Pampered By My Three Brothers: The Return Of The Neglected Heiress - Chapter 1260

Chapter 1260: Mint was right
[Prime Group]

“What is it, Second Brother?”

As soon as Penny opened the door to her office, she stopped and looked around. “Where is he?”

A frown formed on her face as she stepped back, glancing around for anyone she could ask about Hugo’s whereabouts. He had told her to meet him here, yet he was nowhere to be found. Seeing that most of the employees on the floor had already gone home, Penny pulled out her phone to call him.

“Second Brother, where are you?” she asked. “I’m already here.”

She listened to the other end of the line before her frown deepened. Slowly, she gazed upward.

It was no secret that Penny had a private suite on top of the Prime Group building. Her initial plan had been to live there so she wouldn’t have to stay at her parents’ home. However, due to her “accidental” marriage, plans had drastically changed. In the end, she never moved into the room she had prepared for herself, just above her office.

Standing in front of what was originally meant to be her home, Penny shrugged and stepped inside. Her eyes immediately scanned the space in search of Hugo. The first thing she noticed was a box of pizza on the coffee table in the living room, while Hugo was lounging lazily on the long couch.

A deep breath escaped Penny as she approached him. “For a moment, I thought something had happened to you since you weren’t in the office,” she said, crossing her arms as she looked down at her brother. “So? What is this about?”

“Wait.” Hugo lifted a finger to his lips, his eyes closing as if in deep thought. “I’m thinking.”

Penny pressed her lips together, one brow arching in curiosity. She remained silent for a moment but eventually lost her patience.

“Second Brother, you’ve been ‘thinking’ for a full minute. I’m afraid you’ll suffer a brain hemorrhage.”

“I think I’ve been having one since yesterday,” he muttered before slowly opening his eyes. “Max is in love with me.”

Penny blinked several times before drawing her head back. “Huh?” Her expression twisted in confusion. “Second Brother, I don’t know what you’ve been on the past few days, but… is this why you called me here?”

“Nope!” Hugo sat up. “I just felt like sharing my thoughts. What I actually called you for is something entirely different.”

Standing up, he picked up the pizza box and grabbed a slice. “Want one?”

“There are only three slices left,” she pointed out. “And I know you’ll stretch that out until tomorrow to stay on budget.”

“Got that right,” he said with a shrug, taking a bite before making his way toward another part of the penthouse. “Anyway, I’ve been thinking about what you and Slater said.”

Hugo stopped at the bedroom door and looked back at her. He chewed his food thoughtfully before giving her a knowing look.

“I still don’t think I abandoned you,” he stressed. “But I’m not the type to dwell on things like Slater or First Brother. So… I did this.”

With that, he opened the door and stepped inside. Penny, on the other hand, couldn’t help but chuckle.

“At least one of them doesn’t make me sad,” she mumbled before following him inside. However, as soon as she stepped in, her smile faded, replaced by a deep furrow of her brows.

Hugo walked over to a large board covered with pinned documents, photos, maps, and red strings connecting them. Penny approached slowly, her eyes scanning the board’s contents.

At the center was a picture of Penny herself. Surrounding it were photos of their parents, her brothers, Zoren, and the Pierson Corporation. Mint’s name was there, though her picture remained blank. Homeland Security was also included.

“Our parents are deceased… Dad spent years paralyzed after an accident before passing away. Mom’s health declined after that and followed soon after. Uncle Haines was alive back then, but according to Slater, he couldn’t do much,” Hugo explained as he studied the board. “Then, First Brother went missing after an accident. No one knew where he was taken or if he was even alive. And Slater—”

Hugo paused, pointing at two blank spaces. “He was taken by an assassin syndicate and trained to kill. He mentioned two people but didn’t name them.”

He continued, “Then there’s Dad’s incident while on duty.” Holding the pizza slice between his teeth, he picked up another pin and stuck it on the board. “This is where it happened—where a young woman died.”

“It’s a summary so we don’t lose track,” Hugo said, casting Penny a glance. “I also read the case file from Mint, plus the information on the underground drug trade and your research about the so-called ‘miracle drug.'”

Hugo blinked a few times. “There’s so much information that doesn’t seem connected. First, the baby swap. Then Dad’s accident. But after thinking about it for too long, I realized we might be focusing on too many things that aren’t important.”

Penny’s lips pressed into a thin line. “What do you mean?”

“All I’m saying is, the baby swap and Dad’s accident happened so long ago,” he explained. “What if those were just distractions? After all, in the first life, those things still happened just like they did in this one.”

Penny fell silent before shifting her gaze back to the board. “Are you saying… those events might have nothing to do with my imprisonment?”

“No, I think there’s a connection, but not as big as what one would expect. Maybe I am wrong, but let’s focus on other things first,” Hugo replied, his gaze still fixed on the board. “My question is—what were you doing as an adult Penny in your previous life?”

He turned to her. “You didn’t have Prime Group back then. You didn’t own this building.”

“I was…” Penny took a step closer and pinned a photo to the board. “…developing this drug.”

She and Hugo took a step back, both staring at the photo she had just placed beside another image labeled “miracle drug.” Penny’s lips parted slightly as she rocked her head.

“Mint was right,” she whispered. “The very existence of the miracle drug… threatens some people’s pockets.”