Chapter 1174: Neither a friend nor a foe

The little girl looked up at Penny, her thumb pressed against the syringe.

"You—what are you—" Penny instinctively slapped the little girl’s hand, yanking the needle from her skin. Her eyes widened as her pulse quickened.

Slowly, she gazed down at the little girl again, but before she could ask what was inside the syringe, her vision wavered. A sudden weakness drained her body, spreading rapidly all over her. Before she knew it, she collapsed to the ground with a dull thud.

Even as her vision blurred and spun, she could still make out the little girl standing over her, staring emotionlessly.

"Good job."

A woman’s voice caressed Penny’s ears before a figure appeared beside the child.

"Who..." Penny struggled to maintain control, forcing her spinning vision to focus on the woman. Her eyelids grew heavy, but she fought to keep them open. She couldn’t lose consciousness. She repeated that to herself a hundred times.

She had to stay awake.

Finally, the little girl spoke in an innocent voice. "Is she going to die?"

"Hmm." The woman hummed softly, stroking the child’s head. "No, she won’t."

"That’s good," the little girl replied. "She looks like a good person."

"She is a good person."

"Then why do you want her dead?"

The woman shrugged. "I don’t know... Maybe because I just want her dead for no reason?" A soft chuckle escaped her lips as she crouched beside Penny. Her dark eyes gleamed with amusement as she traced her fingertips along Penny’s cheek. "Or maybe... her death will simply make things easier for me?"

"If so, shouldn’t you have injected her with our new drugs?" the little girl asked curiously. "You said her drug is going to cause us trouble."

"Mhm," the woman hummed. "But if she dies... someone will be very, very sad."

"Death is supposed to make people sad."

"Except the person who would mourn her death is a much bigger problem for us." The woman chuckled again, brushing her thumb over Penny’s cheek. "How beautiful. It’s a shame that such a brilliant mind is of no use to me. Tragic, really."

"Is there no chance she’d join our side?"

"I’m afraid that chance is long gone."

"Why?"

The woman sighed. "They shouldn’t have found her."

"You mean her parents?"

"Mhm."

"I think you’re right." The little girl nodded. "She’s better off without her father!"

"Mhm." The woman hummed again, her eyes drooping slightly. "Child, you should reflect on your choices and who you’re dealing with before it’s too late. Otherwise, things will become very painful for all of us."

Her brows rose when she noticed Penny moving. Both she and the little girl watched as Penny reached down and pulled something from her thigh. Their eyes widened as she suddenly stabbed herself, forcing herself to stay conscious.

"She... she’s scary," the little girl murmured, moving closer to the woman. "I think she just stabbed herself to stay awake. Did she hear everything we said?"

"There’s nothing to hide," the woman said with a smirk, watching Penny force her eyes open again.

Penny’s eyes burned with determination despite the sweat trickling down her pale face. There was life in her gaze—an unyielding fire. She reached out, grabbing the woman’s arm with all the strength she had left.

"Who... who are you?" she rasped, her breath ragged.

"Who I am is not important," the woman replied smoothly, peeling Penny’s fingers from her arm. "But my purpose is."

She paused, taking Penny’s hand and pressing a small bottle into her palm.

"We are neither your enemy nor your ally, Penelope Bennet. You have a different problem—a far greater threat than me." Lowering her head, she whispered, "Be very careful, Penelope. Zoren Pierson might just be your downfall."

With that, she drew back and gently placed Penny’s hand beside her. Then, she turned to the child, offering her hand, which the little girl took. As they began to walk away, the woman hesitated and glanced over her shoulder.

"That child..." she murmured solemnly. "They’re going to kill her. And they won’t stop until every last one of their mistakes is erased. That includes that child, Nina."

"What?" Penny breathed weakly. But the woman and the girl simply continued walking, their figures fading into the darkness.

The knife in her thigh barely kept her conscious, but the drug in her system was far more potent than she had anticipated. Her vision darkened, her strength slipping away. A crushing weight pressed against her chest, making it hard to breathe.

Penny’s eyes flickered toward the small bottle in her hand. With the last bit of her strength, she tried to open it. But her fingers were weak, trembling. The cap wouldn’t budge.

"Shit," she whispered, her grip loosening. "I’m going to die."

The thought sent a fresh wave of determination through her. She didn’t want to die—not here, not like this. There was no way in hell she would let this be the end. She couldn’t let Benjamin and Slater blame themselves for her death.

But sheer willpower wasn’t enough to fight off a powerful drug.

"Help..." she croaked, barely able to form the word. "Hel...p."

She turned her head toward the darkness, the direction she had come from.

"Help..." she whispered again, her voice fading. "I’m... here..."

Her consciousness wavered, and with it, her hope dimmed. ’Damn. I can’t believe... I’m dying tonight.’

Then, just as the darkness threatened to take her, a faint voice called out.

Penny forced her eyes open—just enough to make out a blurry figure running toward her.

"Penny!"

Zoren slid to his knees beside her, his eyes wide with alarm.

"Penny!"

His gaze flickered to the knife still embedded in her thigh. Her complexion was ghostly pale.

"Anti... dote," she rasped, weakly raising the small bottle in her hand. "...need... it."

"What?" Zoren furrowed his brows, following her gaze. His eyes landed on the small jar just as it slipped from her grip. Instinctively, he caught it.

"Anti... dote," she repeated.

"Antidote?" he echoed, glancing back at her. He had no idea what had happened—she looked like she’d been attacked, not poisoned. But he didn’t hesitate. He twisted the cap off and carefully poured the liquid into her mouth.

Some of it spilled, trickling down her chin. Seeing this, Zoren made a split-second decision. He downed the antidote himself, then leaned down and pressed his mouth to hers, forcing the liquid past her lips.

The clear liquid tasted vile—strong, like vodka, but with a chemical bitterness.

Then, just ten seconds later—

Penny’s eyes snapped open as she gasped for air.

GASP!