Chapter 1190: I remember, Penny.

[FLASHBACK]

The sound of glass shattering echoed in Penny’s ears like a clap of thunder. However, that wasn’t what terrified her. It wasn’t the sound itself, but rather what would come after it.

"What do you think you’re doing?!" Slater’s voice erupted in the room, filled with rage. His burning gaze flickered between his sister across the room and the shattered figurine on the floor. Clenching his teeth, he marched toward her.

"I—I’m sorry, Third—"

"Shut up!" Slater yelled, making her flinch. "I’ve told you so many times not to come into my room! And now, you’re apologizing for breaking my stuff? Why don’t you ever listen?!"

In a state of panic, Penny stuttered, "But—but—I didn’t mean—Nina said—"

"I said shut up! I don’t care what Nina said!" he hissed, his fists balling tightly. "All I care about is what I said, and you clearly don’t listen!"

"Third Brother, I’ll fix it!" Penny didn’t hesitate and bent down to pick up the broken pieces. But in her rush, she cut her finger. "Ouch."

Instead of worrying about her injury, it only made him angrier.

"I said get out!" Slater’s voice boomed, making her flinch again. She looked up at him with shaky eyes. "Look what you’ve done! Not only is it broken, but now it’s dirty too!"

Penny froze, her heart sinking at the growing rage in his eyes. "Third Brother..."

Slater pointed at the door, his chest heaving. "Out. And don’t ever show your face to me again."

Penny bit her lip, clutching her wounded finger as she picked herself up. The cut was small—something she could ignore. But the cut in her heart? That ran deeper. She walked out, crying as quietly as possible, while Slater continued glaring at her.

The figurine wasn’t important. In fact, he had planned to toss it into storage with the rest of the gifts from his fans. He would have thrown them straight into the trash if not for his manager insisting he keep them for his image. But somehow, even though that figurine meant nothing to him, the fact that Penny broke it made him furious.

He had never liked her.

He couldn’t say he outright hated her, but to him, his real sister was just... too annoying.

Penny didn’t know how to dress well. She couldn’t talk well. She was always putting people in difficult situations. Just like now—he had told her not to enter his room, but she didn’t listen. And now, she had broken something. Slater felt no empathy for her.

She brought this on herself.

These situations weren’t new for either Slater or Penny. Even as children, Slater had always picked on her. At first, it would pull off harmless pranks to make her go away. But whenever he felt he had gone too far, Penny would somehow do something even worse—something that would not only reflect badly on her but on their entire family.

Even at school, she was so pathetic that Slater’s bullies used her against him, constantly comparing the two of them. And now, as adults, Penny was still the only one who hadn’t achieved anything significant.

Atlas had made a name for himself in the business world. Hugo had earned countless badges. Slater had built a successful career in entertainment. Nina was a rising businesswoman.

And Penny?

No one knew her for anything except being the real daughter of the Bennet family. Aside from that, Slater had never heard anything noteworthy about her. All he knew was that she was in some research program that no one cared about.

The only time he had heard anything big about her was when... she was arrested for a crime so big it destroyed the entire Bennet family.

At first, Slater’s hatred for his sister deepened. He had always believed Penny would be the family’s downfall—he just hadn’t realized how massive that downfall would be. The public didn’t just criticize her; they criticized all of them, even their dead parents.

It wasn’t until Atlas received anonymous tips and begged Slater to help him that Slater realized how wrong they had been.

But by then, it was too late to regret. Too late to apologize. Too late to fix anything.

By the time he and Atlas had gotten close to the truth, Slater was abducted. Atlas had an "accident." Hugo—he had died long before that, trying to prove Penny’s innocence.

So yes, if there was anyone in the Bennet family who had been the harshest to Penny, it was Slater.

He had deliberately hurt her feelings. Scolded her for no reason. Done everything he could to push her away.

And even now, he knew—nothing he could do or say would ever be enough to make amends.

Because in the end...

Penny’s execution wasn’t what killed her.

They did.

Prison didn’t break her. They did.

Even before she was read her constitutional rights, they had already locked her away—in a dark place with no hope of escape. They had starved her of understanding and compassion, and they had cruelly beaten her heart into pieces.

She hadn’t lost hope on her own. They had taken it from her.

They had stolen it decades before she ever set foot in prison.

Not believing in her had simply been the final straw.

Penny had already died long before she sat in that execution chair.

And the ones who had killed her...

Were the people she called family.

Hence, Slater had chosen silence.

But just like Benjamin said, secrets only get heavier. You might forget them for a while—until they start crawling back to the surface.

Last night was a wake-up call.

Keeping quiet wasn’t protecting his bond with Penny. He was just afraid—afraid of the consequences. Afraid of taking accountability.

And he knew... at some point, Penny would confront him.

So before that could happen, he found himself standing before her.

---

[PRESENT TIME]

A gust of wind blew past them as Penny slowly sat up at the sight of him.

"Third Brother, is it time for dinner?" she asked, carefully picking herself up. She limped toward him, brows raised innocently. Despite the questions swirling in her mind, she didn’t want to confront him.

Not yet.

They were still on this trip, and she didn’t want to add anymore to the tension. She convinced herself Slater had been taking some time off—after all, he had movie roles to prepare for. He might not always play the lead, but Slater never slacked when it came to his craft.

So maybe, just maybe, this was just like in the movies.

The man wasn’t just a great musician—he was an actor, too. Hence, he had to act well last night and used whatever he learned in movies to make him look intimidating. An outstanding performance.

It was a logical explanation. A temporary answer.

And for now, that would be enough.

"Let’s go eat," she flashed him a smile, tapping his shoulder as she limped ahead. "Man, I’m starving again. My sleep was so long—think about all the snacks I missed."

As Penny walked past him, focused on food, Slater cast his eyes downward.

His fists clenched. His throat tightened.

"Third Brother, what are you doing?" she asked, looking back at him. She tilted her head, puzzled. "Didn’t you come here to call me for dinner?"

Slater didn’t answer.

Her brows furrowed. "Third Brother, you’re scaring me a bit. What’s up?"

Then, after a moment, he slowly turned to face her.

"I remember," he murmured, his voice low. His lips trembled. "I... remember everything, Penny."