Pampered By My Three Brothers: The Return Of The Neglected Heiress - Chapter 453

Chapter 453: Mystery solved…?
“Penny, can I see your marriage license?”

Six words were all it took for Penny to know she was in deep trouble. Her nervous smile faltered, and after a heartbeat, she bolted to run away. But alas…

Atlas smirked, having anticipated this. He tightened his grip on the back of her collar, nearly choking her in the process.

Penny skidded, her feet moving forward while the upper part of her body was being left behind. “Ack!”

He pulled her back while taking a step forward, tilting his head slightly to the side, his eyes fixed on her. The proud look on his face was evident. After many times she snuck away right before his eyes, he would be a fool to not have anticipated one or ten things she would do.

“Can I?” he asked politely, smiling from ear to ear until his eyes looked like they were nearly slits.

Penny smiled helplessly at him.

—

Meanwhile, Zoren, seated in the backseat of the car, turned to the window.

“Sir, should we go?” Angel asked from the front passenger seat, glancing back at Zoren. “Miss Penny is still inside. She followed us.”

Zoren smiled. “I know,” he chuckled, amused that Penny’s own best man was giving her away. But then again, right now, Angel’s boss and priority was Zoren and not Penny. It was part of their code and contract. “Atlas Bennet caught her.”

Zoren couldn’t help but laugh as he thought about how they discovered Penny. It wasn’t because they saw her at the restaurant. No, it was far more amusing than that. They found her out because when Zoren told Atlas that he had left Penny at his place, Atlas had confidently replied that Penny wouldn’t stay home.

She was never the type to wait. Her patience was nonexistent.

With that in mind, Atlas had looked around the establishment and quickly spotted the suspicious individuals lurking around. Zoren didn’t catch Atlas’s reaction, but he was certain his brother-in-law was proud of his deduction.

“She’s with her brother Atlas now,” Zoren said, peeling his eyes away from the window. “Let’s head home. I’ve got to do some unfinished business today.”

“Yes, sir,” Angel nodded and signaled the driver to go.

With that, they drove away from the restaurant and headed back to Skyline Plaza.

—

When Zoren arrived home, he immediately called for Mark to meet him in his study. He had already given orders the previous night, before carrying Penny to bed. Thankfully, he had done so in advance, as there would’ve been no time or leisure afterward.

“So, everything checks out?” Zoren asked, raising an eyebrow as he sat casually on the couch, one leg crossed over the other. He held a piece of paper in his hand, which had been processed through the system, and was reviewing it through his earplug.

Mark nodded. “Yes. I double-checked with our reliable contacts. The marriage is real, but only stand-ins attended.”

Since a drunken Penny had already explained what happened, Zoren just needed confirmation. According to her, the marriage agreement was made days before the official date. All they had to do was trace those days to see if everything added up.

And, surprisingly, it did.

In other words, it explained how Penny had been busy at her office and Zoren had been at the hospital on the day of their marriage. Their official marriage date was simply the culmination of a deal made days prior.

At the time, Zoren had been out of the country, poisoned, and later transferred to Anteca. It explained why he was in the country on their wedding day.

“Mystery solved,” Zoren chuckled. “How silly. All this time, I assumed it was an enemy of mine planning to drag her into their schemes.”

In addition to his issues with the Pierson family, Zoren had plenty of other adversaries as head of the Phantom Circle. When he overheard Patricia and Nathaniel’s conversation mentioning Penny, he immediately thought she was being watched.

Who would’ve thought the mystery behind their marriage was simply the result of Penny being drunk and Zoren being drugged?

He shook his head, smiling. “How silly, indeed,” though he didn’t hate it. In fact, it made him feel relieved.

Noticing the look on Zoren’s face, Mark lowered his gaze and placed a flash drive on the coffee table. “Sir, aside from tracking the days before the marriage, I also took the liberty of looking into Miss Penny.”

“And why would you do that?”

“While investigating how she managed to infiltrate your security, I noticed she was on the run at the time,” Mark explained. “I called our intel to gather more information about her pursuers that night. Confirming their identities was easy—they were high-profile gang members.”

“Oh?” Zoren raised his brows, his interest piqued.

“From what I gathered, she made a bet with a few gang members and won. That’s why they were after her. But after further investigation, I found out that the gang had already received an anonymous order to… get her. They’re the one who approached her first and lured her into a bet.”

In other words, the gang wasn’t just after Penny to recover their money. She had been their target all along. They simply hadn’t expected her to be so fierce and ruthless.

Hearing this, Zoren’s brows furrowed, and his expression darkened. “An anonymous request?”

“The gang was known for doing dirty work for others.”

“Did you find out who made such an audacious request?”

“We’ve been tracking them,” Mark replied solemnly, “but I don’t think we’ll ever find out who it was.”

“And why is that?”

“Because last night, when I had them looked up, they were found dead this morning.” A glint flickered in Mark’s eyes. “Our men confirmed their bodies.”

A heavy silence fell between them as Zoren lowered his gaze, squinting his eyes. The aura around him darkened, becoming almost oppressive. Despite his silence, one could only hope he stayed that way. Otherwise, his next order might guarantee someone’s downfall.

“Call Dr. Tan for me,” Zoren ordered quietly. “I need my eyes back.”

“And about Miss Penny?”

Zoren snapped his eyes up and spoke with emphasis. “Book me an appointment with Mr. Charles Bennet and Atlas Bennet.”