Chapter 19 A Bloodsucking Leech
The living room was filled with laughter and joy.
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Owen went to pour himself a glass of water while Lily opened the medicine box. As she picked up a pill, she frowned. “Why are there two missing?”
Paul’s gaze flickered. Had Yunice taken them?
Lily, however, didn’t overthink it. She only felt a pang of pain in her heart for the missing pills. “I just hope this little bit of medicine is enough to cure your illness… Never mind. I’ll go beg Yunice later and ask her to get you two more boxes.”
Owen scoffed. “As a member of the Saunders family. Yunice is supposed to contribute. Mom, don’t spoil her.”
Watching Elsie swallow the pill, Owen turned back, only to catch Paul heading toward Yunice’s room. His hand shot out, gripping Paul’s shoulder in warning. “You still owe Elsie an explanation.”
Was the Powell family going to go through with their marriage alliance with the Saunders family or not? And if so, which sister?
The thought of Paul’s lingering glances at Yunice made Owen’s voice drop to a low warning. “If you dare betray Elsie, I won’t forgive you!”
D
Elsie cast a sorrowful glance at Paul before lowering her head.
Paul could never stand seeing her like this. Every time she acted this way, he felt like a complete scumbag.
Compared to that, Yunice had always been easier to handle. Whenever she showed even a hint of dissatisfaction or tried to give him the cold shoulder, he could preemptively scold her, then pacify her with a few sweet words. Every single time, she would fall in line.
But Elsie, he could not bear to speak harshly to her. 1
A few murmured reassurances, and soon enough, Elsie was leaning sweetly into his embrace, the two of them slipping back into their affectionate charade. But through the reflection on her phone screen, Elsie caught sight of Paul’s gaze drifting
toward Yunice’s room..
An uneasy feeling crept into her chest. She had brought Yunice back from the asylum to secure her own high–status marriage, not to let her seduce her man.
“Paul, I’m worried that my sister may have done something she shouldn’t have.” Elsie furrowed her brows, her face filled with concern for Yunice. “Even you struggled to get the Alphasirox pills. If my sister, an ordinary woman, managed to acquire them, she must have paid a steep price. If that’s the case, I’d rather not take them.”
For a woman with no advantages, obtaining something completely out of her reach, there was only one conceivable way she
could have done it.
The thought that Yunice might have traded her body for the pills made Paul’s stomach churn with disgust. His tone turned cold. “Once I get my hands on a new batch, don’t take these anymore.”
Eksie obediently nodded.
At the same time, Giana entered Yunice’s room with a bowl of food, only to find it empty.
Yunice had already slipped away while all eyes were on Elsie. She clutched a crumpled red banknote in her hand and hailed a cab straight to the Saunders family’s private hospital.
By nightfall, the hospital lobby was sparsely populated with a few lingering patients.
Yunice entered through the back door and took the elevator up. She knew the hospital inside and out. Its equipment and its
vulnerabilities….
Sitting at Owen’s desk, she used his computer to print out a prescription. Then, donning a mask, she walked to the pharmacy
Chapter 19 A Bloodsucking Leech
with a composed expression.
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The pharmacist, unsuspecting, filled the order while making small talk. “Another late night of tutoring for your sister, Mr.
Owen?”
At first, Yunice did not understand, but then she recalled the discarded medication bottles in Owen’s desk drawer.
By hospital regulations, all used medication vials required thorough documentation and disposal. The fact that Owen had. not done so meant those drugs were obtained through improper channels.
Owen prided himself on his principles, except when it came to Elsie
Those discarded bottles had to be connected to her.
“Here you go with the Epinerate, the pharmacist said, handing over the medication. “Make sure to test for allergies first. We don’t want another near–accident like last time with the Pentopex shot.”
Yunice’s eyes darkened slightly. She accepted the package with a soft hum and carried the Epinerate back to Owen’s office.
Now she understood why it had been so easy to get the prescription filled. And she also understood why the Saunders family hospital had been plagued by so many scandals in recent years.
It all traced back to Owen’s indulgence of Elsie.
Elsie had entered the Saunders family at fourteen, illiterate and uneducated.
Oscar and Owen, full of guilt and affection, had arranged a place for her in school and forced Yunice to tutor her. But Elsie’s foundation was too weak, and every exam she took was a disaster.
Eventually, she started resenting school. To keep her motivated, Oscar and Owen forced Yunice to sign Elsie’s name on her own test papers.
Elsie’s stellar grades were praised by the entire school, while Yunice, taking the fall for her, was publicly shamed for failing. But the brothers never once noticed Yunice’s humiliation. They only felt that it was a great idea. They went on to make her publish medical papers under Elsie’s name and forced her to let Elsie accept her competition awards.
All this while, they had been telling her that Elsie had no citizenship, no official student status, and that Yunice needed to let go of her vanity for the sake of her sister’s happiness-
Looking back now, Yunice realized Elsie had never actually cared about learning. Even after three years of university under Yunice’s stolen identity, there was no way she had passed her courses.
Oscar and Owen must have pulled strings to fabricate her academic success.
Now, Elsie was both a post–graduate student and a hospital intern, and Owen was surely still covering for her.
Those empty vials were proof that she had been practicing on real patients. And clearly, violating medical regulations was nothing new. It was practically common knowledge among the hospital staff.
No wonder the Saunders family hospital’s reputation had plummeted. It had been bled dry by Elsie.
Before this, Yunice had assumed Elsie’s actions stemmed from insecurity or jealousy. Now she saw the truth. Elsie was merely a parasite, a bloodsucking leech, feeding off the Saunders family to fatten herself.
If this continued, Oscar and Owen would be dragged into prison along with her.
Yunice injected herself with Epinerate. As the cold liquid seeped into her veins, she thought to herself. She did not care what happened to Oscar and Owen. But her father’s legacy? She would not let Elsie sink her fangs into that any longer.
To seize power, she needed leverage.
After dropping out of school, Yunice had wasted three years. Her future was ruined.
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Chapter 19 A Bloodsucking Leech
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But she refused to despair. Her father once said. The best time to plant a tree was ten years ago. The second best time is
now.”
The same applied to learning.
Elie wanted to destroy me? Fine. Then I would rise beyond her reach.
Yunice clenched the pill in her palm, her expression unreadable.
If she wanted to escape the Saunders family’s grip, she needed a ladder.
The next morning, she finally returned home.
Owen was already fuming. The moment he saw her strolling leisurely through the door, he stormed toward her. “Yunice, you really think you’re something, huh? Didn’t come home all night? I almost thought you were dead”
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