Chapter 690: Smiley

[PRIME GROUP: CEO’S OFFICE]

"Penny." Wild watched Penny from the sofa in her office, seeing her bury her face in her palms. "Penny."

Penny rubbed her hands down her face, taking a deep breath as she snapped her eyes toward Wild. "What, Uncle Wild?"

"Everything’s gonna be okay," he said, rocking his head. "Everything’s gonna be okay."

"I know." She nodded, sighing for the umpteenth time as she leaned back. "I know that, Uncle Wild."

"Then why do you look like the entire world is about to crumble down?"

Penny didn’t answer right away, tapping her fingertips on the surface of her desk. "Because I can’t help but think that even though everything’s gonna be okay in the end, I’m scared of how much it will cost."

"..."

"Finn got into an accident, and now Allen," she continued under her breath, casting her eyes downward. "Uncle, do you think it’s the same person?"

Slowly, Penny lifted her eyes to meet Wild’s. "Or is it just a coincidence?"

"I hope it’s a coincidence," Wild replied, rocking his head. "But I think we both know it’s better if these two accidents are connected. Because if they’re not, it means we have something else to worry about."

Silence followed Wild’s remarks. They both knew what he said was true. Whoever was behind this was smart, cunning, and...

"Powerful," she whispered, making Wild raise an eyebrow. ’Just like how they were able to blame the innocent me, they’re doing the same to Allen.’

"Penny." Wild tried to get her attention again, aware that she was becoming overwhelmed. Penny was an amazing individual, but she was only human. There were times she got overwhelmed, and whenever that happened, Wild or Haines—whoever was present—would step in to help her regain focus.

When Penny looked back at him, Wild cleared his throat. "No one is above the law, Penny. Coming from an ex-con like me, no matter how powerful someone thinks they are, thinking they can bend the law, they’re wrong."

"People might use the law against you, but at the end of the day, there are good people who uphold it," he added, as if reminding her of a simple truth. "It’s true that some are more crooked than a scoliosis spine, but there are still good people out there. Everyone’s not the same—remember that."

"Isn’t that the reason Prime Group was formed in the first place?" he tilted his head, lifting his brows meaningfully. "Finn Davis—although I’m not sure why he got tangled in all this—wouldn’t have survived that crash without the immediate action of your men. As for your brother’s assistant... you might not have been there to protect him but trust your brother. He’ll protect him."

Penny pressed her lips into a thin line, holding Wild’s gaze before nodding. It was rare for Wild to be this serious, as he was usually grumpy, moody, and unreasonable. But when Penny needed it, he always stepped up, reminding her of the things the situation often clouded.

"Thank you, Uncle Wild." Penny smiled, letting out a deep breath, releasing the tension in her heart. "Thank you. I really appreciate it."

"You’re welcome." Wild smiled back. "So? What do we have at the moment?"

"Finn is still unconscious. His body went into shock last night, so they’re keeping him sedated until it’s safe," she explained, summarizing the situation. "As for Allen, they’re still investigating, but it doesn’t look good for him."

"I see."

"Even if First Brother doesn’t want to believe it, I’m sure the board will pressure Atlas to press charges against Allen," Penny added, leaning back and resting her head against the swivel chair. But unlike earlier, she seemed more relaxed, gazing up at the ceiling.

’I wonder...’ she thought, comparing Allen’s current situation to her own past. ’Back then, aside from my confession, the evidence they found all pointed to me. It’s the same with Allen.’

"If this is connected to Finn’s accident, then..." She paused, pressing her lips into a thin line, closing her eyes as the memory of her own execution flashed through her mind.

The image of the man standing in the viewing room, looking back at her.

"So, what’s our plan now?" Wild asked, tapping his hands on the armrest. "What’s your next move, Penelope?"

Slowly, Penny opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. She didn’t answer right away, keeping silent until a smirk formed on her lips.

"We wait."

Wild furrowed his brows. "Wait? Just wait?"

"Mhm."

"What are we waiting for?"

Penny peeled her gaze from the ceiling, facing Wild squarely. Her smirk turned into a confident smile, her eyes clearer as though all her previous worries had disappeared.

"For my husband’s call."

Wild arched a brow, squinting his eyes suspiciously.

******

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the world...

"A data breach! Someone’s trying to get into our system—sir!" A man panicked as the monitors in front of him started glitching. His fingers flew across the keyboard, trying to fend off the cyberattack.

The rest of the crew spoke hurriedly, working together to fight back. "They’re going to steal our data."

"I’m holding them off..."

"Ah, shit... bury everything."

They spoke in rapid succession as if playing a high-stakes game on their computers. But they all knew this was far from a game—it was a life-and-death situation.

"Don’t let them take anything!"

"The drive! The flash drive! Take it out!"

"There’s no time!"

"I’ll get it!" One of them quickly jumped from his seat, yanking out the flash drive they had been analyzing. As soon as he pulled it out, everyone stopped typing.

"Damn..." the man muttered, heaving a sigh of relief as he glanced at his team. But something felt off. They weren’t moving—they were staring blankly at their monitors.

Turning back to his own screen, the man staggered backward when he saw the display.

It was an image of a glitching smiley face, almost as if it were laughing, before one of the power sockets sparked and exploded, destroying the computers connected to it.