Chapter 457: Cannon fodders

"Ouch..."

"Penny?" Hugo took a large step forward, grasping her arm as she winced and seemed to lose her balance. "Are you okay?"

Suddenly, the ringing in Penny’s ears stopped. She remained frozen momentarily, ensuring the pain had fully subsided. When it did, she looked up at him.

The worry in Hugo’s eyes was visible, his brows furrowed. "Everything okay?"

"Uh... mhm," she hummed, forcing a brief smile. "I’m okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Mhm." Penny cleared her throat and straightened her posture, facing him squarely. "Second Brother, when did I say that again?"

"Ah, last night."

Penny pressed her lips into a thin line and sighed. "I don’t know why I said those things, but don’t worry. I don’t hate you," she reassured. "It’s probably the alcohol... or that I didn’t recognize you. Anyway, I think I’ll just return to my room and rest. I wasn’t feeling well."

"Oh."

Before Hugo could respond, Penny had already strode back to her room. Watching her leave, deep lines formed between his brows.

"Didn’t recognize me?" he whispered, confused. "But she called my name... or was I mistaken?"

In all honesty, Hugo was certain he hadn’t done anything to earn his sister’s hatred. What bothered him was the look in her eyes last night. It concerned him deeply, prompting him to want to clarify.

Not that he completely believed her without any basis, but from the look she gave him, he knew she was telling the truth.

"This only confuses me even more," he told himself, tilting his head. "It was easier to understand that look in her eyes last night if she hated me."

Hugo pondered over it for a long time until his head began to ache. To avoid a headache in the middle of the day, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind to deal with later.

***

Meanwhile, when Penny reached her room, she closed the door behind her. Her heart raced for unknown reasons, making her feel feverish. She didn’t understand the uneasiness in her chest, but she knew where it came from.

[Stay dead... Hugo.]

Her own voice echoed in her mind, along with a snippet of Hugo’s image standing before her. It was almost like recalling a dream, but a part of her insisted it was no dream. It was a memory—a fragment she didn’t know she had.

"Why... would I say that?" she asked herself, looking around her room. "First Brother didn’t tell me about that..."

She trailed off as another sharp pain struck the side of her head. Penny winced again, touching her temple as more snippets of memories flashed in her mind. They were mostly fragments from last night: Penny driving aimlessly in the city, hiding behind a bush, seeing the unconscious Nathaniel, and bits of last night’s fight.

The memories were brief and fragmented, offering little clarity. All she felt was an intense headache.

"Ugh..." Penny touched her forehead as the pain subsided, realizing her body temperature was higher than usual. "I don’t feel well."

Her body still ached, and her muscles were sore. With her throat starting to heat up, Penny dragged herself onto the bed and collapsed.

"I still feel tired," she muttered, feeling her eyelids grow heavy. "Ahh... I hate having a fever. Had I ever had a fever in this lifetime?"

Slowly, her eyes grew heavy, and before she knew it, she succumbed to sleep.

***

[FLASHBACK]

"What?" Penny stared at the person sitting behind the glass across from her. "What did you say?"

The man seated across from her didn’t react and simply studied the pale, lifeless look in her eyes. Penny stared at him with wide eyes, barely blinking. Unlike before, she was noticeably different.

She still looked haggard and thin, but her eyes were fiercer. If not for the glass between them, he might have expected her to pounce and rip that stern look off his face—literally.

The man remained silent as he picked up a folder from the small steel surface before him. He then slid it over to a small slot where she could retrieve it from the other side of the glass.

"You may read the documents if you’re interested," the man said with the same stern, emotionless tone.

Penny snorted, uninterested in the folder. She kept her sharp eyes on him, propping her arms against the steel surface.

"Hey," she called. "Do you think just because I took the fall for a crime I didn’t commit, I’m a pushover?"

She leaned forward and sneered. "If not for this goddamn glass—" A loud noise echoed between them as she punched the glass with all her might. Blood quickly oozed from her already bruised and wounded knuckles, trickling down the glass.

"You would’ve been knocked cold... probably dead," she drawled, her face inches from the glass. "Who the hell do you think you are to come here and say all of those things?"

Despite her terrifying aura and fearless look, the man was unfazed. His expression remained plain, his gaze steady. He glanced at the blood trickling down the glass before meeting her unblinking eyes again.

"Your brother’s dead," he repeated, his expression unchanged. "I’m not talking about your Second Brother. Hugo Bennet’s reluctance to accept your sentence and his investigation to prove your innocence led him to his death. Now, it was Atlas Bennet who fell trying to clear your name."

The man slowly stood up and buttoned his blazer, continuing. "Many people are suffering, Miss Penelope Bennet. Atlas Bennet’s death won’t be the last, I assure you. So, I hope you’ll reconsider my offer."

"You’ll be out of here once you accept our offer," he added. "Until then, I’ll wait for your answer."

Having said that, the man lowered his head and turned to leave. But just as he took a few steps, he stopped when Penny slammed the glass again.

"Who..." she trailed off, her expression pale and blank. "... killed Atlas Bennet? Who killed him other than me?!"

The man was slightly amused by how she worded her question, glancing over his shoulder. Slowly, he turned around and faced her squarely.

"The answer to your question is too early to give, Miss Penelope," said the man. "However, I can tell you one fact."

He paused momentarily before speaking quietly but clearly. "The Bennet Family... were nothing but cannon fodder caught in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and in the wrong position. I hope this answer is enough for you to reconsider."