[FLASHBACK]
Months ago at Global Pri Logistics...
Penny quietly sat on the long sofa in Atlas’s office while Atlas stood in front of the glass walls. Darkness had spread across the world just like the sky, making the lights out there appear like stars, reflecting the night sky.
The ice in his glass lted, mixing with the rum inside. However, Atlas’s eyes remained fixated on the pier in the distance. Particularly, on the people loading so cargo at this ti of the night.
"You’re telling ... to let Ito Motors off? After everything?" Atlas’s cool voice broke the silence in the office as he glanced over his shoulder. "And let Sven get away with everything? Haven’t I given him and them enough freedom for him to do what he wants, which includes him stealing our docunt?"
Penny caressed the armrest with her fingertip. "Mhm, that’s right."
"Why?"
"Dad ntioned that people were after him."
"He did, but I still don’t understand how you ca to the conclusion that their first target is our company—."
She gazed at her brother’s back. "Do you trust , First Brother?"
"That’s not the issue, but I need to know why." Atlas turned around, his eyes imdiately locking with hers. "That’s the only thing I asked of you. Don’t keep in the dark. If there are people after Dad and their first target is , I need to know."
Atlas paused, sincerity swirling in his eyes. "I appreciate your help, but at the end of the day, I’m still your big brother. Receiving help from my little siblings is fine, but it still hurts my pride when you make feel like I am powerless. Don’t hurt my pride even more. Let protect myself, Penny."
A mont of silence fell between the siblings as their eyes still held each other. Her lips pressed into a thin line, myriads of thoughts swirling in her mind. After a mont, a shallow breath slipped past her lips as she nodded in understanding.
She should’ve known one of these days, Atlas would start asking.
"Because I need them to co together," she answered, but her vague response was insufficient to appease Atlas. "One of these days, soone will co after our family, which we both know is inevitable. If they can’t do what they want through us, they’ll co after the second biggest logistics company out here."
"The Millers aren’t the second biggest — statistically speaking."
"They’re not, but they’ve been in the industry long enough to have built a reputation. A reputation built over decades, big enough to be influential but not so big as to be suspected of anything," Penny explained, making her reasoning sound logical without seeming too far-fetched. She couldn’t just tell her First Brother that in her first life, the Millers rose to power rapidly when the Bennet family fell.
"Considering the territories the Millers control, we can say that aside from us, they hold one or two of the most important piers in Anteca," she continued. "So, it’s better if we get control of all of them. Besides, the Millers and the Bennets were connected one way or another. Even if whoever is coming after Dad brings another company into play, the only one they’re connected to is the Millers."
Silence filled the office as Atlas walked toward her. He sat down across from his sister, placing his glass of rum on the table separating them.
"What are you planning, Penny?" he asked sincerely. "No matter how you explain things in a roundabout way, I understand that you want the Miller company. I get your reason, but how do you plan to get them?"
The side of Penny’s mouth curled up. "Did I tell you that Ito Motors likes ?"
"???" Atlas tilted his head slightly, staring at the cunning smirk on his sister’s face. "Tell ... you’re not going to bury them in debt, are you?"
---
[Present Ti]
The sa smirk she wore that night with Atlas slowly spread across Penny’s face. Letting Sven’s inferiority complex and greed get the better of him was exactly what she wanted. Perhaps Penny was the only one not surprised by Sven’s arrest and what he had done to Allen. Although what happened to Allen was not part of the plan, Sven would still have ended up behind bars, if not for that.
That charity event might have been part of her plan, but how it turned out was even better than she expected. Penny didn’t have to do much besides to lure Mr. Ito into investing and withdrawing his partnership with the Millers, leaving them with no choice but to take out a loan at an exorbitant interest rate because no one else would lend them funds to cover their losses.
’Theo Miller is book smart, but he wasn’t ready for this harsh world of business,’Penny thought, keeping her eyes on the window as she rembered the looks on Theo and Mister Miller’s faces. She slowly touched her chest, wondering why she couldn’t feel the slightest remorse for this.
But then again, why would she?
When the Millers were still in a strong position, they were arrogant and cruel. They wouldn’t bow to anyone and didn’t care who they stepped on to get ahead — Mister Miller, especially. Penny knew this because one of her inmates had been frad by the Millers in the past to avoid an issue that threatened their downfall.
"Oh, well." Penny shrugged, no longer giving it much thought. ’With Theo Miller at the helm, I’m certain that even without doing all this, they were bound to fall. If not, they’d end up at an all-ti low in the future. Unless he has proper guidance.’
"Miss Penelope," Mark’s voice snapped Penny back to the present, making her look toward the driver’s seat. "Mr. Davis has already regained consciousness. I received the report late last night, but with everything that has happened, I’m only relaying the news now."
Penny smiled. "It’s okay. Nina already sent a ssage yesterday. Have you reported this news to Renren?"
"Yes. I told him last night."
"Good." Penny nodded in satisfaction. "Let’s visit him later, after I see Grandma."
"Yes."
With that, silence enveloped the car as they headed to the Pierson Old Residence.
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