Chapter 568: Evil. That was who she was!

Without thinking twice, Mark listened to his gut feeling and ran back to the guesthouse. Aside from the work ethic her men told him about, there was one thing Angel had told Mark in all seriousness:

[She’s very sharp. So, don’t lie to her because she’ll know.]

Angel’s words repeated in his mind like a broken record, and when Mark reached the guesthouse, what Angel said proved to be true: Nathaniel wasn’t there anymore.

Standing in front of the bedroom where Nathaniel had been staying, Mark fished his phone out and called one of the men.

"She’s with that guy, Nathaniel," he breathed out, his heart thudding. "Check the CCTVs and see if they snuck out. The rest can keep looking."

"We’re already on it—oh, we found her..." the person on the other end of the line trailed off.

Picking up on the sudden silence, Mark’s expression darkened. "What is it?"

"Uh... Captain?" The person sounded unsure. "They didn’t sneak out, but..."

"But?"

"Uh... I think you need to go there and see for yourself. We’re also not sure what’s going on here," said the person. "They’re near the greenhouse in the garden storage area."

Without waiting for them to finish, Mark ended the call and ran to the location where Penny and Nathaniel were. He wasn’t sure what was happening, but if his men said they were not sure, then it was definitely not good.

****

Meanwhile, the person on the other end of the line bent over. He placed a hand on the desk, checking the CCTV. In one of the footage clips, all they could see was a bit of Nathaniel’s head.

Where Penny and Nathaniel were was a blind spot. If not for Nathaniel’s head bobbing and something moving up in the air, they wouldn’t have known they were there at all.

"What’s going on in there?" asked the man to the person seated in the chair. The latter squinted before he moved his face closer. "Is that... a shovel?"

The two of them exchanged worried glances before they decided to follow Mark just to be sure. For all they knew, Penny might have just had another drink. Or perhaps she hadn’t. But one thing they knew for sure was that Penny knew Nathaniel, and on the night she caused havoc in this place, she had almost killed him.

*****

Words of Penny’s sudden disappearance quickly spread among the guards in the residence. While they searched for her, they also received new information about where she was and who she was with. Thus, everyone ran to the area where she was.

"Miss Pene—" Mark’s jog slowed as he saw a foot swaying, as if her leg were casually resting over the other. For some reason, he approached cautiously. Soon, Penny, seated on one of the garden chairs, came into view.

’She’s fine,’ he thought, sighing in relief for a reason he didn’t understand. Mark relaxed his shoulders and approached her quietly. "Miss Penelope, I was looking..."

Mark trailed off because when he walked closer and passed the little shed that obstructed his view, he saw a pit and Nathaniel in it. The pit was deep; he could only see Nathaniel from the waist up. The rest of Nathaniel’s body was already buried in the pit he was digging.

"You’re here?" Penny smiled at him, snapping Mark out of his surprise.

He looked back at her, only to see her smiling. "Is everything alright, Miss Penny? What’s going on here?"

"Well, as you can see... we’re doing some gardening," Penny explained with a grin.

"Gardening?" Mark repeated, confused. ’This doesn’t look like gardening to me.’

"This guy is digging the ground for the seed," she added, pushing herself up and approaching the pit.

Nathaniel, exhausted from the continuous labor, gazed up at them. His expression was pale, and he was covered in sweat. His hair was already damp, as if he had just taken a shower.

"Miss... I mean, Young Madam?" he called in between deep breaths, barely able to force a smile. "Is this okay now? I think this is getting a little too deep."

"Hmm..." Penny glanced around the pit and smiled. Instead of answering him, she turned to Mark. "Question. Is this six feet now?"

"Huh?" Mark furrowed his brows and approached the pit. He stood on the side and gazed down at it, shaking his head. "No, it’s not."

Penny smiled and faced Nathaniel. "Deeper."

"Young Madam...!" Nathaniel protested. "Just how much deeper do you need? What kind of seed are you planting?"

’I don’t think she is going to plant a seed if the level she needs is six feet,’was what Mark wanted to say, snapping his eyes at Penny and then at the distressed Nathaniel.

"Why does it have to be six feet..." Nathaniel suddenly stopped, his breathing suspended temporarily. He looked up at Penny, his eyes slowly dilating and his mouth falling open.

He had been too focused on pleasing Penny to realize what he was digging for.

It was for him.

The seed... was him.

Nathaniel’s complexion turned ashen as he gasped in horror, watching her lips slowly curl into a devious smirk. Seeing that devilish smile made his heart drop to his stomach.

Evil. That was who she was!

"Isn’t the seed too big for that pit?" she asked playfully, chuckling. "Go and dig deeper until I’m sure I won’t be able to smell you once your body starts to smell."

"Miss Penny!" Nathaniel panicked, trying to crawl his way up. However, just as he jumped and reached the edge of the surface, Penny stepped on his fingers and kicked him back. He fell to the ground, looking up at her with shaky eyes.

"Dig," she repeated, this time emphasizing the word while her eyes glinted malevolently.

Nathaniel whimpered as he dramatically clasped his chest, reaching for the shovel and resuming his digging with reluctance. Meanwhile, Mark watched her stare down at the man coldly before glancing around and catching his men watching this unfold in disbelief.

Mark shook his head. ’That’s right. She’s making him dig his own grave... literally.’

No big deal. Zoren would forgive her.