Chapter 1517: Right before I died

"You got a fast car... maybe we make a deal?" Penny hummed and sang, her voice off-key, as though she were simply reading a poem and trying to turn it into a song. "...you got a fast car, I got a plan to get us out of here."

Jonathan’s face twitched as Penny continued singing right in his ear. She was leaning between the driver and front passenger seat, her eyes focused on him.

"What in the world are you doing now?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Singing," she replied. "I’m giving us a good background song."

"For God’s sake, shut up."

"But I’m being considerate," she protested.

"Being considerate is shutting up. You can’t even sing well," he added, shooting her a cold side-eye. "You’re the worst singer I’ve ever met."

Penny frowned and clicked her tongue, leaning back a little in her seat.

"Fine! I’ll stop since you don’t appreciate my singing voice." With that, she threw herself back in the seat, snapping her gaze at the window on her side.

For the next few minutes, silence reigned in the car. However, Jonathan didn’t dare to relax; he knew Penny would come back stronger.

And, of course, she did.

"You know..." she trailed off, almost humming. "I’m actually very surprised that you’d agree to drive me home. It’s not like you don’t know I have my own car ready. Otherwise, how else would I be in Pierson Corporation?"

Jonathan didn’t answer, keeping his focus on the road.

"I mean... I could just slit your throat from behind," she whispered, but loud enough to reach his ear. "Being here, and you in there... gives you plenty of disadvantages."

His face twisted, and he glanced at her through the rearview mirror. "Why don’t you try—"

Before he could finish, Penny suddenly kicked the back of his seat. Taking advantage of his surprise, she shoved his seatbelt down and pulled it across his chest and throat.

Screeech!

"Hey—" he choked, but his instincts kicked in, forcing him to steer the car back into the correct lane. They briefly swerved into another lane before returning to their original path, and his hand shot up to pull the strap away from his throat.

But Penny wasn’t done. She kept pulling the belt with her feet on the back of the seat. Her head and body were slightly lowered from the window, as though trying to avoid being seen.

"Try it, you said," she taunted. "How do you like it?"

"Sss..." he hissed. "...stop!"

Jonathan kept tugging at the strap, but it was no use. When he realized it was futile, he stopped and used his other hand to grab her foot. All that got him was another swift kick.

They were on the highway, and stopping abruptly wasn’t an option—unless he wanted to cause a horrible accident.

"I said, stop—!" he gasped, finally feeling the strap loosen.

Penny raised her hands in mock surrender, straightening her back. "Just showing you not to dare me. I can get a little competitive, you know."

Jonathan touched his neck, his fingers still feeling the pressure from the seatbelt. He kept his eyes on the road, but his face was red with boiling anger from what she had just done.

"You—!" he breathed, his teeth clenched. But, realizing they were still on the road, he quickly refocused on the road. "I’m going to kill you. Mark my words, Penelope."

"Seriously?" Penny deadpanned. "You’re going to threaten me right after what I did? What makes you think I won’t kill you first before you can even do that?"

He winced, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

Maybe commuting was the better option, after all.

"Don’t worry, I won’t do that again, alright?" Penny reassured him. "I was just a little pissed off that you said my singing was bad. My husband likes it, after all."

"A little pissed? You’re unhinged."

"I wonder why that was!" Penny intoned, suddenly jumping near the driver’s seat again. Her arms rested on the backrest of both the front seats, and her brows rose as she snapped her gaze at him.

Jonathan’s face twisted as he shot her another quick side-eye. "What the hell do you want?"

"Hmm... let me think," she said. "I haven’t thought that far when I came to see you today."

"..." Jonathan clenched his teeth again, considering that he wouldn’t mind having Atlas as a passenger. At least Atlas never resorted to physical violence. Jonathan could ignore Atlas’s casual roasts, but Penny? She deserved to be in an asylum.

"Heh." Penny cocked her head slightly, smirking as she studied the side of his face.

As she did, Jonathan shot her a sharp side-eye. "What now?"

Penny didn’t answer right away. She simply chuckled, her gaze still fixed on him, amusement dancing in her eyes.

"Say..." she trailed off, resting the side of her head against the front passenger seat. Her eyelids drooped as her gaze remained fixed on his side profile.

Jonathan held his breath, trying to focus on the road. But the intensity of her gaze made him cast a quick look at her.

"What?" he asked, his entire body tensing, preparing for whatever chaos she was about to unleash.

Penny’s smile faded just slightly, and she asked in an airy voice, "Say... why did I have to die? And why did you have to watch it end?"

The moment those words left her mouth, Jonathan’s shoulders tensed. He didn’t want to admit it, but he had an idea what she was talking about. Slowly, he turned his head to face her directly, and he could smell the alcohol on her breath.

Penny’s grin widened, her teeth showing as she watched him. Jonathan quickly turned his eyes back to the road.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," he said, gripping the steering wheel even tighter. His mind raced, trying to figure out how to handle this situation. His gut told him this wouldn’t end peacefully, and he already had a preview of just how badly things could escalate.

"I saw you there," she whispered. "Right before I died."