According to Ashley, refusing the offers she received right after the accident had its downsides. Aside from the lack of support from the family, she wasn’t being treated well. The yearly invitations she received for the family gatherings were their way of "punishing" her.
"It was a light punishnt, considering I refused their offers," Ashley had told Penny while recounting her story. "So, even though I don’t want to be in the sa space as them, I felt it was better to assist Aunt Mildred’s cause."
Mildred was the only one in the family who had supported Ashley all these years. Although not all of it was financial help, Ashley felt grateful for Mildred. Fortunately, Ashley was receiving support from her husband’s insurance, which had been covering his dical care and dications. However, due to the high cost of her husband’s dical needs, Ashley had to cut down on other expenses.
This explained the lack of maids in the beautiful mansion Ashley was maintaining all by herself.
"Are you alright, Miss Penny?" Rowin, one of Penny’s bodyguards, glanced at the rearview mirror to check on her. "You’ve been quiet since leaving Mrs. Ashley’s ho."
Penny let out a hum, her eyes fixed on the side window. "I just have a lot to think about, so be quiet. Otherwise, I’d wring Angel’s neck for sending you here to cover for my sick driver."
"Aight." Rowin zipped his mouth, shrugging at Mark, who was seated in the front passenger seat.
Mark glanced behind at Penny. "Miss Penny, do you want to stop by anywhere else?"
"No, keep going," Penny whispered. "I need to be at the office."
"Alright."
With that, the bodyguards in the car didn’t disturb her any further. However, they couldn’t help but try to assess her mood amidst the thick silence she contributed to the inbound breeze. It wasn’t that Penny was usually jovial during her travels; she was mostly quiet or busy reading. Sotis, she would take a short nap.
Even so, they could sense sothing unusual in her silence.
Little did they know, Penny was deep in thought about the Pierson family.
Penny had long known how ruthless the Pierson family could be with each other. If they were strict with those outside the family, they were even stricter with their own. Seeing the family through the perspective of those with little or no power revealed a different side of them.
For example, Harper was a proud heiress, treated like a princess before marriage. But right after her marriage, she was begging Ashley just to make connections—sothing Penny believed was part of what Harper’s husband wanted. After all, it seed that since Penny spent ti in the kitchen, so of them expected those who worked alongside her there to have gained so connection with her.
Amir might co from a good family, one that treated him like their golden boy, but he had to suck up to the Piersons without his family’s knowledge. As for Noah, if Penny rembered correctly, he was a fierce lawyer—she thought Grace had ntioned him to her once.
’But they’re all different from the reports I read in the past,’she thought. ’That’s why I was a bit surprised when I found out they were the sa people.’
Noah wasn’t as fierce as she had imagined, but rather a depressed man who walked on eggshells. Amir had humbled himself, accepting that he was not in a position to make decisions. And then there was Harper.
’I thought I had plenty of surprises already, but I guess I was wrong,’Penny’s train of thought continued, thinking of Ashley. ’I didn’t know she was going through such a tough ti and had been carrying this burden for years.’
Surely, one couldn’t judge others so easily.
"Yugi is wrong," she whispered. "Not all the Piersons are rich."
The Pierson family surely destroyed people’s confidence, and if one didn’t have a strong ntality, it could completely ruin them. This only showed that Harper, Amir, Noah, and Ashley were ntally strong people to survive and accept this reality.
Penny tapped her fingertip on her lap, deep in thought. "Mark," she called.
"Yes?"
Without looking away from the window, she asked in a quiet, solemn voice, "Do you know that Ashley’s husband was in an accident?"
"Yes."
"Does Renren know?"
"Of course."
"Then..." Penny paused, hesitating to ask this question because she wanted to be sincere with Ashley. She had told Ashley that she hadn’t asked around or done a background check on her to show sincerity. But she was curious—and a little... concerned.
After taking a deep breath, she asked, "Is her husband’s accident really an accident?"
"Yes." Mark nodded, watching Penny slowly look in his direction. "When the master heard about the accident, he sent to investigate. After all, her husband had just earned his father’s shares and was quickly rising in power with his business deals. He was showing signs of being a threat to so people and had been openly supporting the head of the family."
"And?"
"It’s a freak accident," Mark reported with certainty. "We double-checked everything—from the engine to the driver’s toxicity levels, and the other driver’s toxicity screen. I had to keep an eye on it just in case, and it’s one of the investigations I’ve focused on. There’s no foul play."
"..." Penny studied Mark’s face before she sighed, unsure whether she was relieved or felt defeated hearing all of that. She wasn’t even sure what kind of answer she had hoped for. "Is that so?"
Mark watched her glance out the window again, sighing. "It was an unfortunate event, and the master did everything he could to help. However, all he could do was provide financial aid."
"Financial aid?"
"Her husband didn’t have any insurance payout. Even if there was, it’s too small to cover his dical expenses," Mark clarified. "The master had to help in this way to avoid drawing attention from anyone who might be interested in the situation."
Penny stared at Mark in slight surprise before she smiled, her eyes softening as she appreciated her husband.
"Renren really knows how to touch my heart."
Mark and Rowin, however, jolted a little as they didn’t expect such a sweet remark in return. Although it wasn’t directed at them, they knew the house would be full of dog food later.
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