Chapter 306: She... did all of this?
In the residence, Penny jogged down the stairs.
"The kids are already asleep," she announced, eyes falling on where Slater and her husband Zoren were seated. "Why the long face, hmm?"
The two men glanced up at her, then let out shallow breaths. At the same time, the entrance door opened. The trio turned toward it, catching Atlas and his assistant Allen as they walked in.
"First Brother, how is she?" Slater jumped from his seat and rushed to Atlas. "Is she okay?"
"Aside from a few bruises, she’s fine. She’ll be staying somewhere else so as not to worry the kids." Atlas glanced at the second floor.
"They’re already sleeping," Penny remarked. "They were tired today, so they nodded off as soon as they drank their milk."
Atlas let out a shallow breath. "Penny, look after them for a while. Until all her bruises are healed, I’m not letting them see her."
"Don’t mention it."
Atlas was about to go elsewhere when his phone started ringing. He paused, checked the caller, excused himself, and walked away.
Penny, Zoren, and Slater watched his retreating figure. After a second, Penny and Slater looked at each other, then their eyes fell on Allen. He was about to walk away when Penny and Slater suddenly cornered him.
Allen froze, looking to his right where Penny smiled at him adorably. On his left, Slater grinned. Before he knew it, they dragged him to the couch and forced him to sit.
"Is my sister-in-law really okay?" Slater asked without beating around the bush. Penny nodded profusely.
"If she’s really fine, why does he need her to stay elsewhere? How bad is it?"
Allen leaned back, darting his eyes between them. A second later, the room seemed to darken as a figure loomed before him. Looking up, all he saw was Zoren towering over him.
"Is she..." Zoren trailed off as he sat on the coffee table, hands on his knees. His expression was grim as he continued, "...dead?"
Slater and Penny gasped, covering their mouths, eyes wide at Allen. He opened and closed his mouth, rendered speechless. It hadn’t been long since Penny and Zoren came for a short visit, but surely these two never changed.
"No, no!" Allen leaned forward, looking around nervously. "Sir Zoren, I don’t think you should say that aloud. If Sir Atlas heard you..."
"He’s gonna kill you first — ack!" Slater finished, only to get slapped by Penny.
She clicked her tongue. "Don’t jinx my husband. He fought for this life, so he better not die early or I’ll kill him."
Zoren blinked but ignored the banter; he was used to it. "Then is she heavily injured? First Brother looked like he’d set everyone on fire."
"Fortunately, Miss Lola was fine. She held them off... actually, she didn’t need help." Allen scrunched his nose as he thought it over. "She had a few bruises here and there, but aside from that, she’s perfectly fine — too fine."
Slater’s and Penny’s mouths formed O-shapes while Zoren tilted his head.
"What does that mean?" Zoren asked. "Did First Brother’s enemies send a failed assassin, thinking it’d be his first win?"
Allen’s face twitched. What kind of logic is that?
"Actually... we still don’t know if they were sent to threaten him or... if they were Miss Lola’s enemies."
Deep lines appeared on everyone’s faces as they stared at Allen with curiosity. After a second, Penny grabbed him by the nape and leaned in so their faces were almost cheek to cheek.
"Allen, let me see what happened," she said, but her voice sounded more threatening. Her grip tightened; her eyes dilated. "I wanna see them."
Allen lowered his head a bit, but Penny kept moving closer. Slater pressed his side against him and said, "Let me see too!"
Allen mentally groaned, then finally gave in. Knowing these people, they wouldn’t let him go until they got what they wanted. Since he didn’t have any other copies, Allen showed them soft copies of the aftermath.
Penny and Slater moved their faces closer to the phone while Zoren stood behind the couch, leaning over for a better look. If one didn’t know better, they’d think the four were just reading something interesting and not browsing crime-scene photos.
"She... she did all of this?" Slater’s mouth fell open; Penny reacted the same.
"Allen, didn’t you say she’s normal? Does this look normal to you?"
Zoren, still behind the couch, nodded. "How come she didn’t get shot?"
The three on the couch looked up at him. Zoren shrugged innocently, thinking his question made sense. The others weren’t sure whether he wished Lola had at least been shot or fatally injured.
"Now that I think about it..." Allen trailed off, deep in thought. "I guess I misjudged Miss Lola."
All this time, Allen had thought Lola was unlike Atlas or the Bennets. After all, these people might be successful in their own fields — excelled, even — but they had somewhat twisted logic.
Allen nodded, which made the others knit their brows.
"Why are you nodding?" Slater narrowed his eyes. "You’d better tell us now, or we won’t be able to sleep."
Allen smiled. "I just thought that... Miss Lola might fit right in with your family."
"Of course she is — what are you talking about?" Penny returned instantly. "The twins liked her at first sight, and my kids like her too. And I like her as well. And for me to like someone, I have high standards."
"Like feed you?" Slater blurted, earning a nod from his sister.
"Not just feed me, but treat me to quality food."
Allen chuckled. "Don’t worry about Miss Lola. She’s fine. She’s probably asleep or watching a movie as we speak. She just had visible bruises that she didn’t want to show the children. If anything..." His smile faded as he trailed off.
"If anything, what?" Penny and Slater asked in unison. Zoren watched curiously.
"If anything, I’m more worried about Sir Atlas," Allen said with a shallow breath. "He just punished Scarlet despite knowing she probably didn’t mean what happened tonight. Above all, there’s a bigger issue if we look at the big picture."
He paused and gave them all a look. "I couldn’t help but wonder if this was just a coincidence, or if those people knew Miss Lola would be alone tonight in the penthouse."