Chapter 1032: Karma

"Ah... so that explains it." Angel sat on the stairs, holding his phone to his ear. "How did you find this out? I mean, you should’ve told me about it earlier."

"I just finished a call with my Second Brother before calling you. Apparently, he said he was attacked."

"Is the Second Brother alright?"

"Who do you think he is?"

Angel rolled his eyes and frowned deeply. "Penny, just so you know, there are better ways to answer a question."

"Well, anyway, he’s fine, the patient he’s looking after is fine, and the person he thought was there to assassinate the leader of the center is alive — fortunately," Penny continued nonchalantly. "Zoren is also fine. Having Mylo around him isn’t bad."

"Now that you mention it, are you sure you’re pulling out Mylo from looking after Finn Davis?"

"Yugi told me he’s got it. So, I respect his decision."

"Yugi Cortez, huh?" Angel shook his head. "Well, if that’s his idea, I guess there’s no need to question it."

After all, aside from Penny, Yugi had earned everyone’s respect. Though Yugi was more focused on Penny’s stock trading and other businesses, he was a good tactician. And since this was about Nina’s safety, if anyone should focus on it, Yugi was the perfect person.

Penny also explained what Hugo had told her, which gave Angel some clarity about what had happened to Patricia. Now, it made more sense why Patricia had to go through such extremes.

"How is she, by the way?" Penny’s voice brought Angel back from his thoughts. "She’s not used to these kinds of situations. Is she okay? Or should I send a therapist your way?"

"Even if this hadn’t happened, she needs therapy," Angel clicked his tongue, while Penny chuckled lightly. "She’s fine... I think."

"I heard you have to act as the victim. That’s very kind of you."

"That woman doesn’t want the police involved, even with what happened to her. It doesn’t make sense, but I don’t want to aggravate her."

"..." Penny didn’t respond, knowing whatever she was about to say wouldn’t be helpful.

"For now, I’ll stay here with her."

"You’re staying with her?"

"Yeah. She practically begged me."

"Ohh..." Penny’s tone made Angel squint his eyes. "Angel, I smell... ro—"

"I smell bullshit!" he cut her off mid-sentence. "Penny, this is not the time to tease me, alright? How can you even joke about this situation? The woman was almost r*aped and murdered!"

Penny whistled and shrugged. "Just saying. Gee! Why are you so sensitive?"

"I’m not sensitive. You’re just being insensitive," he hissed. "She’s asking me to stay because I’m the one who saved her. Naturally, she’d feel safer with me around. It’s not anything silly, but a natural reaction. It’s like children to their mothers. Do you understand?"

"Like I said, I’m just saying. It’s not like I don’t know that." Penny rolled her eyes, even though it was her fault he was lecturing her.

"Anyway, once she gets herself together, she’ll probably be fine." Angel looked back at the mezzanine, his eyes on the short hallway that led to Patricia’s room.

Silence dominated the line for a brief moment until Penny’s voice was heard again. "Do you feel sorry for her?"

"Do you?" he returned.

"For what happened, yes. But at the same time, she brought it upon herself." This time, Penny’s tone was milder as she thought about Angel’s report. "She clearly went there with bad intentions and got more than she could handle. It’s her ignorance, greed, and pride that led her to this situation."

"Then you have my answer as well," Angel whispered back, nodding. "People don’t learn their lesson until they have to. And sometimes, it takes life and death for them to learn."

This wasn’t the first time Patricia had placed herself in a tough situation. She had done it many times before, the most recent being deceiving Zoren Pierson. The problem was that Patricia hadn’t learned from any of them because she always seemed to get away with it.

She got away with bullying other kids as a child, harassing Nina, and even deceiving Zoren. Of course, she faced consequences each time, but they were lenient. Moreover, those consequences felt lighter because the Miller Family carried the burden and tried to fix the problems she caused.

Now, Patricia had met people who were twice as vile as she was.

Did they feel sorry for what happened? Yes. But at the end of the day, Patricia was equally at fault. Actions with bad intentions always come back. It was called karma.

"Though I’m still curious about how she found the center." Penny’s voice broke the momentary silence. "Once she’s okay, try to get answers from her."

"Got it."

With that, the line disconnected. Angel dropped his hand and rested his arm on his leg. He ran his tongue across his cheek, snapping his eyes toward Patricia’s room.

"What a piece of work. She should’ve sent Mark here instead."

*******

Patricia lay on the bed and didn’t move an inch. The helpers had cleaned her wounds and bruises. After that, they left her with a warm soup, which she didn’t touch as she simply lay there. The room was quiet, but after what had happened, the silence wouldn’t let her sleep.

Slowly, she pulled the blanket over her head and looked around the room. The dim lights were on, just enough for her to see if anyone was there. Her body trembled in fear as she glanced around before hiding under the blanket again.

What if those men escaped from the police station and came for her?

The mere thought of it sent a shiver down her spine.

’He said he’d stay,’ she thought, thinking of Angel. ’So, even if they come, he’ll fight them.’

Patricia repeated this to herself over and over, peeking out from under the blanket. There was no one, and she didn’t know whether that was better or worse. What if Angel’s room was far away from hers? Would he hear if someone came to harm her?

Her shaky eyes moved to the door, and she gulped. She stared at it until she mustered the courage to pull herself up. She got out of bed and tiptoed toward the door to lock it. But instead of locking it immediately, Patricia paused and twisted the knob.

She didn’t know what came over her, but she wanted to peek outside. Perhaps it was to make sure no one was there, and that it was safe. She opened the door just an inch, enough for her eyes to peek through. Seeing no one, she was about to close it when she noticed a figure.

"Huh?" Her eyes fell as she opened the door slightly wider and saw Angel sitting on the floor right beside it. At the same time, his brows knitted as his senses alerted him to the pair of eyes looking at him.

Angel slowly looked up, only to meet her surprised gaze. "What?" he asked, his voice tinged with annoyance. "I said I’d stay, so just sleep."

Despite his gruff tone, Patricia’s tensed shoulders relaxed, and her heart felt at ease. "Thank you."