Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress novel Chapter 1778

Chapter 1778: My life is really good

On a hill full of armed people waiting for Penny, one man stood frozen, staring at the large explosion in the sky. A moment later, pieces of the aircraft slowly began falling from above.

For several long seconds, no one spoke. Silence blanketed the entire hill, with every pair of eyes reflecting the fire still burning overhead.

Thud.

Charles, still wide-eyed, fell to his knees. His face had gone pale. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from the flames.

"No," he whispered, shaking his head gently. Every piece of falling debris felt like a piece of his heart. "No... Penny."

And with that name—Penny—spoken aloud, it was like a bell rang through the silence, snapping everyone out of their daze.

Penny.

Right... that was the aircraft she had been in.

"No." Hugo stepped forward, slinging his rifle across his chest before breaking into a jog toward the edge of the slope. "No, no, no—PENNY!"

His scream tore through the air, his heart sinking at the thought of losing his sister. Atlas, too, felt the weight—but unlike Hugo, he stood frozen, eyes wide, head bowed.

"No," he murmured, turning to the others. When his gaze landed on Angel, he said firmly, "Prepare the boat. We’re leaving now."

But Angel didn’t move.

Like the rest, he remained fixated on the sky, watching debris continue to fall through thick smoke.

"Angel," Atlas called again, louder—but still, no response.

He walked over and grabbed Angel’s shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze.

Angel blinked, snapping out of it as his eyes met Atlas’s panic-stricken ones.

"Let’s go," Atlas repeated. "We’re leaving now."

"Uh..." Angel stood there for a second, watching Atlas walk away like nothing had happened, as if he hadn’t just seen his sister’s aircraft explode. When Angel looked around, he realized the others were still rooted to the spot, unmoving.

Even Mark hadn’t moved. Slowly, he turned his gaze to Zoren.

Angel followed his line of sight. Zoren stood utterly still, wearing a blank look on his face.

"Mark!" Angel finally shouted. "We’re rolling out—men!"

Things were chaotic, unbelievable. But someone had to move.

So, even with tears stinging his eyes, Angel wiped them away with his arm and yelled again.

"Men!" His voice boomed across the field. "Let’s go!"

That was enough to rouse the others. One by one, they began to move.

Mark, now alert, approached Zoren.

"Sir," he said, watching the distant look in Zoren’s eyes. When he got no response, he touched Zoren’s shoulder. "Sir, we’re moving."

Zoren didn’t reply—he simply stared at the sky, Adam’s apple bobbing. Then, slowly, his gaze dropped to where Charles was still kneeling.

"She’s not in there," Zoren murmured, his voice barely audible. "She’s not in there."

He reached out, hand resting on Charles’s shoulder.

"She’s not in there," he repeated, his voice firmer now, though it wasn’t clear if the words were meant for Charles... or himself. "She can’t be in there... right?"

Charles looked up slowly, hearing the same sentence echoing in both their heads.

"She can’t be in there," Zoren repeated again. "She would’ve seen it coming..."

Charles’s expression twisted, seeing the helplessness in Zoren’s eyes. He wasn’t saying it to believe it—he was saying it, hoping someone would confirm it.

"She would’ve seen it coming," Zoren whispered again, locking eyes with him. "...right?"

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