunice handed him a stack of bank statements. No, not a stack—a solid roll, as thick as her wrist.

“This is every wire transfer Elsie made to Timothy. The earliest one was five years ago.”

Elsie had only been with the Saunders family for six or seven years. She’d barely gotten her footing when she started sending money to that man.

The transfers ranged from thirty million to a few thousand. Sometimes once every three months, sometimes three times in a single month. The total? Eighty million.

Yunice asked lightly, “You remember those times you were strapped for cash? Did Elsie ever help you the way she helped Timothy?”

Owen’s expression froze. He remembered those hospital funding shortages, how he’d been on the verge of selling off property. Elsie had comforted him—said she didn’t have money to help.

But Yunice’s documents told another story.

That very afternoon, when Owen was ready to sell the house to pay Jo Wankun the three million for the broken bracelet, Elsie had wired Timothy three million instead.

When a reporter blackmailed her for a million over her background scandal, Owen had run himself ragged pulling together the funds. Elsie had told him she had nothing.

And yet, the same day, she transferred money to Timothy.

She hadn’t been broke. She just didn’t want to help him.

Yunice said, “Since you’re so quick to make excuses for her, why don’t you ask yourself—what has she ever really done for you? When I was locked up in that psych ward, the Saunders Hospital was thriving. How did it nosedive in just three years?”

Because Owen had let Elsie—someone with no real medical background—practice on patients, from inserting catheters to assisting in surgery, from minor injections to prescribing medication.

How many patients had suffered for that?

In those three years, the hospital had made the news for eighteen different medical scandals, paid out settlements in forty-three cases.

“The reputation and legacy of the Saunders family crumbled in your hands,” Yunice said, her tone cool. “All thanks to you and Elsie. And all that money she wired to Timothy, her spending, all those luxury goods in Lily’s wardrobe—where do you think that money came from? You really think Paul paid for all of that?

“Those old doctors—Dad’s former comrades—stayed at the hospital because they were loyal. But once you took over, they all ‘messed up’ one by one and got fired. Ever wonder why?

“You replaced them with new doctors who barely had certifications. Useless ones, but they got to be department heads, because they bribed Elsie for it.”

Owen’s fists trembled.

Yunice continued, “You didn’t just fire the old doctors. You kicked out all of Dad’s relatives from the hospital and replaced them with Terrance’s people. You thought you were seizing power. In truth, they were sinking their teeth into you.”

“Saunders Hospital is finished. From now on, when people hear that name, they won’t think of legacy or honor. They’ll think of scandals and shame.”