Pampered By My Three Brothers: The Return Of The Neglected Heiress - Chapter 1552

Chapter 1552: This handwriting?

The day went by as usual, and like the past few days, Penny was already leaving hours before her usual time to go home.

As soon as she walked out of her office, Patricia jumped from her seat.

“Penny, are you leaving again?” Patricia asked, stepping in front of her.

Penny arched a brow, studying her. “What if I am?”

“Where are you even going?” Patricia demanded. “You’ve been leaving early these days. And you’re even leaving me!”

Penny blinked, tilting her head slightly. “Patricia, even if I’m not here, the company isn’t going to fall apart. So whatever it is that’s worrying you, stop worrying.”

She then planned to walk past her, but Patricia stepped in front of her again.

“I’m not worried about the company. That’s not going to happen.”

“Oh?”

“You’re Penny!” Patricia declared, clearly not in her right mind. “What I’m worried about is you.”

She pointed at her dramatically. “Penny, I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re being suspicious. Especially when you won’t take me or Teddy with you.”

“Mark’s with me.”

“But he doesn’t care about you.”

Mark, standing behind Penny, frowned.

“As long as you’re alive, he’s fine,” Patricia added in a knowing tone.

Penny and Mark both opened their mouths, but no words came out. Patricia had a point, and Mark couldn’t really deny it. He’d been Penny’s bodyguard since his last real mission under Zoren, and had gotten used to this arrangement with her.

“And when you won’t let anyone else in on your little secret, it’s definitely suspicious.” She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Now, where are you going?”

Mark: I thought she hired an assistant, not a mother?

Penny: This feels like Aunt Jessa all over again.

“Uh.” Penny blinked, catching something out of the corner of her eye. “Oh?”

She slowly turned her head toward a small designer bag placed on the desk beside the computer. “That’s a nice bag.”

“Huh?” Patricia turned to where Penny was looking. The moment her eyes landed on it, her face brightened. “My dad just bought me—hey!”

But by the time she turned around, Penny and Mark had already slipped past her and were halfway down the hallway.

“Penny, I’m serious! Whatever this is, be careful!” Patricia called after them, huffing.

A part of her wanted to chase after them. She could—if she ran, she might catch up. But she didn’t. She sighed and turned back, deciding to get some real work done instead.

“Gosh… what is she even doing?” she grumbled. “A part of me is genuinely worried about her.”

Shaking her head, Patricia dragged herself back to her seat and eyed the bag from her “father.”

“Hehe. I’m going home today and I will give him a good massage,” she giggled, letting go of her previous worries.

After all, as long as Mark was with Penny, the chances of her dying because of her own doing were low.

—

Meanwhile…

“Goodness,” Penny huffed as she jumped into the backseat. “For a second there, I thought she was going to chase after us.”

Mark settled into the driver’s seat and buckled his seatbelt. “She’s a bit too nosy.”

“A bit?”

“…”

“She’s starting to give me trauma,” Penny muttered, leaning back in her seat. Patricia had been spoiling her with food lately, but her energy was a bit much.

“Never mind her,” she waved dismissively, taking off her blazer. “Let’s just go.”

Mark didn’t respond, but he quietly raised the partition to give her privacy to change.

—

When Penny arrived at the laboratory, it was as empty as it had been for the past few days. This was Professor Singh’s lab—separate from the one at the university—and only his team had access to it. But with the professor focused on another project, most of the team had moved to a different building.

Putting on her lab coat, Penny instinctively checked her beard in the mirror before taking a seat.

She sat on the stool and stretched briefly, letting her mind settle. She’d been coming here for days. Surely, there had to be results by now.

“Another day, another trial,” she murmured, clapping her hands and spinning toward the stack of books she’d left behind.

Atop the books sat her notebook. She reached for it to check the formulas she’d already tested. But the moment she opened it, her brows furrowed.

“Huh?” she muttered, flipping to the next page.

Her notes were filled with her usual scribbles—a habit she’d carried over from her past life. There were formulas marked with big Xs indicating failed attempts. That wasn’t what confused her.

What caught her attention were the other formulas. Some she hadn’t even tested were already marked with Xs. On the next page, there were even more—new theories, different combinations.

Penny leaned in. These weren’t random scribbles. They made sense.

And just like hers, half the new entries were marked as failed, as if someone else had tested them already.

Her lips thinned. Quietly, she flipped through more pages, analyzing the handwriting.

She and Dean never got along. They bickered constantly—not in a cute, teasing way, but in a soul-draining, blood-pressure-raising kind of way.

But because they’d spent most of their teen years together, they knew each other too well.

This handwriting?

She didn’t even need to guess.

“Dean,” she whispered, clicking her tongue with a sigh. “As much as I hate it, that jerk is really good at this. He better not rub it on my face or I’ll just poison him.”

Despite her pride, Penny started testing his theories. His notes were more helpful than the dozens of books she’d been reading.

And thus, another night of research, trial and error, for the greater good.

****

[Back to the Prime Group]

Since Patricia usually spends her office hours in her spot outside Penny’s office — as if everyone just mentally agreed to let her be — the only time she checks the department was in the morning, when she leaves, and when Penny needed her colleagues.

Hence, she was not aware of the situation in there until now that she came to check on Hayley.

“What…” she trailed off, catching some delivery packages on the side. “… are those?”

She frowned, facing everyone. “Did you guys go shopping just the three of you!?”

Teddy, Hayley, and Shawn, who had been fighting off the urge to check the rest and turned to her. Studying her expression, they looked more confused than Patricia.

“Patricia, didn’t you get a delivery package today?” Hayley asked out of pure curiosity.

“I did, but it’s from my father.” Patricia shrugged, still frowning at them. “Hayley, how can you do this to me? You said we’re friends!”

Hayley smiled helplessly, casting the other two a look. The men in their department just shook their heads.

How nice it would be to be like Patricia?

“Wait, Patricia.” Curious, Shawn’s brows knitted. “If you also received a package today, how many did you get?”

“Why are you asking about my packages? I got two.”

Her answer confused the other three even more. For them, Patricia was misunderstanding something, but no one bothered to explain the situation because it had been a full day. But even so, that was even stranger.

How could they receive a ton of gifts, and Patricia only got two?