Pampered By My Three Brothers: The Return Of The Neglected Heiress - Chapter 970

Chapter 970: Tell me… who’s responsible for these tears?
Penny learned many things from Finn. The latter had no reservations about sharing all the information he knew, starting with what kind of person Jonathan was, his broken relationship with the greedy Nina, and his greed.

Finn even shared the information they gathered behind the scenes, sending Atlas some tips to start his own investigation. He told her about what happened to Atlas while investigating and how Zoren saved him in the nick of time.

He also spoke about how they almost reopened the case after gathering enough evidence to appeal her case, how they nearly saved her if only they had acted faster, and everything that led up to Finn’s untimely death. He shared everything without reservation, but only one thing stuck in Penny’s mind.

Zoren.

Zoren Pierson, the man everyone looked up to, and someone who had nothing to do with her. Zoren believed her right after accidentally watching a broadcast of Penny’s pleading.

Just when she thought… just when she believed that even the Heavens weren’t on her side, a complete stranger believed her. Even if it was just her words against the evidence pointing at her, he fought for her. He even married her corpse and continued the fight, even after she had given up.

‘Why?’ she wondered, walking alone on the side of the street. She had already forgotten how she ended up walking and how the day had turned into night, as her mind was filled with a plethora of questions.

After a moment, she stopped under a streetlamp. Keeping her head low, she opened her palms. At the same time, a drop of water fell on her hand. Looking up, she noticed thin drops of rain beginning to fall from the sky.

“What great timing…” she murmured, her eyes gazing up at the starless night sky. “… what timing, indeed.”

“Miss Penny.” Suddenly, Mark’s voice broke through. He rushed to her, holding an umbrella, which he opened to keep her under it. “It’s a little late now, and it’s about to rain. The Master has been calling. He’s probably worried sick.”

Penny slowly gazed up at Mark’s worried face, only to be reminded that he existed as well. On her way back after a long discussion with Finn, she had asked to be dropped off and left alone. This time, however, Mark didn’t listen and followed her from a distance.

“Miss Penny…” Mark called worriedly, studying the indescribable expression on her face. “Let’s go back.”

“I am heading back,” she said as she slowly turned her back on him. “But I want to take a walk.”

Mark took a large step to keep her under the umbrella. “Then, if you’re going to walk…” he trailed off, his hesitation obvious as she looked back at him. “… then keep the umbrella with you.”

Penny didn’t answer him and simply tapped his shoulder. “Great work,” was all she said before resuming her steps, leaving Mark in the same spot without taking the umbrella.

“Miss Penny…” Mark whispered worriedly, watching as Penny slowly walked down the side of the street. His jaw tightened as he gripped the umbrella tighter. “What did Finn tell you to make you… so sad?”

Even though it was Mark’s job to keep her safe, he decided to keep his distance. He closed the umbrella, signaling the people following Penny by car to maintain their distance. Under the light rain, Mark followed her without the umbrella because, if Penny wasn’t using one, how dare he?

The rain started lightly, eventually turning into a heavy downpour. It was just like her feelings. Initially, Penny’s thoughts about what she had learned were light, but the more she thought about it, the heavier her heart felt.

‘Back then, I thought no one fought for me.’ As the thought crossed her mind, a bitter smile twisted her lips. ‘I thought no one believed me. It made me angry… so angry I cursed them every second of my remaining time.’

Her face crumpled as a thin layer of tears coated her eyes. Her tears quickly streamed down her face, blending with the rain kissing her skin.

Penny stopped, resting her hand on her forehead as she muffled her sobs. ‘If I had known that someone believed in me, and that those I thought turned their backs on me tried to fight for me… only to end up in such a miserable and dangerous state… I wouldn’t have wished anyone to believe me.’

If believing in her would cost the people she loved their lives, then she didn’t want that faith anymore. She would have rather had them all walk away from her without looking back—Atlas, Hugo, Slater, and even Zoren.

Atlas got into an accident and was paralyzed from the waist down because he was trying to find a way to investigate his sister’s case. Hugo wasn’t sent to another red zone area as punishment for having a sister like her, but rather, he secretly went against the rules because he wanted to make sure his sister’s charges were real. Then, Slater. According to Finn, Slater went missing around the same time Atlas got into a deadly accident.

People believed Slater had died as well.

All of this was because they tried to fight the curse that had fallen upon her. And while all of this was happening, Penny had been cursing them behind bars, wishing them to die. They did what she wanted, but the consequences were far too severe for her to even fathom.

[Do you know who killed Zoren?]

Whether Jonathan’s taunting was true or not, it wouldn’t be surprising if, somehow—one way or another—Hugo survived the tragedy. Even so, for him to go after Zoren… just what did she do to make all these people die and kill each other?

Penny didn’t know. No matter how much she thought about it, she felt torn.

Sniffling as she quietly cried in the rain, she noticed that the rain had stopped falling on her. Yet, it still splashed on her feet. Slowly, she looked up, only to meet those dark yet soft eyes looking down at her.

Standing before her was Zoren, holding an umbrella over her while part of him slowly got drenched by the rain.

“It seems I’ve been too lenient,” he whispered, reaching out to wipe away a tear with his thumb. “Tell me… who’s responsible for these tears? Who should I hold accountable?”

Penny’s lips quivered as tears blurred her vision, and before she knew it, she jumped into his arms. Her action caused his flimsy hold on his umbrella to loosen, leaving them exposed and vulnerable under the pouring rain.