Pampered By My Three Brothers: The Return Of The Neglected Heiress - Chapter 1153

Chapter 1153: A question with utmost importance
“You… really know Mint. That time in the Homeland Security office, you weren’t there for Miss Penny… or for Mint. Who are you?”

A moment of silence fell on their shoulders as Slater and Benjamin stared at each other in utter silence. Benjamin’s mouth dropped open, his eyes growing wider as his mind put the pieces together. He had a guess, but… it sounded unbelievable.

“Third Brother, are you—”

“Shh!” Slater raised a finger and hushed him, moving his eyes to the closed door. He held his breath and listened to the faint sounds outside. “There’s another guy outside. Get up there. We can’t stay here any longer.”

Having said that, Slater jumped from his spot and rushed to the door. But just after taking three steps, he looked back at Benjamin. The latter didn’t move an inch and was just staring at him with wide eyes.

“Shit,” Slater breathed out through gritted teeth. “What are you still doing? Do you want to die?”

Benjamin snapped out of his trance, his eyes shaking. “What?”

“Get up—” Just before Slater could continue, he heard loud yelling outside.

“Hey! What’s taking you so long?! Get out there now. Let’s go!”

Slater shot Benjamin another look, his breathing controlled yet heavy.

—

Meanwhile, the person left behind for some smoke finished his cigarette. He shot the end of the hallway another glance, flicking his cigarette butt and stepping on it.

“Those bastards…” he clicked his tongue before yelling out loud, “Hey! I said let’s go now! What the hell are you two doing inside?”

The man waited for any movement from the other end of the hallway where Slater and Benjamin were. But alas, the people who had dragged the two hostages didn’t come out. Upset, the man clicked his tongue and approached the room.

“Hey!” he yelled once more. “If I get there, you guys better be prepared for punishment.”

But still, nothing.

When he reached the door, he stood in front of it and huffed. This didn’t please him much; it challenged his dominance and authority.

Reaching out for the knob, another yell escaped his mouth, “Hey, what is taking—” The rest of his words drifted back into his throat as he saw two unconscious bodies on the floor. Despite the natural light from the window, he immediately recognized them.

“Oy, what happened—” Just as he walked in to check on the two, someone came up from behind the door.

THUD!

Benjamin gasped, covering his mouth with both hands. His eyes shook, staring at the body falling to the ground with a loud thud. He didn’t know what happened, but he knew Slater had jumped on the man, followed by a brief struggle. Before any of them knew it, the man was knocked unconscious.

“Third Brother…” came a muffled call from Benjamin, watching Slater slowly look back at him. The second their eyes met, Benjamin flinched. “Please don’t kill me!”

“Tch.” Slater hissed irritably. “I’m not going to kill you — why would I do that?”

He then picked up the rifle from the last person’s body, slung it across his body, and faced Benjamin. He took large steps toward him and placed a hand on Benjamin’s shoulder, making the latter jump and whimper.

“Hey!” Slater yelled. “Look at me!”

Benjamin slowly looked up at him, his face showing unimaginable fear. “Third Brother…”

“I’m not going to kill you, but if you don’t get yourself together, we’ll both die,” Slater hissed, stressing each syllable to make his point clear. “I need you to be clear-headed. These guys are going to kill us for whatever stupid reasons. If you want to die here, then keep acting like that, but I’m not dying here. Do you hear me?”

“…” Benjamin swallowed the whisper down his throat.

“Good! Now, let’s go,” Slater said as he withdrew his hand from Benjamin’s shoulder. But the latter suddenly grabbed his arm to stop him. Looking back at Benjamin, Slater frowned.

“Before we go… I need to hear the truth.”

“Damn it,” Slater cursed under his breath, but seeing the determination in Benjamin’s eyes, he knew he couldn’t just leave him behind. Mint would kill him; if not Mint, then Zoren would.

Benjamin might play a small role in the Bennet family’s lives, but he was a precious friend of Penny. Slater had promised Penny he would protect her. By extension, that meant protecting Zoren. And Zoren’s mind was too unstable — if this “little baby” here died, Zoren might spiral back into whatever hell he had just crawled out.

“I’ll fill you in on the way out,” Slater muttered. “Just — let’s go.”

“Then, one question!” Benjamin panicked, clutching his arm. “Just answer this one question.”

Slater frowned, narrowing his eyes. His lips pressed into a thin line as he guessed what Benjamin was thinking. For a moment, Slater already knew the question.

It was obvious.

Slater had always been the dumbest Bennet — the oblivious one. It was why his family had been trying to protect that “innocence.” Slater would never blame his siblings or even his father for keeping him in the dark. After all, that was what Slater wanted. He acted oblivious to anything because, just like them, he wanted to keep his family unaware of his situation.

It was the reason whenever Atlas would involve him in something serious, Slater would blurt it out to others. If his father told him not to tell something, he would run off his mouth to Allison. They all called it a slip of the tongue, but it was deliberate.

“Just ask!” Slater hissed at Benjamin, his eyes glinting. “But only one because we need to get out of here!”

Benjamin pursed his quivering lips, his grip on Slater’s arm tightening. His heart thudded as if he didn’t want to hear the answer himself. But this question was of utmost importance. Otherwise, he didn’t think he would be able to go with Slater.

“Third Brother, tell me,” Benjamin breathed out, mustering a lifetime of courage to ask, “Are you… are you possessed?! If not, can you prove it by reciting the Lord’s Prayer?”

And that was how Slater and Benjamin left with both of them reciting the Lord’s Prayer, because the other one thought Slater needed exorcism.