Chapter 1523: Something must have happened

Meanwhile...

Penny pursed her lips as she peeked up at Zoren, clutching the hem of his shirt to get his attention. When he turned to face her, she fluttered her eyelashes coquettishly.

"Hubby?" she called, her voice small yet sweet. "Are you angry at me?"

His naturally dark eyes appeared even darker, with remnants of anger and worry still lingering in them. "No."

"Really?"

"Mhm." Zoren breathed out and carefully pulled her into a gentle embrace. "Just worried when I heard the news."

Penny pressed her lips tightly and patted his back. "There, there." Then she drew her head back, looking him in the eye. "I’m okay, and this time, I didn’t instigate anything."

She was innocent this time.

"I know." Zoren nodded. "Do you feel anything else?"

"No." Penny shook her head. "But I don’t think we should leave that guy behind, though. I want to take him home."

This time, Zoren frowned. "Why would you take him to our place?"

"No, not to our place! The guest house!" she clarified. "Since Nathaniel left, the guest house has been a little too quiet. Don’t you think it needs a new caretaker? And to make it even better, they have the same name!"

In other words, she wanted to abduct him?

"..." Zoren opened his mouth but decided to shut it instead.

What else could he say at this point?

Clearly, his wife was fine—very fine. Even in this situation, she was thinking of abduction. The two in the front passenger seat—Mark and the driver—couldn’t help but wince a little while listening to her.

Was she kidding them? She just survived what could’ve been a terrible crash, and now she was onto something again!

Another shallow sigh escaped Zoren as he leaned back in his seat, eyes still on her. "Why would you even go to him?"

"Renren, I just have a lot of questions that need answers." She shrugged. "And I’ve been wracking my brain trying to get them — oh, speaking of!"

Penny turned to the driver’s seat. "Please take us to the Prime Group Headquarters, thank you."

"We should go home first," Zoren said, but she shook her head.

"This can wait, but I can’t. I need to show you something."

---

[PRIME GROUP]

At Prime Group, their bodyguards instinctively took their usual stations while Penny and Zoren entered the penthouse suite.

"Penny, what are you going to show me?" he asked, following her lead into the bedroom.

Penny stopped as soon as she pressed her thumb on the smart lock, glancing back at him when she heard it click. "Just come."

Zoren shrugged and followed, casting her a look as he stepped aside. As he walked in, Penny closed the door behind them and skipped over to the investigation board.

"Ta-da!" Standing beside it, she extended her arms as if presenting something grand. "Look what I did!"

But instead of looking, Zoren kept his eyes on her pose. At this point, he didn’t need to ask if she’d been drinking. He could tell the moment he saw her. The only question was whether it was accidental or intentional.

"..."

Eventually, he shifted his gaze to the board.

Zoren had seen it before, but hadn’t memorized the details. "What am I looking at?"

"Hubby, just study it for a while," Penny frowned slightly, marching over to him to drag him closer. "Really, just look. I’ll grab us some drinks."

"What kind of drinks?"

"Some drinks," she said with a very suspicious smile. "I’ll be right back."

Zoren watched her retreating figure, tilting his head slightly.

I wonder if I should stop her or just let it be...

Shaking his head, he decided to let his wife be—drunken or not—since he was already with her. She wouldn’t go off without him now. While she rummaged through the fridge for drinks, Zoren studied the investigation board.

"Except for the baby swap, everything seems... rearranged," he whispered.

He might not have memorized it, but he knew the original sequence of events.

"So, her theory is that... Jonathan, in a way, marries his targets?" he murmured again, narrowing his eyes. "And this time, he’s making the Smiths the fall guys..."

Before he could finish the thought, something clicked in his head. Zoren stepped forward, tracing the red threads connecting each major event in their family.

"..." His lips tightened into a thin line as he pulled out his phone.

Ring... ring... ring...

"Master."

"An incident happened today on Highway 45, Resilience Road," Zoren said. "Find out who sent that person and report back to me as soon as possible."

"I will contact you soon."

Before ending the call, Zoren added, "And be careful. It’s going to be dangerous."

"Yes, Master."

Clack.

As soon as the line disconnected, Zoren snapped his gaze back to the board. He carefully tucked his phone away, a growing sense of unease blooming through his chest.

"I’m back~"

Penny’s sweet voice echoed through the room as she walked in with snacks and juice. She smiled when she saw Zoren still staring at the board.

"Did you get it?" she asked, setting the tray on the desk. "Our family might be safe if we just stay out..."

"Penny." Slowly, Zoren turned to her, concern in his eyes.

Seeing his expression, her brows knitted. "Hubby, when you look at me like that, my heart skips two beats. One is because you’re pretty, and the other is because I feel like something bad is about to happen."

"You might be right, all along," he said seriously. "Jonathan might not be our enemy in this lifetime... but he’s not our ally, either."

"What does that mean?"

"Take a look." Zoren turned back to the board. "Everything he’s done so far looks like an attack on something... but if you look closely, it feels like he’s leading something — or someone — into a trap."

He tapped the board where the Information Center was marked. "This is the center of it all."

Penny slowly stepped to his side, scanning the board more carefully. She tilted her head, eyes narrowing.

"Now that you mention it..." she murmured. "Everything leads to the Information Center... as if someone’s making sure that connection is made."

"Something must’ve happened in the past, that his goal seemed to be something else," Zoren added.