Chapter 4 Taking Her Place

Yunice lifted her gaze and saw the people who were once closest to her now standing with Elsie. She was the only one left in the cold wind, completely ill at ease. So, she shifted her gaze to the expanse of flowers by the iron gate of the Saunders family home.

When she was a child, her father once told her that her mother loved red roses. So, she decided to love red roses, too. Her father himself had planted a row of rose bushes along the courtyard wall outside the gate. During the flowering season, the roses grew lush, swaying in the wind, and her tall father would hold her small hand as they stood beneath the flowers, waiting for something with hopeful anticipation. After her father passed away, Elsie moved into the Saunders family home, and because she was allergic to pollen, Oscar decided to chop down all the rose bushes and replace them with bamboo, Elsie's favorite plant.

Elsie said the bamboo was noble and unyielding, and she wanted to learn from its qualities. Yunice refused to let the rose bushes be cut down. She kept pleading with Lily, saying that it was a symbol of her father's love for Lily. She begged Lily to keep them for her father's sake. But when Elsie gasped for breath a few times, Lily panicked and urged Oscar to quickly cut down those "damn roses."

Oscar rebuked Yunice for being selfish, inconsiderate of others, and lacking compassion. Owen said that only shallow people liked roses and that Yunice should learn from Elsie, understand moral principles, and develop a character like bamboo.

Lily comforted her, saying that when people die, they are gone. Which was more important, a patch of plants or Elsie's life? In the end, all the roses along the wall were uprooted, leaving her with nothing to hold onto.

Now, the group that had been crying together had finally calmed down. Lily wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, as if she had just remembered how cold it was. She then turned to Yunice and said, "Go take a hot bath with Gianna to wash away the bad luck. From now on, we are still family."

Gianna came out smiling, walking ahead to lead Yunice.

Her father's former home was a detached villa where Yunice had been raised. However, after three years of separation, the villa suddenly felt both familiar and strange. The layout was the same, but there were many things she no longer recognized.

For example, the shoe rack at the entrance was full of pink furry slippers... belonging to Elsie. The framed personal photos hanging on the walls were of Elsie. Even the thick carpet covering the stairs was there to prevent Elsie from falling. As for her old room on the second floor, it was, of course, now Elsie's. It had the best sunlight and the best view-it was impossible they would have left it empty for three years.

Sure enough, Gianna led her to a small room. Yunice remembered that this room used to be a walk-in closet, a little better than a maid's room.

As for Gianna, Yunice didn't recognize her. She must have been hired after Yunice was sent to the mental hospital.

Upon entering the room, Yunice instinctively glanced at the hidden surveillance camera in the corner of the wall. Without showing any reaction, she asked, "Gianna, what happened to the former housekeeper?"

"Oh, she went back to her hometown three years ago. I heard her husband found a younger woman, and she wasn't happy, so she went back to make a scene," Gianna said with a sneer. "Which man doesn't cheat? If she makes a fuss like that, it'll just hurt her ego even more."

Yunice glanced at her but didn't reply. Seeing that Yunice didn't like the topic, Gianna chuckled and went into the bathroom to run the bathwater.

Meanwhile, Yunice took the opportunity to rummage through the drawers. This room was clearly set up in a hurry; there was not a single electronic device.

She looked back at the surveillance camera. When she came in, she had noticed there were many such cameras installed throughout the house. They were clearly meant for her. They all thought she was crazy, afraid she would harm Elsie, so they needed to watch her at all times. If they were this wary of me, why bother bringing me back from the mental hospital?

Suspecting something, Yunice saw Gianna coming out of the bathroom, so she quickly went in and locked the door.

Gianna knocked on the door. "Hey, why did you lock the door?"

"I'm taking a bath," Yunice replied.

"You don't need to lock the door for that!"

Yunice retorted, "Don't you lock the door when you shower?"

Gianna glanced at the bathroom, then grabbed her work uniform. However, as she was about to leave, she reached into her pocket and suddenly realized her phone was missing.

Inside the bathroom, Yunice quickly disassembled Gianna's phone, removed the SIM card, set it aside, and disabled location tracking.

After that, she began typing quickly on the phone's keypad.

Outside, Gianna banged on the door. "Did you take my phone?"

Without turning around, Yunice answered, "I haven't seen it."

Gianna didn't believe her. "Open the door and let me in. I'll check."

Yunice shooed her away. "Wait until I'm done with my bath."

Unable to get the door open, Gianna became furious. She yelled from behind the door, "If you don't open it, you must have stolen it! Just you wait! I'm going to report you to Mr. Owen!"

Yunice ignored her, focusing only on the phone screen. A moment later, the noise outside stopped. Gianna had likely left. Using Gianna's phone, Yunice accessed the Saunders family's CCTV cameras.

On the screen, she saw Lily and Owen were already in the living room. Meanwhile, Paul had pulled Elsie to the side and was speaking with her.

With an affectionate gaze, Paul said, "Elsie, we brought her back this time to talk about breaking off the engagement. You can't keep hesitating."

Elsie bit her lip, looking conflicted as she pushed Paul away. "The engagement is with the Saunders family. I'm an outsider. How could I steal my sister's fiancé? I can't betray Yunice!"

Paul turned back to her, crouching down to look into her flushed face, and coaxed, "Come on, this is the modern age. Arranged marriages are an old custom that should have been abolished long ago. Besides, our whole family has agreed to break off the engagement. If it makes things easier, I can apologize to her. If she doesn't agree, she'll just never see me again."

Watching the CCTV footage, Yunice smirked coldly. So that was their plan. No wonder they were so eager to get her out of the mental hospital... They wanted her to hand over her fiancé.

She remembered that when Paul was born, he was in a breech position, stuck in the birth canal. No hospital in Silverburgh dared to take her. It was her father who used ancient medicine to keep her mother alive long enough for her to deliver him. Her mother had survived the near-death experience and was so grateful that she arranged their engagement.

And now, the Powell family wanted to pass on that gratitude to Elsie.

Not long after, Gianna returned. She used a key to unlock the bathroom door and barged in without a hint of politeness. "Miss Saunders, stealing is a bad habit. If Mr. Owen finds out, you'll be sent straight back to the mental hospital!"

She was sure Yunice had taken her phone. Lying in the bathtub, Yunice turned her head lazily to look at her and said flatly, "I didn't take it. Just report me."

Gianna was stunned for a moment. She hadn't expected Yunice to be this brazen.

She knew Yunice had a mental disorder, and crazy people couldn't be trusted. If she caught Yunice red-handed, she could go to Owen and earn brownie points. Once she proved Yunice was a thief, any subsequent theft in the house could be blamed on her. After all, she was the crazy one.

However, for the accusation to stick, she needed solid proof. She had checked the CCTV footage earlier but hadn't found any evidence that Yunice had taken her phone.

Despite that, she was certain Yunice had stolen it. The bathroom was only so big. Where else could she have hidden it?