Before the storm.

Penny waited in the hotel where she and Brag usually met, feeling frustrated and annoyed.

"What's keeping him this late?" she thought, gritting her teeth.

Just then, Brag entered the room with a cold smile, as if nothing had happened between him and Paverick.

"Are you just going to let that old woman marry me off to Paverick?!" Penny snapped, her anger palpable as she glared at Brag.

"Calm down. I know everything is a mess right now, but I promise I'll fix it soon," Brag said, touching her forehead and bringing his face closer.

"But for now, I need you to meet with Paverick," he added, kissing her forehead.

"You're kidding, right?" Penny asked in disbelief, unable to accept that he would let her meet with Paverick.

"I'm not," Brag said, brushing a strand of her hair aside and tucking it behind her ear.

"This is the best way to get through her defenses. After all, she seems closer to Paverick than we thought," he whispered into Penny's ear, watching her reaction.

Penny felt uneasy with Brag's plan. It seemed too risky, especially with Paverick closeness to Bae. It was a dangerous move, a double-edged sword.

"Alright, but you know Paverick's support is completely out of the question," Penny began cautiously.

"I'm aware," Brag replied with a cold smile, his arrogance showing as he reveled in his perceived superiority over Paverick.

"But who said I'm counting on his support?"

"Just stick to the plan. Besides, you wouldn't want her to slip into the position you've worked so hard to secure, right?" he added, his tone sharp.

A tense silence hung between them before Brag took Penny's hand and kissed it.

"It's all for your good, my dear Penny."

Penny looked at him, uncertain about his sudden shift in plans. Previously, he hadn't wanted her anywhere near Paverick, but now he was pushing her towards him.

As Brag left, Penny's gaze grew cold.

"Though my alliance with him was supposed to be based on mutual interests, I can't shake the feeling that behind this façade of being in love with me, he has some darker intent," she pondered, watching him leave.

"But still, I'll have to follow his orders," she sighed, knowing that she couldn't let Bae take her hard-earned position. Brag's threats, if she disobeyed, weighed heavily on her mind.

Stood in contemplation as she frowned, staring at the night sky, feeling cornered by her current situation.

"Just for a little while longer, Penny," she thought, her rage towards Bae bubbling up inside her.

Her anger boiled as memories of her twelve-year-old self flashed before her—the agony of lying on that bed, poison burning through her body, her screams for relief echoing in the room.

"How could I ever forgive her, after everything that shaped me into who I am now?" she whispered to herself, smiling as her voice filled with bitterness.

"Oh, my beautiful Bae, you'll have to take responsibility for your actions," Penny muttered, her gaze hardening.

She picked up her phone, dialing an unknown number with a cold smile.

"I have a job for you. And it's quite a lovely one," she said, her tone dark with intent.

Penny's smile widened as she envisioned Bae's slow, painful demise, relishing the thought of watching her suffer.

*******

The next day night fell, Bae approached the Frankford household, recalling Paverick's parting words:

"Let me know if they dare harm you," he had said, his tone dark and protective, his face inches from hers.

Snapping back to the present, she couldn't help but find Paverick slightly annoying, yet the idea of him as backup brought a slight smile to her face.

"I guess it's time," she murmured to herself as she entered the mansion like she owned the place.

Her heels clicked sharply against the marble floor, and the maids froze in place, watching her.

"Oh, don't mind me! I'm just here for my mother," Bae announced, her voice dripping with arrogance as she made her way upstairs.

To her surprise, she saw Zanier and his wife, Eva—a woman with striking white hair and golden eyes glaring at her coldly.

"What are you doing here?" Grandma Elaine's icy voice cut through the room as she glared at Bae, halting her progress.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I'm just here to see my mother," Bae replied coolly, brushing past them without hesitation.

Zanier's gaze lingered on her, and she could feel his eyes on her back. Her frown deepened, rage swelling within her. Every time she saw him, her hatred flared, burning so intensely that she could barely stand the sight of him. He disgusted her to the core.

Entering her mother's room, Bae immediately noticed a maid tending to her. Her mood, already ruined from encountering Zanier, only worsened.

"Out! I need to speak with my mom!" she commanded coldly, her voice sharp with anger.

The maid, visibly shocked and frightened, hurriedly complied and rushed out under Bae's icy glare.

Bae's tone softened as she turned toward her mother. "Mom, I'm sorry I haven't been here since the last time. Penny doesn't think I'm worthy of being here," she said, trying to mask her bitterness.

Her mother's eyes softened as she gestured for Bae to come closer for a hug. Bae embraced her, but the familiar feeling of sadness was quickly overtaken by the heavy weight of anger and resentment.

"How does it feel to reap the rewards of your blind judgment, dear mother?" Bae thought bitterly.

"Then again we were both pawns in a wider scheme of things."

She added recalling the past—the day her mother had ordered the guards to drag her away to an abandoned cottage behind the grand mansion.

"I can't believe you poisoned your sister!" Silva had yelled in rage, watching a ten-year-old Bae cry, terrified and trembling.

"What did I do wrong in adopting you?" Silva's words had cut deeper than any punishment, haunting Bae into silence.

"Just—just take her away. Get her out of my sight!" Silva had ordered, her voice cold and unforgiving.

Bae had sobbed, pleading frantically for forgiveness, but the guards had already taken her away.

Now, as Bae snapped back to the present, she felt her mother's hand gently patting her back, pulling her out of her painful memories.

"Everything okay, Mother?" Bae asked coldly, her eyes narrowing as she studied Silva's tear-streaked face.

Her mother placed trembling hands on Bae's cheeks, tears of regret spilling from her eyes. Yet to Bae, it felt like nothing more than another hollow gesture—a façade of affection.

"Mother, let me cut to the chase," Bae began, her voice sharp with mock sweetness.

"Don't you think I should be the one in Penny's position?" she asked, smiling as if her request were the most natural thing in the world.

Silva's face twisted in confusion, clearly torn by Bae's sudden proposition. Her hesitation spoke volumes.

"Ahh. I should've known—I'm still the underdog, right?" Bae's tone dripped with bitterness as she glared at her mother, the sting of rejection fueling her anger though she anticipated she would act this way.

Without warning, Silva's hands tightened on Bae, gripping her with an unexpected sharpness. Silva's expression grew strange, almost desperate, as she glanced at her daughter, her gaze unsettling.

"Uhh?!" Bae's thoughts scrambled, confusion overtaking her. But then her eyes widened in shock as she heard a voice cut through the tension, cold and commanding.

"Silva Frankford, time to sleep," Adeline, the maid, said in a tone of authority that sent a chill down room.

Bae's shock deepened—not just from the way Adeline had entered the room unnoticed, but the audacity of addressing her mother by her first name as if she held some unseen power over her.

"I'm sure you heard me right, Silva Frankford," Adeline repeated, her voice as cold as ice.

Bae watched Silva's hands trembled, her grip on Bae loosening as she slowly turned her head toward the maid.

"Or do you need me to give you your injection before sleeping?" Adeline's words carried a chilling edge, the thinly veiled threat hanging in the air.

"What do we have here?!"

Bae smiled intrigued by the audacity of this maid.