Semua Bab Ten Ways To Kill Alpha PENKING : Bab 71 - Bab 80

Three years after Sam was born, Amelia got pregnant again.Unplanned. Surprising. But not unwelcome.“A third one,” Penking said. Staring at the test.“Apparently we’re very fertile.”“Apparently.” He looked at her. “How do you feel?”“Overwhelmed. But happy. You?”“Same.” He pulled her close. “Three kids. We’re officially outnumbered.”“We’ve been outnumbered since Ellie learned to talk.”He laughed. “Fair point.”They told the kids that night.Ellie, now five, was excited. “Another baby! Can it be a girl this time?”“We don’t know yet,” Amelia said. “But we’ll find out soon.”Sam, three, looked confused. “Baby?”“Yes. In Mommy’s tummy. Like you were.”“Tummy baby.”“That’s right.”The pregnancy was easier than the others. No complications. No bedrest. Just normal morning sickness and exhaustion.At twenty weeks, they found out the gender.A girl.Penking cried. Again. “Two daughters. I’m going to be so protective it’s embarrassing.”“You’re already embarrassing. This just gives you

Penking read the letter three times.His face went from confusion to shock to rage.Then to something worse. Emptiness.“Olivia killed Elena,” he said. Voice flat.“Yes.”“Elena didn’t die from faulty equipment. From your father’s negligence. From my choices.”“No.”“She was murdered. By her own sister. Who I’ve been trusting. Who’s been around our kids. Who’s—” His voice broke. “Who’s been lying to us for fifteen years.”Amelia sat beside him. “I’m sorry.”“Don’t apologize. You didn’t do this.” He stood. Started pacing. “Olivia killed Elena. Paid Hale to do it. Then let me believe it was my fault. Let me confess to manslaughter. Serve time. Build my entire redemption on a lie.”“It wasn’t all a lie. You did build an empire on violence. You did make choices that put Elena in danger.”“But I didn’t kill her. Not even accidentally. She was murdered. And I. I served time for a crime I didn’t commit.”The realization hit him like a physical blow.He sat down. Put his head in his hands.“T

The next morning, Amelia couldn’t let it go.She found Penking in the kitchen making breakfast. The kids were still asleep.“I need to ask you something,” she said.He looked up. “Okay.”“Do you remember someone named Thomas? Thomas…” She realized she didn’t know his last name. “He worked for you twelve years ago. As an accountant or money handler.”Penking’s expression didn’t change. “Thomas Carter.”Her stomach dropped. “You remember him.”“Yes. He died in a car accident. Why?”“His sister approached me yesterday. In Chicago. She thinks you killed him.”Now his expression changed. Darkened. “Catherine.”“You know her too?”“I know she’s been making accusations for twelve years. And I know they’re not true.” He set down the spatula. “Thomas died in a car accident. Drunk driver. Wrong place, wrong time. I had nothing to do with it.”“She said he knew something. A secret. And three days later he was dead.”“He did know something. About a competitor’s operation. Information that would h

Two years later, Ellie was fifteen.And she had questions. Real questions.She came to Amelia one afternoon. Serious. Determined.“I want to know everything,” she said.“Everything about what?”“About Dad. About his past. About what he really did. Not the sanitized version. The truth.”Amelia’s chest tightened. “Why now?”“Because I’m old enough. Because kids at school keep talking. And I don’t want to hear it from them. I want to hear it from you.”“What specifically do you want to know?”“How many people did he kill?”The question hung heavy.“I don’t know the exact number.”“Guess.”“Ellie—”“Mom. Please. I need to know what I’m defending. What I’m living with.”Amelia sat down. “Five. Maybe six. That he was directly responsible for. More if you count people who died because of his operations. But he wasn’t the one who actually. Who pulled the trigger or whatever.”“Five or six people. He murdered five or six people.”“Yes.”“And you married him anyway.”“I married him after he ser

The move happened in June.Hot. Humid. Exhausting.Boxes everywhere. Movers hauling furniture. Kids running around getting in the way.Chaos.But also possibility.The new house was bigger. Yard for the kids. Quiet street. Neighbors who smiled and waved but didn’t ask questions.Perfect.Ellie got her own room. Actually her own. Not shared with Hope anymore.She decorated it immediately. Posters. Lights. Her space.Sam got the basement. Turned it into his own apartment basically. Basketball hoop outside. Friends welcome.Hope got the room with the window seat. Sat there for hours reading. Content.They settled in.New schools. New routines. New normal.Nobody knew them here. Nobody knew Penking’s past. Nobody cared.It was freeing.Ellie made friends quickly. Girls who liked the same music. Same shows. No questions about family history.Just friendship. Simple. Easy.Sam joined the basketball team. Made varsity as a sophomore. Coaches loved him.Nobody connected him to Kael Penking. H