Chapter 1732: It’s a pledge

"What’s wrong with the two of you?" Penny leaned over to the front seats of the car, looking at Mark and then at Angel. "You both look like you’re choking on something."

The two of them quietly turned to where she was, giving her a dead look.

She might not have seen it, but a red string was actually strangling them at the moment.

Penny’s face twitched at the sight.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat. "Put on your earplugs. There’s going to be noises you won’t want to hear back here."

As she said that, Penny quickly leaned back, just as the partition was pulled up with a bang and no warning.

"That almost cut my face," she muttered, imagining both Mark and Angel already putting on their earplugs to save themselves from further torture.

She clicked her tongue and shook her head, leaning back toward Zoren.

"You didn’t have to tell them that," Zoren said with a chuckle, only to see her smirk mischievously.

"If I didn’t, they wouldn’t put their earplugs on so quickly."

Another chuckle escaped him. He shook his head and glanced at the front. The partition was already up, and knowing those two, they had definitely blocked their ears by now.

"By the way, Renren, I know you said that Grandma holds the code," she said curiously. "I’m sure you already got it. But still, I’m curious how she got hold of it."

"Well..." Zoren let out a shallow breath, thinking about it.

Earlier, he told everyone he knew where the code was—but he didn’t tell them where. He only said he would be retrieving it.

"I’m also not sure about it, but it seems Naylani left it with Grandma under the guise of a gift," he said. "That’s a story I’ll probably never know, but back then, Naylani gifted Grandma a book."

"A book? Did she slip the code in there?"

Zoren shook his head, holding the book on his lap. "It’s not just that. The book was actually written by her. So there aren’t any copies."

"And the code was in there?" Penny’s eyes fell to the book on his lap, which looked like any other fiction novel.

"Yes. It’s scattered throughout. So even if someone gets hold of it, it would take time to decipher. Unless, of course, you already know about the code and you read the book more than five times."

"Wow..." Penny was in awe. "The more I hear about those sisters’ schemes, the more amazed I am."

Zoren nodded because even he had to admit how clever all three of them were. No wonder the late Mr. Zorken had trouble choosing an heir. All three sisters were highly capable, each possessing traits that would benefit the Zorken Family.

Nathalie was strategic and headstrong.

Naylani had the heart of a ruler.

Noel lacked greed.

"But that’s weird," Penny said, brows furrowing as she thought about it. "If Naylani already had the code, why didn’t she use it?"

She blinked up at Zoren. "Wouldn’t that let her win? I mean, that would’ve silenced Nathalie."

"That... I also don’t know," Zoren sighed. "But it seems she had other priorities back then."

The couple looked at each other, and Penny tilted her head to the side.

"Could it be—"

Zoren shook his head before she could finish. "My theory is that instead of using it, she planned to take the code away from both of them. After all, Noel had the code, but chose not to use it either. Denying it to Nathalie was a harsher punishment. Without the code, the Zorken Family is no different from any other."

"Really?"

"It’s just a theory. But the war between Naylani and Nathalie cost a lot, especially for Naylani. If she grew weary... or vengeful toward the entire Zorken Family, it wouldn’t be surprising if she intended to take that code to her grave," he added. "If no one finds out about it, its existence dies with them."

"Of course, the organization tied to the Zorkens will still exist," he continued. "Even if no Zorken member claims it. But now that both Noel and Naylani are dead... there’s no way Nathalie will ever get it."

They sat in silence for a moment as Penny’s mouth parted.

"So that’s why she’s been setting up all these businesses," she mumbled, and Zoren nodded.

"She’s making up for the loss of the Zorken Family’s power."

According to Zoren, the families in the secret society were already powerful and wealthy. But the question had always been: why was Nathalie wasting all her energy and resources on organized crime and these elaborate schemes?

"And gaining control over a country as huge as Anteca," Zoren clarified, "was probably her way of restoring the Zorken Family’s former glory."

"So all the schemes from your previous life... and this life... all lead to that," Penny murmured.

Her mouth dropped open again.

Now the picture was clear.

They had long suspected that Nathalie wanted control over Anteca—to place a puppet in the president’s seat. But the motivation behind her obsession with control had always been vague.

Now it made sense.

Nathalie had won against her sisters... but she didn’t sit on a stable throne. If anything, Noel and Naylani made sure that throne was thorned—barely anything left for her to rule.

Given how the secret society operated, the other families would waste no time exploiting the Zorken Family’s weakened position. Without their own private army, they were exposed to a lot of threats.

Penny perked up and grabbed his arm. "Holy shit. Renren, I think we can take that woman down with the code."

Zoren smiled at her in response, making her brows knit.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Penny." He breathed out, holding her hand. "Using the code doesn’t just mean controlling a powerful organization. It means becoming the head of the Zorken Family. If I use it, I have to take that position. Otherwise..."

"They’ll kill you?" she finished.

He nodded.

He smacked his lips mildly and added, "The code isn’t just a passcode. It’s a pledge—an ancient agreement between two brothers from a hundred years ago. And whoever breaks the terms of that pledge... permits the others to end him."