Chapter 678: Who are?

Penny and Mark were rendered speechless, looking at Zoren with the same disbelief. Meanwhile, Zoren maintained a small smile, as if he was expecting something good tonight.

"Ahem!" Penny cleared her throat and took a step back, withdrawing her arms from Zoren. Her action brought lines between Zoren’s brows.

"Penny?" Zoren called, confused. "Why are you stepping back?"

"Renren, we need to talk."

"Okay." He nodded, keeping quiet for a moment as he assessed her tone. "We’re okay?"

"Yes, of course, we are." Penny smiled reassuringly. "It’s just that I have some questions, and I need to discuss this... with Mark present."

This time, it was Mark who furrowed his brows. He pointed at himself and blurted out, "Me?"

"Yes." Penny turned around, sauntering back to the couch. "Let’s sit down first, and later, we might need Angel’s presence as well."

Upon saying that, Penny turned back to face them. "It’s a topic that I don’t know the outcome of, but I’m hopeful it’ll be in my favor," she uttered before plopping down onto the seat. "Take a seat. It’s going to be a long discussion."

Mark and Zoren gazed at her before they intuitively looked at each other. Mark quickly felt the need to shrug, defending himself against whatever accusation Zoren had in mind.

’I swear I didn’t do anything to upset her today!’ was what he wanted to tell his boss, but Zoren had already joined Penny.

"Mark," Zoren called, casting him a sidelong glance. "Sit."

"Ahem! Yes, sir."

Having said that, Mark joined the couple and stayed quiet. For a moment, Penny didn’t speak while Zoren and Mark remained silent, waiting patiently for what she wanted to discuss.

Penny darted her eyes between the two, taking a deep breath and relaxing her tense shoulders. She pressed her lips into a thin line, her eyes sharpening as she prepared herself.

"Phantom Circle," she breathed out. "Ever heard of it before?"

During the moment of silence, Zoren and Mark thought of all sorts of reasons why Penny wanted to talk to them together. Zoren even considered the possibility that Mark had said something upsetting that made her angry. Mark, on the other hand, also thought the same; he believed Zoren had done or said something to upset her. Now, he was getting dragged into this.

But when they heard the first thing that came out of her mouth, both of them froze. Slowly, Mark and Zoren’s eyes dilated as they held their breaths. When the shock subsided, a sense of panic crawled underneath Mark’s skin as he glanced at Zoren.

’Deny it,’Mark thought, hoping Zoren would deny it. ’Tell her we don’t know anything about it.’

After all, even if Penny was Zoren’s wife, letting her know about the Phantom Circle was too early. Not that they couldn’t trust Penny with it, but it was just too complicated. But alas, despite Mark’s thoughts and prayers, Zoren spoke after a minute.

"Yes," Zoren nodded.

Penny studied Zoren, grasping his short answer. "Then..." she trailed off, narrowing her eyes at her wise husband. "... are you a part of it?"

Mark held his breath and looked down with wide eyes. He clasped his hands together, resting his arms on his legs.

’Please say no,’he prayed nervously. ’Tell her no. Miss Penelope might’ve heard about the Phantom Circle since she’s in the security field and also involved with the flow of information. That also means... she knows the two sides of the group.’

Even if the Phantom Circle was different from other criminal organizations underground, they weren’t completely innocent. As a matter of fact, there wasn’t much of a difference between the Phantom Circle and other groups.

Zoren kept his lips tight until he said, "No."

Mark closed his eyes and heaved a sigh of relief when he heard his boss’s answer. However, his relief was short-lived when Zoren continued speaking.

"I am not a part of the Phantom Circle," Zoren clarified, looking directly at his wife. "I am the Circle, the very person behind it."

For a second, Mark felt like choking on this confession. He kept his wide eyes on the floor, cold sweats forming on his forehead and back for all the obvious reasons.

’Why did he just tell her that? Telling her he’s a part of it is much better than confessing he was the man behind it!’Again, Mark panicked, unable to understand Zoren’s reason for being so honest with his wife. ’Is it because he couldn’t see her expression right now that he thought it was okay?’

Slowly, Mark mustered the courage to lift his gaze and check the look on Penny’s face. As expected, her expression was cold and unchanging, looking at Zoren with a look that was hard to discern.

Was she angry? Shocked? What was going on in her mind?

Myriads of questions surged in Mark’s head while looking at Penny. There were just so many questions, but the one that made the biggest impression on him was:

Was it safe to tell her about this?

Penny kept her gaze on Zoren before she nodded in understanding. "I see," was all she said, shifting her eyes to Mark. When she locked eyes with him, catching the myriad of unspoken words in his gaze, her lips hooked into a smile.

"And you?" she asked. "Are you also a part of it?"

"..." Mark kept his mouth sealed, glancing at Zoren nervously. Catching Zoren’s indifferent glance, he cleared the tension in his throat. "Yes."

"Was everyone in this house... a part of it?" she asked again, using the same tone. "I’m referring to the bodyguards in this house."

"No," Mark answered since she was looking in his direction. "Not all of them are a part of the Circle."

"Who are?"

"The shadow unit." This time, Zoren was the one who answered, making Penny turn in his direction. "The rest simply aren’t fit to join the Circle. It’s too dangerous for them. We keep them since I am always being watched by my family. One or two bodyguards would easily go unnoticed if the majority of my bodyguards were present."

"Meaning they were the diversion... if Mark here has something else to do that isn’t related to the Pierson family affairs?" Penny clarified with a questioning tone, watching Zoren nod his head. "I see."

Zoren and Mark kept their gaze on her, and much to their surprise, instead of maintaining her commanding aura, Penny smiled in relief.

They furrowed their brows, wondering just one word: "Why?"