The Invisible Daughter (Yunice Saunders) novel Chapter 187

As he spoke, Owen tossed a handful of candy onto the desk. His eyes turned red; he was clearly moved. “Melina even praised you. She said even though she’s never met you, she just knows you must be a good kid. She even asked me to bring you some candy!”

His nose tingled with emotion, but when he saw Yunice still standing there stiffly like a piece of wood, he couldn’t hold back anymore. Furious, he grabbed her and pushed her toward the desk, forcing her to look at the candy.

“She saved these one by one for you—said you’re picky and only eat the good stuff. Do you know how much effort it took for a blind woman in a place like that to stash these away? Do you even think about Lauren’s face every time you visit her? Doesn’t it eat at you at all?”

Yunice’s throat tightened as she stared at the candy.

Melina was blind—how could she even tell which ones were good? But these candies were clean, high-end, expensive.

She must’ve tried everything, asked person after person, filtered through them all just to set aside these few for her.

Yunice’s fingers curled inward as she gently gathered the candies together, her voice low and quiet. “It’s not like that…”

“What?” Owen’s brows locked in a hard frown. Everything was right there in front of her, and she still wouldn’t admit it?

He snapped, “You think if you just deny it, no one will come after you? The investigation records from the psych ward are crystal clear—Lauren was only outside that day because of you! You tricked her into taking your turn outside, made her carry your bag, and that’s why those lunatics mistook her for you. That’s why they picked her for that game of human pyramid! She was young; she didn’t even know how to play. And just like that, she died in your place…”

Owen was full of guilt and regret.

Yunice gave a bitter smile and replied, “So, since I had experience, I should’ve been the one to die?”

Owen choked on his words; he realized his phrasing had been all wrong. He’d been through that pile-up himself. How could anyone call it a game? It was abuse and torment.

Just because Yunice didn’t die the first time it happened didn’t mean they had to keep making her their target.

If they hadn’t gotten the wrong person that day, then Yunice might have been the one who died instead.

A heavy pressure sank into Owen’s chest. He still thought Yunice bore some responsibility, but maybe… not as much as he’d thought.

He even felt a twisted sense of relief; that it had been Lauren who died that day—not Yunice.

Elsie, ever the peacemaker, spoke up gently, “Yunice, of course you feel guilty. I knew you would, that’s why I went to see Lauren’s relatives yesterday and gave them some compensation. You don’t have to carry this alone…”

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