Chapter 1378: that jackass has known all along

Cracking the encrypted file was as easy as breathing for Penny. It didn’t even take her ten minutes. However, reading its contents took much longer. She was so engrossed that she lost track of time. If not for Zoren, she would have kept reading.

She learned quite a bit about the orphanage. For one, it was a legitimate institution with wealthy clients from all over the world. But something about it seemed off, prompting Penny to dig deeper and review the records of all the children who had been adopted over the years.

One particular detail stood out—Jonathan had once been among the children there. But what surprised Penny wasn’t his presence at the orphanage; it was the information about him.

According to the records, Jonathan was a runaway. That wasn’t shocking, considering that in this lifetime, he had the mind of an adult. However, what caught her attention was that he hadn’t escaped alone—at least ten other children had gone with him. All of them had vanished.

And his name wasn’t Jonathan.

It was... Nathaniel.

"Nathaniel," she whispered, her brows furrowing as she recalled the file in her mind. "What are the odds?"

Zoren, seated in the backseat with his wife, observed her closely. Ever since he had picked her up this morning, Penny had been preoccupied with the files she had read. Even now, on their way to her office, she barely spoke to him—just muttering to herself as if lost in thought.

"Having a different name as a child and receiving a new one after adoption isn’t unusual, Penny," he said, watching her as she turned to him. "Although it’s unsettling that he originally had the same name as Nathaniel the Gardener, I don’t think it’s something we should focus on."

Penny pressed her lips together, her gaze conflicted. "But, Renren, isn’t it suspicious that he’s the only one without any information about where he came from? Even the abandoned children left outside the orphanage had records. But his? It’s completely blank."

"You haven’t gone through all the records yet," Zoren pointed out. "We can’t say more right now. I’ll help you look through them."

A heavy sigh escaped Penny as she massaged her temples, feeling a headache coming on.

Seeing this, Zoren reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He waited for her to meet his gaze before speaking.

"If you need to take the day off, just say the word. I can handle your office for a day," he offered. "I mean, I’ll do the work in my own office, but I’ll cover for you."

"It’s fine, Renren." Penny waved a hand weakly. "I can handle it."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course." She gave him a reassuring smile. "But I do need your approval on something."

"What is it?"

"The engagement between Cassandra and Jonathan," she said. "I want to be a part of it."

"That shouldn’t be a problem. You’re my wife—you don’t need my permission for that."

"Asking doesn’t hurt." Penny scooted closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Closing her eyes, she let out another deep exhale. "Renren."

"Hmm?"

Slowly, Penny opened her eyes and whispered, "I just had a sudden theory—a crazy one."

"I’m all ears. How crazy could it be?" he muttered. "What is it?"

"What if..." Penny looked up slightly and met his gaze. "...we’ve been looking at Jonathan the wrong way? What if we’re so focused on what he did in the past that we’re missing the real motive behind his actions in this life?"

Deep lines formed between Zoren’s brows. "That’s ridiculous. Finn ended up in a coma right after Jonathan showed up. Had it not been for the people you planted on him, who rushed him to the hospital, he would’ve died."

"But there was never any proof tying him to the accident," she countered.

"He hated Finn, so I’m convinced he was behind it."

Penny opened her mouth but hesitated, ultimately closing it again. She couldn’t argue—her husband was right. Even on a normal day, Penny would have used the same reasoning. Jonathan despised Finn because Finn had betrayed him and sided with Zoren in their past life. He had every reason to seek revenge.

But at the same time...

"Vengeance..." she murmured under her breath, looking up at Zoren again. "Renren, would it be crazy to think that this is all about revenge?"

"He’s here for revenge. We both know that."

"No, not revenge against you," she clarified. "But against someone else."

Zoren tilted his head, mulling over her words. "You mean the people who betrayed him in the past?"

"Those—and the ones responsible for his downfall," she said. "Picking a fight with you makes sense; that’s what he always did. Even if you went low to strike him first, it’s expected. You were enemies. For him, it was always you or him."

And as the saying goes, betrayal never comes from enemies—it comes from those you trust the most. So, there shouldn’t be hard feelings if Zoren even killed him in cold blood.

"But losing because your own people turned on you... is that something anyone could just accept?" she asked, trying to see things from Jonathan’s perspective. "Nina, his own wife, killed him in the past, and Finn turned against him. That’s why they’re on his target list. But if I remember correctly, he once mentioned wanting to let Bennet go."

Was she overthinking, desperate for clues after hitting a dead end? Or was this a possibility worth considering?

Silence filled the vehicle as Penny and Zoren stared at each other, the weight of the theory sinking in.

Jonathan, like Penny, had been reborn with memories of their first life. He could have tried to reclaim his place in the Pierson Family while avoiding his past mistakes. But what if... after wasting an entire lifetime fighting against indestructible Zoren Pierson, he had found a different goal? What if his purpose was no longer just about taking over the Pierson Family?

"Are you suggesting that this engagement isn’t about securing his position in the Pierson Family?" Zoren asked. "But because the Smiths have been funding the orphanage? Where he was raised originally? But... why?"

"That’s what we need to find out," she said with a firm nod. "Because if this theory is correct, then... who the hell are we really up against? And I think that jackass has known all along."