A Second Chance at Forever novel (Eleanor and Bernard)

Chapter 1412

Bernard’s question jolted Mr. Penrod from his reverie. With a lift of his gaze, he locked eyes with Bernard-the eyes that seemed to see right through everything.

“Indeed,” he said, “I thought to myself, maybe with your knife, taking down the Pines, the Stanleys, and the Lawrences would be more satisfying than doing it myself. After all, they’re your kin.”

Revenge-a vendetta like the one the Howards had-that endless cycle of blood for blood wouldn’t do. It had to be like slowly boiling three frogs in a pot over a low flame, making them turn on each other in their desperation.

If Yates was ruthless, Mr. Penrod was venomous, biding his time, orchestrating for years just to set this chessboard. And ironically, the pawns saw the chessmaster as family.

“At seven, beaten within an inch of my life, it was you who reached out, pulled me back from the brink. I thought it was salvation, not realizing it was all just part of your game.” Even suspecting he was a pawn, Bernard couldn’t help but feel the sting of disappointment, an emotion that seeped out, unable to be concealed.

All his life, with a father who didn’t care, a mother who wasn’t there, and a stepmother’s cruelty, even the grandfather who raised him did so only for his utility…

So at seven, when Mr. Penrod cradled a bloodied Bernard, whispering, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here. It’ll all get better,” he truly believed that he was his redemption, the life raft on his journey of growth, a foster father with genuine affection.

In his final moments, Mr. Penrod was indeed a fatherly figure, a mentor, the reason for Bernard’s tireless dedication to the Siren Organization. But now, as winter approached, the once savior morphed into a specter, encased in frost, forever chilling his heart.

year was gone, leaving only Bernard shrouded in darkness, an enigma half-lit on the

he seemed

Lawrences, and clash with the Pines was quite satisfying. But…” Mr. Penrod paused,

out the Stanleys, but the Pines, even with my nudging from the shadows, only reached a stalemate, not obliteration. And then there’s the Laurence family…”

Penrod kept his darkest thoughts to himself,

point, Mr. Penrod, why bother with pretense?”

the truth. “Yes, even if I don’t tell you, you

the couch and gestured with a

both know the caliber of the Laurence heirs; none can hold a candle to you. I was thinking, without you, the Laurences would probably fall into decline before long, right? And that’s precisely

was casual, as if discussing something utterly

in

you’ve always known who the founder of Area Opaca was, yet you let me

off the suggestion with a flick of his

Area Opaca was a coalition of business scourges wiped out by the Siren Organization. But when they began to massacre our members en masse, I recalled the Darkness and suspected Yates was the puppeteer. I considered confronting Yates with the full