Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress novel Chapter 1174

Chapter 1174: Neither a friend nor a foe

The little girl looked up at Penny, her thumb pressed against the syringe.

"You—what are you—" Penny instinctively slapped the little girl’s hand, yanking the needle from her skin. Her eyes widened as her pulse quickened.

Slowly, she gazed down at the little girl again, but before she could ask what was inside the syringe, her vision wavered. A sudden weakness drained her body, spreading rapidly all over her. Before she knew it, she collapsed to the ground with a dull thud.

Even as her vision blurred and spun, she could still make out the little girl standing over her, staring emotionlessly.

"Good job."

A woman’s voice caressed Penny’s ears before a figure appeared beside the child.

"Who..." Penny struggled to maintain control, forcing her spinning vision to focus on the woman. Her eyelids grew heavy, but she fought to keep them open. She couldn’t lose consciousness. She repeated that to herself a hundred times.

She had to stay awake.

Finally, the little girl spoke in an innocent voice. "Is she going to die?"

"Hmm." The woman hummed softly, stroking the child’s head. "No, she won’t."

"That’s good," the little girl replied. "She looks like a good person."

"She is a good person."

"Then why do you want her dead?"

The woman shrugged. "I don’t know... Maybe because I just want her dead for no reason?" A soft chuckle escaped her lips as she crouched beside Penny. Her dark eyes gleamed with amusement as she traced her fingertips along Penny’s cheek. "Or maybe... her death will simply make things easier for me?"

"If so, shouldn’t you have injected her with our new drugs?" the little girl asked curiously. "You said her drug is going to cause us trouble."

"Mhm," the woman hummed. "But if she dies... someone will be very, very sad."

"Death is supposed to make people sad."

"Except the person who would mourn her death is a much bigger problem for us." The woman chuckled again, brushing her thumb over Penny’s cheek. "How beautiful. It’s a shame that such a brilliant mind is of no use to me. Tragic, really."

"Is there no chance she’d join our side?"

"I’m afraid that chance is long gone."

"Why?"

The woman sighed. "They shouldn’t have found her."

"You mean her parents?"

"Mhm."

"I think you’re right." The little girl nodded. "She’s better off without her father!"

"Mhm." The woman hummed again, her eyes drooping slightly. "Child, you should reflect on your choices and who you’re dealing with before it’s too late. Otherwise, things will become very painful for all of us."

Her brows rose when she noticed Penny moving. Both she and the little girl watched as Penny reached down and pulled something from her thigh. Their eyes widened as she suddenly stabbed herself, forcing herself to stay conscious.

"She... she’s scary," the little girl murmured, moving closer to the woman. "I think she just stabbed herself to stay awake. Did she hear everything we said?"

"There’s nothing to hide," the woman said with a smirk, watching Penny force her eyes open again.

Penny’s eyes burned with determination despite the sweat trickling down her pale face. There was life in her gaze—an unyielding fire. She reached out, grabbing the woman’s arm with all the strength she had left.