PAMPERED BY MY THREE BROTHERS: THE RETURN OF THE NEGLECTED HEIRESS-Chapter 1781: Dead men on the hill

"They were killed. They were sabotaging my operation."

Everyone just stared at Mint’s nonchalant reaction before their eyes scanned the area once more. Mint also looked around, letting out a shallow breath as she remembered her last communication with Penny.

---

On their way here, Mint’s nose flared as she couldn’t help but recall Penny’s sweet remarks to Zoren.

What about her?

She was here too, right? How could Penny not even think of her? Although Penny did mention her name, the line was cut off. How unfair was that? Surely, Penny had more loving and appreciative remarks for her too.

Mint’s face soured with each passing second, convinced that everything Penny had said was misdirected.

"That should have been for me," she mumbled, crossing her arms. As she seethed silently, she glanced at Hugo sitting next to her. Her brow arched, head cocked to the side.

Hugo remained quiet, lost in thought. The worry and tension he had carried earlier were gone, likely because he had already heard from Penny. It was evident enough that Mint didn’t need to ask.

’Well...’

Her brows briefly rose as she shrugged, finding it plausible. After all, Hugo no longer needed to worry since Penny was safe. Just as Mint fell silent, her phone vibrated against her chest. Retrieving it from her vest, her brows furrowed. freeweɓnovel~cѳm

Mint secretly glanced around before opening the message from the same number Penny had used.

[From: Unknown Number

It’s Penny. This phone’s dying, so I may not reach out to anyone else. I’ll be brief.

I don’t trust any of your men, Mint.

Renren and I will meet on an island before our original destination. Inform everyone. If this leaks to our enemies, we’ll be ambushed. But it’s a risk we’ll take to smoke out the traitors.

If ambushed, find the moles and handle them. Zorken and Jonathan’s men (formerly Zorken) have small dot tattoos on them somewhere. Inform my brothers and husband about this too. This phone may be dead once you get this, but assure them I’m fine.]

Mint blinked, staring at Penny’s message. Reading it again, her brows raised, eyes shifting to Hugo.

"...," she pressed her lips together, deleting Penny’s message and returning it to her vest.

Standing up, she turned to face everyone. Even before she said anything, Hugo had already glanced up, and everyone in the back looked at her.

"Change of plans," she said. "We’ll land somewhere else and regroup with Penny and the others."

Mint briefed everyone on the new plan, following Penny’s instructions.

"And my brother?" Hugo asked. "He probably doesn’t know."

"I’ll inform him," she replied, thoughts racing through her mind as she smiled at him. "For now, that’s our plan."

Hugo nodded thoughtfully, accepting the change of plans. Mint, on the other hand, decided not to disclose Penny’s message to him as she sat back down quietly.

Glancing at Hugo again, she nodded to herself.

’If I tell him, he might not spoil it,’ she thought. ’Considering how he relaxed after Penny was kidnapped and called, it’s clear.’

Not that Mint doubted Hugo’s competence. On the contrary, she trusted him completely. But for now, it was better to keep that information to herself. They wouldn’t appreciate it if they knew she purposely kept this detail, but she couldn’t reveal it yet.

If they didn’t know, neither would the moles, potentially making them complacent or exposing them.

And with that decision made, Mint contacted Zoren and Charles’ group, informing them of the change in plans.

---

BOOM!

At the sound of a loud explosion in the sky, Mint’s eyes widened, breath catching in her throat.

’Penny was right,’ she thought, freezing in place. ’Someone leaked our intel.’

Initially, Penny had warned of a possible ambush, so Mint hadn’t let her guard down. But now, it seemed an ambush was unlikely. She quickly scanned everyone’s faces.

"No..." Charles dropped to his knees, causing her to lower her gaze to him.

Her jaw clenched as she swallowed the lump forming in her throat. She followed Hugo, who dashed to the edge of the hill in disbelief.

Mint kept her lips pressed together, eyes wide. ’She’s okay, right?’

There was nothing in the message to suggest Penny was in danger. Penny had only warned about potential moles.

’No, she knew there could be spies here,’ Mint told herself, shaking her head mentally to stay focused. ’She’s going to worry about herself, and I, about my plan.’

Mint fell silent as she observed the people nearby. She needed to identify the leak, but there were too many here: Charles and his military allies, Zoren and his Phantom Circle, Hugo’s men who had already landed on the original island, and Mint’s group comprising various agency personnel.

Despite the nagging fear that Penny might have been on that plane, causing her to tear up at the worst-case scenario, she couldn’t afford to dwell on it now.

’I have to—’

"My men will search the ocean to see if she managed to escape before the crash," Charles interrupted before anyone else, already instructing everyone on what Mint had planned to say.

"Young lady, proceed with your plan. Don’t worry about the search—we’ll search even the bottom of the sea. Just do what you must."

She swallowed, locking eyes with Charles before nodding. "Yes, sir!"

With that, their group departed one by one, Mint following Hugo’s lead, noting the same intense determination in his eyes. That look alone told her that Hugo had already caught on to the leak.

That was good.

Now that they had split up, it would be easier to identify the mole or moles. After the Phantom Circle, Prime Group elite forces, and Charles’ troops left the hill, Mint addressed the remaining personnel.

"We’ll proceed as planned," she informed them. "We’ll depart in half an hour."

With that, Mint returned to the tent to review everyone’s files. Penny had left clues, so even though time was of the essence, Mint had to pause briefly. However, before she could delve deeply, gunshots rang out, and someone inside the tent held her at gunpoint.

Thus, the dead men left on the hill.

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