Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress novel Chapter 1763

Chapter 1763: Asking the wrong requests

BANG!

Brad froze. His face slowly crumpled as he looked down at his chest. Blood quickly soaked his shirt from within, crawling like spider webs across the fabric.

BANG!

The second bullet struck his hand, making him drop his weapon. Slowly, he turned toward the source. Through his blurred vision, he first caught the smoke rising from a handgun’s muzzle.

And then, he saw her. The one holding it was...

Penelope Bennet.

BANG!

The third shot hit him again, and this time, he was not sure where. Brad collapsed backward with a loud thud. His fall felt slower than it should, with pain blooming from his chest and hand, spreading through his entire body.

’Damn you, Shawn...’ he cursed internally, before finally hitting the floor.

THUD.

"Ugh..." he groaned, clutching at his chest—or rather, somewhere near his armpit. But the pain had already spread across his shoulders and down to every inch of him.

Meanwhile, Penny sat up, panting. The gun in her hand trembled. She swallowed hard, then locked eyes with Shawn.

Regret still flickered in his gaze, but despite the sharpness in her own, she gave him a small nod.

---

[A short flashback]

"This time... I might kill you right here and now. The code."

A heavy silence settled between them. A gun pressed against her forehead. Shawn was looking down at her sternly. Yet Penny showed no fear.

How could she, when the one holding the gun was trembling—more afraid of pulling the trigger than she was of dying?

"I don’t have it," she said calmly.

"You have it," Shawn muttered, voice low but firm. "I know... because Zoren Pierson handed it to you."

He nodded slightly toward the corner. "I wiretapped this place. Listened to all your conversations."

Penny exhaled and gave the smallest nod.

"The code. Now," Shawn repeated, his hand shaking.

Another long silence followed, making his chest swell with tension.

"Now!" he shouted.

Still, Penny didn’t flinch. She just stared back at him. After a beat, she finally spoke.

"I’ll give you the code," she said. "But Shawn... after working for me, you should know the thing I hate most—betrayal."

"You’re asking me not to make you pull the trigger? That’s the wrong thing to ask."

She relaxed her posture slightly.

"It should be: don’t make me hate you for this betrayal... Shawn Lowie."

Because she had been betrayed once before. No—she had been betrayed all her life, right from the beginning. She wouldn’t allow it to happen again.

Penny knew she wasn’t perfect. And she might not be able to forgive this time around.

"Don’t make me accept this betrayal," she whispered, each word razor-sharp. "Don’t."

Shawn’s breath hitched. The gun shook in his hand. The corners of his eyes reddened, his already broken resolve crumbling further.

’I don’t want you to hate me,’ his heart screamed.

But his mouth wouldn’t move.

Penny stared into his soul, reading him like an open book. Maybe it was because she’d spent so much time around inmates in her past life—she knew how to read what the heart said, not just the words the mouth spoke.

Not everyone in that hellhole wanted to be there. She wasn’t saying they were innocent—but some had simply made a terrible, stupid mistake. And a single mistake had ruined their whole life.

Right now, the man with the gun... wasn’t pointing it at her.

He was pleading.

Save me.

Help me.

Please...

Clang.