Chapter 7 She Still Doesn't Speak!

Yunice's gaze remained calm. "What if I'm used to enduring the pain?"

Owen was stunned. What did she mean by being used to pain? If it hurts, she should just say so. Why endure it?

Yunice continued, "Because saying it hurts doesn't help. So I can only endure it. And after enduring it for long enough, you get used to it."

Owen was skeptical. "I'm referring you to a decent mental hospital. They treat all patients the same. Many cases from our hospital are well-handled there."

Yunice replied, "That's because their families pay bribes and visit them regularly. But for those of us who have no one to care for us, even if we are beaten, there are no consequences."

Owen felt deeply uncomfortable. He accused her, "Are you saying all this just to blame us for not visiting you? If you want to make us feel guilty, at least make your lies believable! Even if you were bullied, how could that possibly cause a compression injury? Did they run you over with a car?"

Yunice found it amusing. A mental hospital is different from a regular hospital. They have strict rules for handling the insane. We weren't allowed to use chopsticks or forks-anything that could be a weapon. We'd squat on the ground, using our hands to eat. For a shower, they'd lock us in a cage and spray us with high-pressure water. There was no studying. Besides eating and sleeping, we'd roam the yard all day. There were no recreational facilities, so we'd create our own games. Like pulling a person's limbs in different directions simultaneously. Pulling someone's hair and riding them like a horse. Tying someone to an electric fence and electrocuting them repeatedly. But their favorite game was piling people-stacking them high, chasing the sensation of suffocation and dizziness. Last year, someone died playing this game. The first person jumped on the pile and crushed the ribs of the person underneath. As more people piled on, the broken ribs punctured his heart. It took ten minutes before they realized he was dead."

Owen's eyes widened in disbelief. He instinctively leaned back.

Something clicked in his mind.

A year ago, I signed a person's death certificate. I even saw the body.

The corpse showed clear signs of internal organ punctures, a ruptured spleen, and multiple fractures to the pelvis and sternum. However, what stood out was that the person hadn't died from blood loss-but from mechanical asphyxiation. He had struggled for at least ten minutes, suffocating in excruciating pain before finally dying.

At the time, I didn't pay much attention to the case. I just remembered that the family refused an autopsy and had accepted a large settlement.

Could that poor girl...

Lily clutched her face, trembling with fear at the thought. She sobbed uncontrollably. Her voice was hoarse as she asked, "Yunny, did they do that to you, too?"

When Yunice was sent to the mental hospital, she was only eighteen. A quiet and gentle young girl-how could she not have been bullied?

Owen's eyes were red, his throat choked as if a sharp object was lodged there. The pain was suffocating.

Seeing his bewildered expression, Yunice spoke for him. "You're trying to say that's just how mental hospitals are, aren't you? That crazy people don't understand boundaries? That if anyone's to blame, it's me-for being selfish and intolerant, for wanting to hurt Elsie, which is why I was sent there? That I should be grateful I wasn't sent to jail?"

Owen opened his mouth, but as the woman hit a nerve, he felt defensive. "Isn't it true?"

But Yunice ignored him and stared at Lily, her words carrying a deeper meaning. "Mom, is it true that I was the one who hurt your daughter?"

Lily froze. A flicker of panic crossed her tearful eyes. But she quickly covered her face again and wept. "Stop arguing! This is all my fault! If only I had died on that mountain, none of this would have happened!"

She sobbed so hard her body shook and she nearly fainted.

"Mom!"

Owen and Elsie rushed to support Lily, helping her sit on the sofa.

Yunice stood by the door, unmoving. She was in too much pain to walk.

But to others, she appeared cold and heartless.

Owen grew angrier. He snapped at Yunice, "What did Mom do to you?! What did Elsie do wrong?! Was it Mom's fault she was kidnapped? Was it Elsie's fault she was born into that family?! You're acting like a victim, but you're just resentful! Mom and Elsie didn't have a choice in their lives, but you did! You had a family, status, and wealth-all the goodness in this world revolved around you! But you insisted on being jealous of Elsie, who had nothing! You're standing here perfectly fine, while Elsie has to take medication for the rest of her life! And you still think the whole world owes you!"

At those words, Lily lowered her head, while Elsie bit her lip, worried Lily might say something she shouldn't.

But Yunice kept staring at Lily, even though the woman refused to meet her gaze.

Three years ago, Lily had seen everything. She knew Elsie herself had orchestrated the incident. She knew I was innocent.

However, she chose to remain silent-because she didn't want everyone to hate Elsie, didn't want her to be cast out of the Saunders family. So she knelt before me, begging me to take the blame for her actions that hurt Elsie.

Lily's exact words were, "You're still a Saunders. Even if you do something wrong, you won't be punished. But Elsie is different. If she leaves the Saunders family, she'll have nothing."

I refused.

So Lily had testified falsely, claiming that I had stabbed Elsie.

With her statement, Oscar and Owen believed her.

Because in their hearts, the palm and the back of the hand are both made of flesh. Their mother would never take sides.

But they forgot-the palm is indeed flesh, but the palm has more flesh than the back of the hand. And the palm is always protected.

Elsie was the daughter Lily herself raised for fifteen years, her most precious treasure. I, Yunice, on the other hand, was never even held by my birth mother. How could her feelings be the same?

Shortly after, Lily clutched her chest, gasping for air. "Don't fight anymore. It's late. Everyone, go to bed."

Owen glared at Yunice before helping Elsie escort Lily back to her room.

It was only then that Yunice sighed a long breath and curled up on her bed.

I've long stopped expecting anything from them. I don't even expect them to take me to the hospital.

My injury is chronic. Even if I go to the hospital, the scan results might not detect it. And even if it is detected, I wouldn't dare get on the operating table.

Elsie just wants me to disappear. If I were anesthetized on the operating table, I might never wake up again.

Fortunately, I know a bit of pharmacology. I can treat myself until I heal.

Once I recover, I will settle things with this family for good.

Yunice didn't want any trouble, so she rarely left her room for the next few days.

When Giana came to clean the room, she found a box of Alphasirox pills under the bed.

With a gleam in her eyes, she photographed the pill box and took it to Elsie.

That evening, Owen, who had been socializing all day, drank wine and was told to go home by Paul.

The two came in through the door and saw Giana, who was talking with Elsie, wiping away her tears and ending the conversation.

Paul looked around and didn't see Yunice, which made him feel a little uneasy.

In the past, every time I came, Yunice was like a cat who heard a sound and would turn to talk to me.

But I've been to the Saunders' house often in the last two days, but I haven't seen her once.

Elsie noticed Paul's absence, and she also noticed that lately he seemed to come often and was always distracted.

She couldn't shake the bad feeling in her heart.

So she instructed Giana, "Go and pour Owen a cup of honey water; he'll feel better after he drinks it."

Owen sat messily on the sofa, covering his face with his arms. His mood was bad today because he was disappointed with his work.

He was already annoyed, and the next second, a stream of hot water poured heavily onto his leg!