Chapter 1577: make or break the situation.

[PRIME GROUP]

Tak... tak... tak...

Penny tapped the end of her pen against the desk rhythmically. Her eyes narrowed as she stared across her office.

Tak... tak... tak...

The tapping continued until it was the only thing she could hear. With the consistent noise in her ears, her mind began to drift. For some reason, she felt everything was closing in — and yet they still hadn’t caught up.

If Nina was part of the discussion later, Penny knew she would have to disclose more information to her as well. The question wasn’t whether Nina would agree, but whether Finn would go along with the plan brewing in Penny’s mind.

Penny, after all, was aware that what she was about to bring up wouldn’t make Finn happy.

"Stephen Bennet still hadn’t received a new name, but I’m sure... It’s only a matter of time," she thought. "Cassandra is already behind bars, just waiting for her trial."

Nina’s mother hadn’t shown up again, and for her to evade both me and even Renren’s men just tells me that the woman is something else.

Her thoughts looped in her mind like a broken record.

But then again, if Mint and Second Brother’s theory were correct, it shouldn’t be surprising. If that woman had been on the run all these years, she must have mastered the art of hiding by now.

Then there was Jonathan Pierson, the woman and child on the island, the woman who was killed during Charles’s time in the military. On top of that, the lethal drug and the Miracle Drug. And Jonathan had almost been killed. The Information Center only added to the list.

It wasn’t like Penny hadn’t noticed the slow connection between everything. She and Zoren had rearranged the investigation board not long ago, but something in her gut told her things weren’t just moving slowly or randomly. If anything, everything was already in motion behind the scenes, and they were moving fast.

Cassandra’s case felt more like an unintentional distraction.

Knock knock.

Penny’s thoughts halted at the faint knock on the door. She snapped her eyes up just as it opened.

Wild stepped in, his expression grim as he raised a folder in his hand. Once the door closed, he made his way quickly to her desk and dropped the folder in front of her.

"I don’t like this," he said, tapping the folder. "I don’t understand why you wanted these files. Haven’t you moved on from it?"

Penny studied his displeased expression, unsurprised. "Uncle Wild, I have moved on from it. But I need them right now."

"Why would you even need them?" His frown deepened. "To remind yourself, this might happen again if you don’t stop doing whatever you’re doing? Penelope, first, it was this orphanage. Then suddenly, that same orphanage is the center of a scandal with the senator’s granddaughter accused of some horrible things."

"She might be guilty, or she might not," he added, eyes burning with seriousness. "But tell me—are you the person behind it?"

Deep lines formed between Penny’s brows, taken aback. "Holy shit."

"What? Am I right?"

"No..." she whispered, realization dawning on her. "I think I just made a mistake."

Wild arched a brow. "What did you do?"

"Uncle Wild, do you really think I’d do something like that?" she shot back, not answering directly. "That I’m the one behind this entire fiasco?"

"Of course not! But even so, I’m worried—" Wild almost bit his tongue mid-sentence as a thought struck him like a bullet. His eyes widened slowly, brows knitting.

His breathing grew heavy. He clenched his teeth, looking at her with restrained rage. "Where did you get that file you asked me to run not long ago?"

"..." Penny pressed her lips together. But they both knew Wild wasn’t really asking for an answer. He already knew.

"Tch!" Wild held his head, staggering back. "Oh, Penelope. This is exactly what I meant when I said I didn’t have a good feeling about this."

"I’ll fix it. It’s not too late."

"You think?" Wild scoffed, nearly glaring at her. But his anger came not from betrayal—it was worry, tangled in frustration. "Who did you order to do it?"

"Mark."

Wild huffed and pressed his temple. "Call him in. Right now."

"..." Penny said nothing, pressing her lips into a thin line. She didn’t challenge him. Not when he was like this. She reached for the telephone connected to the reception, where Patricia was—unsurprisingly—playing solitaire.

She pressed a button and spoke, "Patricia, call Mark to my office. Tell him to just come in."

---

Patricia, who was playing solitaire, raised her brows. She glanced at the telecom where Penny’s voice had come through, then turned toward where Mark was seated.

"You heard her, I know," she said. "She said don’t knock—just go in."

Mark was already standing, ignoring her completely. But just as he neared the reception desk, Patricia perked up.

"Also!" she called, making him stop and glance back. She held up a small flyer with both hands, smiling a little too sweetly. "Can you give this to Penny too? It’s the menu for tomorrow. My mom’s cooking, so I’m taking Penny’s orders."

Her smile stretched wider. "It’s free. Don’t forget to tell her that it’s free. That way, it feels like it tastes better than it should."

Mark looked at her, speechless, conflict written all over his face. At some point, he wasn’t sure if Patricia was an accidental genius.

"Fine," he muttered, taking the flyer. Then, without knocking, he stepped into the office.

Patricia, still smiling, watched him go. Her smile faded a little, though not completely. Tilting her head, she rubbed her chin.

"Something tells me something’s going on," she hummed, her nosy instincts flaring. "I wonder if this has anything to do with Penny’s recent schedule changes?"

She crossed her arms and considered it, then shrugged.

"I guess it’s nothing," she said, not dwelling on it, for now.

Still, her curiosity lingered. And when someone was curious, they were most likely to stumble upon something that could either make or break the situation.