Once a Doormat Now Untouchable (Caleb and Sydney) novel Chapter 156

Chapter 156

So what if that girl had been the one Caleb cherished most? Back then, she had still been at Penelope’s mercy. And Penelope remembered her vividly.

Back then…

The orphanage teemed with ragged, hollow–eyed children. Unexpectedly, a girl arrived in a delicate princess dress, clutching the director’s hand with timid fingers. Her parents had just died, and her eyes were swollen from crying, round and glistening like bruised peaches.

She looked heartbreakingly pitiful.

The moment the director turned away, Penelope rushed forward and yanked the hairclip from her head.

Raised in a loving home, the little girl had seen no malice. Instead, she obediently removed another clip and offered it. “Here, you can have this one too.”

Penelope slapped it from her hand.

That was the first time Penelope realized just how much she resembled a rat crawling in the gutter, standing beside a child who had once been cherished.

Caleb felt a murderous storm surge through him. His vision burned red, and his grip around her throat tightened without mercy. She had bullied Precious, and he intended to kill her.

Penelope felt the air crush from her lungs, yet the smile on her lips did not waver. She forced out a final gasp. “If you strangle me, you’ll never find her.”

“What did you say?” Reason snapped back for an instant. His hold loosened slightly, and his eyes locked on her with a predator’s intensity. “You know where she is?”

Penelope offered no riddles. “I know the family who adopted her.”

Excitement flared in his gaze.

“You’ll have to let me go first.”

“Where?”

“Fine.” He studied her sharply and eased his grip in careful increments. “But do not play games. You know I can end you in a heartbeat.”

Of course she knew. In a world carved by power and class, her life had always been expendable before men like him. Caleb would not need an excuse to get rid of her.

Still,

she refused to accept it. Once she had tasted privilege, she could not endure returning to that precarious existence. Caleb would not let her go easily anyway.

Facing the razor edge of his stare, she dug her nails into her palms until they split and forced herself to speak. “I can tell you where they are. But you must promise me one thing.”

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“What?”

“Divorce Sydney. Marry me.”

He let out a low, humorless laugh, his tongue pressing against his teeth.

“Penelope, do you really think you have the right to negotiate with me?” he asked coldly. “If you refuse, fine. Stay here. When you finally feel like talking, I will come back.”

“Good.” Her heart sank, but her expression remained steady. She had to gamble one last time. “Then you will never see her again. She is the daughter of a narcotics officer, isn’t she?”

Halfway out the door, Caleb whipped his head back. Her gamble was successful.

Penelope clenched her hand. “When that family came to adopt her, I overheard the old crone and one of her men. They said everything her parents had done would fall back on her a thousandfold.

“When the drug lord is released from prison, they will let him cut down his enemy’s daughter with his own hands.”

Caleb’s breath caught, taut with fury and disbelief. He decided to test the truth in her words. “Are you certain?”

He had tracked the timing of Precious‘ parents‘ deaths. It had aligned exactly with Brimcrest City’s largest drug bust in years. The entire trafficking ring had been sentenced to 20 years. Because of the case’s severity, there had been no reductions.

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