"I see." Penny rocked her head, seated on the chair with her legs crossed. "So that’s what’s happening, huh?"
"The Church," Zoren humd, leaning back in his seat. "That doesn’t sound good."
They weren’t directly involved in the Secret Society, but they were aware of the powerful families behind it. The Church was a formidable force—not because of military strength, but because of influence. Its reach ran deeper than any other, and while individual supporters might not stand a chance against a founding family, together, they would be a headache.
"But why would they want to abolish the Secret Society?" Finn wondered, deep in thought. "It doesn’t make sense to ."
Penny nodded. "Given that the other founding families haven’t caught on that they might also be in danger, a lot of this doesn’t make sense."
"If they truly wanted that," Zoren added quietly, "they should’ve made a move when the Order was unstable. They didn’t have to wait until soone took over or until it stabilized."
Atlas listened and nodded. He glanced at his brothers—Slater and Hugo—and they nodded as well. These were the sa questions that had been gnawing at them.
"What about Yuri?" Penny shifted the topic. "Still no leads?"
Atlas shook his head. "The team I sent found sothing, but we’re hoping it eventually leads us to her. There’s no guarantee, though. They should be on the move right now, considering the ti difference."
"Still no word from them?"
"Not yet. But I’m expecting sothing soon."
Another heavy silence settled over them as they processed everything that had been discussed. Atlas had told them everything. On the surface, it might have seed straightforward, but it wasn’t. Too many things didn’t connect.
"Actually, Penny. Zoren." Atlas suddenly looked at the couple, then back at Penny. "Since I don’t rember my first life... how was I back then?"
The trio frowned, so Slater spoke up.
"He’s asking what he did in the past that might’ve made people want him dead," Slater clarified. "I already told him what I know, but it’s barely helpful."
"He was investigating my case," Penny said in a knowing tone. "And because he ca dangerously close, he got into an accident. Zoren rescued him. He fell into a coma, but when he woke up... everyone was dead."
She shrugged. "So he—" She trailed off, finding it unnecessary to continue.
They all knew what followed.
Atlas had taken his own life in their first life.
Penny wasn’t there to witness it—she was already dead by then—but she trusted Zoren’s account. Atlas couldn’t accept everything and eventually ended his life.
"No," Atlas shook his head. "Not that one. Before your arrest."
"First Brother believes the accusation against the company was ant to put him behind bars," Hugo explained. "But because Penny is a busybody, she ended up taking the fall."
Penny frowned. "What are you talking about? I was manipulated into signing that docunt. Did you forget Nathaniel? He befriended in my first life, took advantage of my vulnerability, and manipulated . I treated him like a friend. Now that I rember, I should make him suffer."
Sowhere far away, a certain man enjoying his dinner suddenly shivered for no reason.
"Sure, he encouraged to get First Brother to sign it," she added, "but First Brother wouldn’t even look at . So I signed it, and everything spiraled out of control."
Atlas thought about it, then shifted his gaze to Zoren. "It didn’t cross my mind until now, but even if Penny signed the docunt, how did it never tie back to ?"
"Normally, cases like that eventually trace back to the person running the company," Atlas continued. "So how did Penny take the fall while I got off the hook?"
He knew the company collapsed and that he eventually declared bankruptcy. The Bennet family fell in their previous life, but now that he thought about it, none of it made sense.
Yet sohow, it did during Nathalie’s ti. So, how did it make sense back then and not now?
And why, instead of moving on from their first life, were they suddenly pulled back into it? Everything they believed had been resolved now felt wrong.
"Penny confessed," Finn answered. "She confessed and clarified that you had nothing to do with it."
Zoren nodded. "The police investigated, but you were too clean. They couldn’t pin anything on you."
"Your taxes were paid, your employees had nothing but good things to say, and you stayed away from anything that could’ve tied you to the case," Finn added. "With Penny’s confession, they concluded everything was on her."
"What did Jonathan say about it?" Atlas asked. "You t him, Zoren. He was involved in our family’s downfall. He watched Penny get executed, didn’t he?"
Zoren narrowed his eyes, recalling the past. "I didn’t ask him directly, but I rember Jonathan saying Penny shouldn’t have died—that she shouldn’t have been executed. I did rember I checked the records back then, and he tried to delay her execution."
"But that didn’t happen in this lifeti," he added. "So those records don’t exist anymore."
There were attempts to cripple Global Pri Logistics, but Atlas later joined the Pierson Corporation as Chief Operating Officer. anwhile, Penny bought out a rival company tied to their family business. Without Atlas, Charles, or Penny backing it, the family company nearly collapsed.
Eventually, the Bennet business returned to their hands.
And notably, once Atlas, Charles, and Penny let go of the company, no further attempts were made against it.
"We moved on from this," Finn exhaled deeply, drawing everyone’s attention. "And now we’re back here. But if First Brother believes what happened to Penny in the first life was actually ant for him—and Penny just happened to get caught in it—then we should be looking at this differently."
Brows furrowed as everyone listened.
"We’ve been viewing the first life through the sa lens," Finn continued. "Penny made the most changes. Slater rembered late, so his life stayed mostly the sa, only changing because Penny changed things."
"What I’m saying is, we avoided the worst because of the changes Penny made," Finn said. "But we’re too focused on that to notice what didn’t change."
"Where are you going with this?" Penny asked.
Finn shrugged. "I think the Bennet family was closer together in that lifeti than we ever acknowledged."
Reviews
All reviews (0)