Chapter 1643: Mint’s jabs

"By the way, Mint, I have some herbal teas that you should—"

Benjamin returned to where he’d left Mint answering her phone call, but as he walked in, she was already gone.

"..."

He closed his eyes and sighed helplessly. "I just told her—okay, calm down, Benjamin, calm your heart—THAT DAMN WOMAN!"

When he snapped his eyes open, they burned with fury. The snack he was holding crumpled under his grip, his shoulders trembling.

He shrieked, "Next time, I’m cuffing her in place!"

---

[Skyline Plaza: Zoren’s]

Penny, Atlas, Slater, Hugo, and now Mint had gathered in Zoren’s study to discuss what needed to be discussed.

Silence filled the room until Penny’s dry voice broke through.

"What?" she asked at the same time Hugo blurted, "What?"

Mint furrowed her brows, glancing between Atlas and Slater. "What?"

Atlas let out a heavy sigh, while Slater was still trying to wrap his head around it. They’d already gone through the "What" phase—but despite that, all they had was mystery and no real answers.

"So... you’re saying..." Mint hummed, turning her attention to Penny. "Penny and Zoren might be cousins—and I get my chance soon?"

"No way!" Penny gasped, clutching a hand over her chest. "Mint, you better shut up before I kick you right in the gut!"

"Nice try, Mint," Hugo chuckled, nodding approvingly, while Mint simply shrugged.

"That’s not the point," Atlas cut in seriously, unbothered by the banter. "If what Slater and Mint are saying is true—that this woman isn’t the same person in their database—there are only a few explanations for that."

"Either Dad, Uncle Haines, or even Old Mrs. Pierson are mistaken, or..." Atlas trailed off.

"...Or we’ve had the wrong file all along," Slater picked up, his tone grim. "Either it was deliberately planted to mislead the investigation, or it was just a mishandling of the evidence."

"And I doubt it’s the latter," Hugo added, nodding in agreement.

The atmosphere in the study grew heavy. All five of them exchanged tense looks, their faces clouded with unease.

It was too much of a coincidence for Charles, Haines, and even Old Mrs. Pierson to all recognize the same person. Not only that—Penny herself had seen the paintings of the late Enzo Pierson.

She could vouch that the portrait matched the face in those paintings exactly. After all, this wasn’t the first time Penny had seen the photo; Slater had shown it to her before in the penthouse. But back then, they’d come up with a different theory—certainly not this kind of theory.

"It’s either she has a twin... or a doppelgänger," Penny whispered, her voice quiet and serious. "...Or it’s the same Naylani Pierson."

"Where’s Zoren?" Mint asked. "I think we need his thoughts on this. Obviously, this concerns his mother. He may hate her with all his heart, but I think he should be here for this."

Her brows lifted when no one answered her. "What?"

"Zoren’s not here," Hugo explained with a sigh. "He went out."

"Out? At this hour?" Mint frowned. "Don’t tell me he’s having a secret affair and snuck out thinking Penny was already fast asleep?"

Thankfully, with the weight of everything going on, Mint’s casual attempt to knock Zoren’s standing in Penny’s heart was completely ignored.

"He looked into a case I didn’t want him to see..." Penny trailed off, worry flickering in her eyes. "And... he went to settle things."

Deep lines formed on Mint’s forehead, while a spark of intrigue lit up Atlas’s eyes. Slater, however, stayed quiet—he already had a good idea which case it was.

"I want to see this case too," Hugo chimed in, raising a hand. "Just a peek."

"I second that," Atlas agreed.

"I advise against it," Slater interrupted quickly, drawing everyone’s attention. "We’ve got bigger problems right now, and whatever Zoren’s handling... he’s Zoren. He’ll be fine."

He cast Penny a reassuring glance. It was a thin reassurance—but enough to steady her nerves for the moment.

"We’re not going to figure this out on our own," Mint brought the focus back. "But if the photo in our database really is a fake—and for all the worst reasons—then it makes sense why this case has been dragging on for so long."

There were plenty of cold cases out there, but Mint didn’t think this case should have been one of them. The syndicate behind it was big enough to warrant Homeland Security’s full attention. And yet, after all this time, no big names had been uncovered—only small-time members and disposable foot soldiers, most of whom either kept their mouths shut... or died in their cells.

And for some reason, their eyes were constantly turning toward Anteca.

"At this point, we need to sit Uncle Haines and Dad down," Hugo suggested, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "Even if they think they’ve already closed that Chapter, this could open up a lead we didn’t know we needed."

The others nodded, but with how late it was, that would have to wait until morning.

"Oh, and I probably should’ve mentioned this earlier," Hugo added, his tone dropping into something more serious. "Cassandra Smith is here. And for some reason, she and her friend are being targeted. I don’t think they know anything, but the fact that someone’s after them might be a clue."

"Second Brother, we still haven’t confirmed if the people following them are connected to the same group—or just some random haters," Penny reminded him.

"True," Hugo admitted, "but it does sound like history repeating itself, doesn’t it? Just like with your case."

Atlas and Slater both turned to Penny while she held Hugo’s gaze. They hadn’t spoken it aloud, but it did feel disturbingly familiar—like Penny’s case playing out all over again, only with someone else this time.

Mint, meanwhile, looked between the siblings, her head tilting in confusion. "What case? Is Penny getting sued or something?"

Her question snapped the Bennet siblings back to the present. Slowly, they turned their attention toward Mint, collectively realizing one thing.

Mint had no idea about Penny’s rebirth.

And even if they told her, there was no way she’d believe it. Not that they had any plans to tell her, anyway.

"No," Penny said dryly, "but I might be."

She took a breath, her voice quiet but steady. "Nina’s mom... she’s here."