Chapter 1700: Hypnosis

[BACK IN SKYLINE PLAZA]

Finn stood before the wall, studying it in silence. Penny and Zoren had already left—Penny was going to try hypnosis. She had never done it before, but she had studied it out of morbid curiosity.

So, Finn was here to analyze everything with fresh eyes.

"..." He walked to another area, tracing a particular detail about the Smith Family.

Finn paused, eyes on the little photo of Cassandra.

"Even if I’m disappointed in her, this is still too cruel," he whispered, pressing his mouth into a thin line as he studied it, refusing to let his emotions take over.

Deep lines appeared between his brows as he tilted his head. His eyes darted between scattered details that weren’t yet connected. After all, based on the vault photos, the road map was originally disorganized—at least compared to how Penny had tried to arrange them.

"Wait a second," he muttered, taking out a pin and moving the photo next to the Smith Family tree. He then stepped back to take a better look at it.

Silence filled the study room as Finn stared at the wall.

"No," he whispered, shaking his head slightly. "Don’t tell me he specifically chose the Smith Family because... of me?"

Because Cassandra had been Finn’s wife in his previous life—and Finn had betrayed Jonathan. So, in his twisted logic, Jonathan chose to use Cassandra as the scapegoat to divert enemy attention from the Bennets. While the hit on Nina might have been for a different reason, the result was just as twisted.

Using his ex-wife as a sacrifice for revenge against Finn’s betrayal, and ending Nina at the same time. Surely, Jonathan had planned for Finn to wish he had died in that accident.

Finn’s hand balled into a tight fist.

"He may not be Penny’s enemy in this lifetime," he whispered, "but he’s definitely mine."

His heart swelled with rage, his breathing constricted. He closed his eyes and tried to contain the turmoil, shaking his head.

"Don’t get too emotional now," he reminded himself. "This is the least I could do."

Penny and Zoren were attempting to unlock the latter’s memories. Whether it would succeed or not didn’t matter. What mattered was that they were trying. So Finn would continue analyzing until the Bennet brothers arrived.

When he opened his eyes again, a glint of determination flickered in them.

He cleared his throat and shifted his attention to the rest. With so much information and so little time to organize it coherently, Finn walked back to the desk and picked up a note and pen.

Then he returned to the wall and began jotting down what he could piece together from this grand scheme Jonathan had been plotting.

---

Some time later...

Dean looked up at the window, exhaustion etched across his face. The travel time had been longer due to several reroutes, just in case. But it wasn’t the travel that drained him—it was the silence that amplified everything.

The silence of the three Bennet brothers was followed by the crash of adrenaline leaving his system.

It reminded him of what had just happened tonight.

A night where he had only planned to check if Jonathan was alive—maybe whisper in his ear and tell him to just give up. But it turned out that more didn’t always mean better.

As he lifted his eyes, he spotted the gates of Zoren’s home. Dean wanted to heave a sigh of relief—this meant they’d all made it back alive. But he couldn’t bring himself to feel anything. If anything, he felt... numb.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to rest. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t.

So much for what he’d thought would be cheap thrills.

Soon, the vehicle pulled up in front of the familiar residence. Yet none of them moved from their seats.

"What?" Dean asked, his voice heavy with exhaustion. He looked at Atlas beside him, then at Slater and Hugo. "Why aren’t you going out? Is there— is there a problem inside?"

Atlas cast him a side glance, but instead of answering, he simply opened the door on his side and stepped out.

"Nothing’s wrong," said Hugo, looking back at him. "I was just praying—thanking heaven that we made it home safe."

"For now," Slater added as he stepped out.

Hugo smiled and nodded. "Like he said. For now."

And just like that, Hugo hopped out like nothing was wrong. Like all of this was normal. Maybe, considering he was a soldier, this kind of chaos didn’t rattle him.

But then—

"How come Atlas—I mean, Slater Bennet—is taking this better than I am?" Dean muttered in disbelief, watching the brothers talk near the steps for a while before Atlas and Slater headed into the residence.

Hugo, on the other hand, was speaking with their escorts. According to them, they were Penny’s men—sent to accompany them. But they weren’t officially bodyguards of the Prime Group.

"Tsk." Dean clicked his tongue, reluctantly stepping out. "Of all the places we could be... why this place?"

Not that he didn’t understand—he just didn’t want to see Zoren or Penny right now. But he didn’t have much of a choice.

Dean stood outside and dragged his feet toward the residence. On the way, Hugo caught up and walked beside him. Dean gave him a tired look, but Hugo maintained his usual friendly smile.

"Surely, you’re the friendliest Bennet... which is also the strangest," Dean muttered under his breath as they approached the house.

When Dean and Hugo reached the entryway, Atlas and Slater were no longer there. Angel, who was in the lobby, told them to head straight to the study. So they did. But when they arrived, they found only Atlas, Slater, Finn, and the wall covered in documents and evidence gathered from the vault.

"Uhh..." Hugo blinked, scanning the room. "Where’s Penny and Zoren?"

His question prompted Atlas and Slater to exchange a look before turning their eyes to Finn.

Finn kept his mouth drawn into a thin line.

---

At the same time, in the master bedroom of the residence...

Penny sat in a chair while Zoren lay on the bed. She quietly watched him, his hand clutching the sheets tightly as beads of sweat began forming on his forehead.

"Can you see it?" she asked, her voice careful and controlled.

Zoren’s brows were furrowed tight as he turned his head and whispered, "...yes."