The Killer Queen

Malvina blinked, not quite catching what Ulrich had muttered under his breath.

Noella craned her neck from the passenger seat to look back at Ulrich and Malvina. “Ulrich, you haven’t been home for two days, thinking of heading back?”

Ulrich quickly whipped out his phone and used the camera as a mirror. “Talk about professional courtesy, they didn’t go for my face! All good then, let’s head back.” Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

if Sienna saw a bruise on his face, the whole Schnabel family would be up all night worrying!

Once he confirmed his face was unscathed, Ulrich breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at Malvina beside him.

“Ms. Gruber, you should come too.”

“Me? Really? It’s so late, and I haven’t even brought a gift for Sienna. It doesn’t seem right to just show up unannounced.” Noella shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, my mom has been asking about you. She’s really looking forward to your visit.”

The car’s engine roared to life, heading towards the Schnabel Manor in the Phoenix Tower as the night grew deeper.

No sooner had they left when a car hidden in the reeds followed suit, disappearing into the opposite direction.

At the Schnabel Manor, the Schnabels were all asleep when Noella showed Malvina to the guest room before returning to her own.

No sooner had she stepped inside her room than her phone rang.

Annie’s anxious voice came through the receiver, “Ms. Noella, are you awake? Could you please come check on Boss? He’s not doing so well!”

lightly. “Where is he?”

Noella’s brow furrowed slightly.

“He’s at the Pollack Mansion. He refuses to go to the hospital. Please come!”

“Give me two minutes.”

The Pollack Mansion was just in the Dragon Tower opposite to them. As Noella reached the entrance, she saw Annie, her clothes stained with blood, her face etched with worry.

“Ms. Noella! Boss is in his room, III take you to him.”

The Pollack Mansion was a stark contrast to the lively Schnabel Manor, eerily quiet, with the sound of the courtyard fountain echoing clearly.

Pushing open Palmer’s door, the scent of blood hit them h hard.

“Why hasn’t he gone to the hospital?” Noella asked, her frown deepening.

said it was nothing. We couldn’t convince him, so we had to find you. Thank goodness you came.”

wrist had come undone, the blood seeping through.

ching Palmer, Noella saw his eyes shut tight, his wounds crudely leaded to out 7385 Foton

“Get the first aid kit”

I’ll get it right away!”

Annie dashed out and returned to find Noella’s hand resting on Palmer’s forehead, gauging his temperature.

He was burning up, likely a reaction to his injuries.

Noella re–dressed the wound on Palmer’s wrist and checked the others, most of which were sustained during the South Flora Storage blast

“Ms. Noella, Is Boss going to be okay?”

“He’ll be fine once the fever breaks, He should wake up then.”

Relief washed over Annie. She’d been on edge all night, and now she could finally relax

Noella looked at her with an imposing air. “Come here.”

Annie instinctively responded, “Yes!”

Facing Ms. Noella’s stern gaze was as unnerving as facing the school principal back in the day. If the situation had been different, Annie might have snapped to attention.

Noella motioned her over. “Palmer’s stable for now. Don’t you need those cuts looked at?”

10:55

Annie froze, having been so wrapped up in worry for her boss that she’d forgotten about her own injuries- a common occurrence for hitmen. When she called Noella, she had braced herself for questioning. However, she hadn’t expected Ms. Noella to be concerned

about her wounds!

Tm…I’m fine. I can take care of it myself:

With a glance that brooked no argument, Noella’s eyes spoke volumes. “Come here. I don’t want to have to ask twice.”

Annie quickly followed Noella to the guest room, and only when she started to undress did she realize her wounds were stuck to her clothes, causing her to wince in pain.

As Noella cleaned Annie’s wounds, she inquired, “Now tell me, what exactly did Palmer do to get himself injured?”

“We ran into a gang war at the border. Someone wanted to go out with a bang and planted bombs everywhere. We weren’t involved, just happened to pass by”

Clashes along the border were commonplace, with rival gangs fighting almost daily. But the Abyssal Organization, a top–tier player in the deep web, wouldn’t make such amateur mistakes.

It meant that the gang war broke out exactly where Palmer intended to bel

“Where did this happen?”

Annie hesitated, but meeting Noella’s piercing gaze, she shivered and finally whispered, “Near the abandoned Polaris Starlab.”

The Polaris Star lab covered a significant area, and it wasn’t uncommon for gangs to covet its secrets. Even deserted, the Polaris Star’s reputation stood firm. Who knew what treasures one might find inside?

But if they actually stumbled upon something valuable, Polaris Star wouldn’t be the powerhouse it was known as.

“Why was Palmer there?”

“You know we took down Cerulean Whale. Boss suspects that his mother’s death has something to do with Polaris Star, so he went to investigate.”

The mystery of Palmer’s mother’s death was a thorn in his side. For years, he hadn’t given up on uncovering the truth.

Noella set down the gauze and bandages she had been using to dress the wound. “There you go. Get some rest now, and don’t forget to take your antibiotics,” she said with a gentle, yet firm tone.

Annie blinked back to reality, only then realizing that all of Noella’s questions had been a clever distraction.

In that moment, Annie couldn’t help but marvel at how kind–hearted Ms. Noella was!

“I’ll just rest in the guest room. Ms. Noella, if you need anything, just holler!”

“You can go home. I don’t need help here. If Palmer asks, I’ll fill him in.”

Resting in the Pollack Mansion didn’t exactly spell comfort. Annie’s injuries were far worse than Palmer’s and demanded a good spell of bed rest.

“Got it! I’ll do whatever you say!”

Noella stood up and gazed around the still and silent expanse of the Pollack Mansion, breaking the hush with a soft inquiry. “Has it always been this quiet around here?”

Annie nodded. “Yeah, ever since I joined the Abyssal Organization years ago, Boss’s place has been like this. Sexton would rather stay at the hospital than come back home. Boss has always been lacking company. But ever since you came along, Ms. Noella, Boss has been spending more time here!”

The mansion was so immaculately decorated it could have doubled as a showroom for an interior design firm, utterly devoid of warmth. The Schnabel Manor was always bustling and lively, but here it was eerily silent.

it was because you were

Annie blurted out, “Ive caught Boss staring into space in his room so many times. Later, I found out that it

staying in the room right across from his.”

Noella paused for a moment and then nodded at Annie. “Alright, I’ve got it. Y

You head back now, I’ll keep an eye on Palmer”

“Thanks, Ms. Noella, I owe you one.”

After Annie left, Noella pushed the door to Palmer’s room open and stepped inside. As she reached out to check his forehead, her hand was abruptly caught in his grasp.

The man, lost in a groggy haze, seemed barely conscious, mumbling out of habit more than awareness.

“Noella, don’t go, stay with me…”