Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress novel Chapter 1241

Chapter 1241: You kept them alive

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"No wonder Stephen Bennet surprisingly had a change of heart," Hugo hissed, thinking Stephen Bennet wouldn’t have done what he had if not for Slater interfering. "That old—"

"We can’t blame him," Penny replied, now sitting up with Renny’s head on her lap. "Stephen Bennet might be cruel, but... from what I’ve known about him, he would never do anything to ruin the entire Bennet family."

"He loves it. Even so, the situation is dire for him, and he has no way out," Atlas continued, nodding in understanding. "Slater merely gave him a way out, which is... us."

Slater nodded, his eyes back on Hugo. "Any one of us could have given him the chance. It just happened that I was the one who was there and picked up the bottle of pills in his possession. For him, it was his life and his family over others. And if I were in that same situation, I would choose... you."

Another moment of silence fell on their shoulders as they processed the situation.

"So..." After another moment, Penny’s voice cut through the silence. "How could you not notice the person stalking you back then?"

Slater’s brows rose, juggling his memory for a while before he remembered the stalker who had attacked him months ago. "I knew I was being followed."

"Don’t tell me you took all those innocent photos that you sent me..."

"For evidence," he said. "I wanted to deal with him in the future and use the excuse that he’s stalking me. You’re smart, so I was sure you’d notice them once something happened. But... I didn’t realize you’d notice it sooner."

"..." Penny’s mouth was drawn into a thin line. "I know this is a serious situation, but who the hell are you?! That’s not how my third brother is supposed to think!"

"I know, right?" Hugo rocked his head. "He’s distracting me right now."

"Me too." Zoren nodded in agreement. "It feels like a dream."

Slater frowned. "Stop daydreaming -- It’s still me! I’m always smart!"

"Uh-huh..." Penny and Hugo rocked their heads, briefly raising their brows, showing only their doubts.

"Also, I may be smart, but everything I showed and how I acted is the real me!" Slater added, feeling like he had to protect his comedic relief role here. "Nothing changed!"

"Enough, the three of you." Atlas waved dismissively. "There’s still more we haven’t discussed."

"But First Brother, aren’t you shocked yourself?!" Penny intoned. "It feels like he’s being possessed by another!"

"Say, Slater, can you recite a prayer?" Hugo wondered. "Let’s try to scratch off some other possibilities first."

Slater clenched his teeth, reminded how he just recited a prayer for long minutes not long ago to prove he wasn’t possessed. Was this really that important for everyone?

"What I don’t understand is... why Penny?" Atlas, ignoring his siblings, wondered aloud. "It doesn’t add up. The baby swap, Penny, our family, Dad’s history... and then Mint. For some reason, it sounds a little too random for a connection."

After all, if not for the trip, the Bennets (except Slater) wouldn’t even know about Mint’s existence.

"At least, have someone else know about the situation," said Atlas, his eyes veering to Zoren. "If not us, then your husband."

"She already did," Zoren nodded at him. "I’m keeping an eye on them."

"Good." Hugo heaved a sigh of relief before massaging his head. "Still, this is a lot. First Brother got into an accident and Slater couldn’t find him, I died before I could do anything, our parents... Penny, then Slater."

After a second, Hugo snapped his eyes at Penny. "Thank you."

"Hmm?" Penny tilted her head to the side. "Why the sudden gratitude?"

"Our parents. You kept them alive," this time, Atlas was the one to answer with his classic flat tone. "Although knowing there were others who retained their memories, such as this ally you mentioned, Slater’s stalker... you changed our lives, Penny. Otherwise, I don’t think we would be sitting here together if not for our parents’ guidance. Thank you for that."

Another wave of silence filled the room as they thought about what could’ve happened if their parents had passed early in this lifetime. They were certain they wouldn’t be who they were in their first life, but at the same time, they knew it wouldn’t be the same.

Penny, though hard to admit, had to acknowledge that Charles’s death had affected them. Charles might have been like that, but her brothers looked up to him and respected him the most. Then, Allison fell into depression, and following her husband later numbed all of them.

Although death was inevitable, they still felt orphaned too early. Atlas was forced to become the parent, but he didn’t really know what he was doing. Hugo had to pursue a career his father was against, and in the end, he ended up hating the career he once dreamed of. As for Slater, he was just not prepared because he was still a little boy at heart.

It wouldn’t justify their actions toward their sister, but Penny understood that. After all, she also felt that her already empty heart had become even more barren with their passing.

"Jonathan Pierson knew." After the prolonged silence, Zoren’s calm voice brought them all back from their trance. He watched all of them lift their eyes to him. "Jonathan Russel, now Pierson, is just like Penny and Slater. He knew about the past and present, and he’s still one of the biggest threats at the moment."