A Second Chance at Forever novel (Eleanor and Bernard)

Chapter 1411

“Back in the day, the Hardy clan had fallen on hard times, deep in debt and having made more than a

few enemies. It was common knowledge that there were plenty looking to settle scores with the

Hardys, but every single one of them was thwarted by Yates‘

intervention.

With Yates‘ protection, no soul dared to hurt the Hardys; not even the darkest shadows could get close

to Pauline.

That was until Yates was strong–armed by his father into marrying Samantha. Pauline, feeling

betrayed, left, giving Gregory the chance. he’d been waiting for to exact his revenge.

Leading his band of thugs, Gregory slaughtered Pauline’s entire family. Then, in a heinous act, he had

his goons take turns raping Pauline, who had just given birth.

The brutality was extreme; as my father told it, Pauline was left more than just physically broken–it was

a cruel, cruel deed, and she died with her eyes open in defiance.

At that time, Gregory didn’t have the clout to cross Yates, so after the deed was done, he framed it to

look like the work of some other Hardy enemy.

Yates spent years searching for the truth, and it wasn’t until the Siren Organization emerged that he

started putting together the pieces. It was after many years that, inspired by the Siren Organization, he

founded Ace, spreading his network to hunt down members of the Siren Organization…”

After laying out the whole twisted web of betrayal between Pauline, Timothy, and Yates, Mr. Penrod

looked up at the composed man across from him.

The one who truly ended Timothy was Yates himself, the master manipulator. Gregory was just playing

hitman for Samantha. Perhaps Samantha saw an opportunity to rid herself of a problem with Yates

planning to divorce her after their agreement ended. She simply decided to use Gregory as a pawn to

eliminate Pauline.”

Bernard’s face was a mask of controlled rage, almost as if he blamed Mr. Penrod for not revealing

these secrets sooner.

Facing Bernard’s icy demeanor, Mr. Penrod felt compelled to explain, “I didn’t tell you all this before

because, well, my aunt had a hand in it. It’s a rather sordid affair.”

Bernard snorted coldly, “The disgraceful acts don’t end with Samantha’s manipulation. There’s also the

matter of the internal strife within Darkness, its dissolution, and its rebirth as the Siren Organization,

right?”

Darkness, originally founded by Gregory, was now under the control of Xavier Penrod.

The details of what happened in the interim, where Gregory and the other Darkness members had

gone, that was probably the most disgraceful part of it all.

“You are the one piece I can’t seem to control.”

Hearing it, Bernard remained silent.

Seeing this, Mr. Penrod couldn’t help but smirk coldly before continuing indifferently.

“The name change goes back to my father. He once saved Gregory, who, out of gratitude, made him

his second–in–command. My father didn’t need these dark forces, given his own family’s status. But

the Penrod siblings were fiercely fighting over their inheritance, so my father leveraged this underworld

power to his advantage.

Eventually, a power struggle erupted between my father and Gregory. My father, wanting to take the

reins, began to plot Gregory’s downfall. But the loyalty was to Gregory and his son Victor Howard. So,

my father resorted to injecting Gregory’s IV with a lethal dose. Victor caught him in the act. My father

spared Victor at that moment, which led to Victor rallying the Darkness members against my father

Unexpectedly, not only did Victor fail to kill my father, he was overpowered and killed instead… So my

father took the opportunity to eliminate all of Gregory and Victor’s supporters within Darkness.

After the purge, he took his own loyalists, rebranded the organization based on the old Darkness

model, and named it the Siren Organization. His reign was short–lived, however, as he soon passed

away. After his death, my uncles and other relatives nominated me to lead the Siren Organization. I

was reluctant at first.”

Mr. Penrod paused, his gaze drifting through Bernard’s stoic facade to the graves of those long gone.

That year, your mother Tammie Pine, was driven to her death by your grandfather and Donna The

Pines, cowardly as ever, wouldn’t even acknowledge her wrongful death. And your father was left in the

dark, sinking into a grief he couldn’t escape. I stood before your mothers gravestone and swore to

strengthen the Siren Organization, to hamess the power of all the families and wipe out the Stanley.

Pine and Lourence familles

Mr Penrode eyes fell, it seemed as if he was recalling some unpleasant memory, his expression heavy

with the weight of it. Shido’s been for Leonard Laurence riding his white horse past Tammie at the

racetrack that day, she might never have

fleeting glance

He couldn’t help but see the parallels between himself and Timothy. It wasn’t that he was facing a

madman like Yates; rather, his adversary was the feeble heir of the Laurence family, the scion who

seemed to possess neither the strength of character nor the cunning required to be a true contender.

“Even though your father was never really a match for me, I despised him with every fiber of my being.

That’s why, later on, I decided to take you under my wing, because…”

“Because I’m Leonard Laurence’s kid. You wanted to mold me into a sharp and handy blade that you

could then use to get back at the Stanley, Pine, and Laurence families?” asked Bernard.