The Killer Queen

Noella locked eyes with Palmer’s intense gaze, and for a moment, the ring in her hand seemed to scorch her palm with an uncomfortable heat.

“I can’t accept this,” she said. “You should take it back.”

“Without you accepting this ring, everything I’ve done today is meaningless,” Palmer replied as he tried his best to lift his hand and gently tousled Noella’s hair.

“Even if you don’t like me, please don’t reject it, okay?” His eyes held a plea, a vulnerability that was likely the result of too much blood loss, and it tugged at Noella’s heartstrings.

The ring, with its rose–shaped gemstone, sparkled brilliantly in her palm. It was a testament to how cherished it had been by its previous owner.

*Please, take it,” Palmer implored softly as he gazed at her.

Feeling the burn of his gaze, Noella quickly averted her eyes.

“Alright, I’ll keep it,” she then quickly added when she met his burning gaze, “It’s not that I dislike you. Maybe I’m not that into you, but don’t try to test me.”

–

Her feelings for Palmer were a muddle not quite passionate enough to call love, but certainly far from disdain.

“It’s not a test, I just lack confidence,” Palmer admitted.

Noella didn’t respond. Instead, she focused on dressing the wounds he had sustained, handing him a new shirt designed by Azure. The shirt was yet to be embellished with the usual intricate embroidery that would mark it as an Azure original; it looked plain, and she hoped Palmer wouldn’t notice its designer origins.

But as Palmer examined the shirt he was now wearing, he couldn’t help but find it eerily similar to several others in his closet. High–end brands had their unique styles, after all.

Clearing her throat, Noella said sternly, “Take off your pants.”

“You’ve got injuries on your legs from the blast. Do you want to strip them off yourself, or should I help?” she added.

At her serious tone, Palmer couldn’t suppress a chuckle.

“I can manage, thanks. I’ve always taken care of my own wounds. But I appreciate if you can prepare the medicine for me.”

His gaze toward her became suggestive, “I know you are a doctor, so you see no gender in, your patients. B

selfishly, I hope that you’ll talk like this under different circumstances

like in your bedroom. I’d be very pleased then.”

at him before handing over the medicine.

Malvina’s mother was friends with your mother?” she asked.

Yes. They were friends back in the day, but Mrs. Gruber passed away shortly after Malvina was born,” Palmer explained.

Noella leaned against the wall, her brow furrowed as she pressed, “You knew Malvina long before?”

“Not personally. Both of our mothers died when we were young, although I had met hers. So when she needed the Pollack family’s name to approach my grandfather, he was willing to help.”

Palmer caught Noella’s eye, “Are you planning on staying to watch me apply the medicine?”

As he began to unbuckle his belt, Noella turned sharply and strode out of the room, leaving Palmer to laugh quietly to himself, thoroughly amused.

At the Gruber estate.

Yates rushed to Arthur with a pile of documents with panic written all over his face.

“Granddad, our businesses have been sanctioned Deals that were set in stone are now being retracted they’re refusing to work with us!”

Arthur’s gaze remained fixed outside, where the moonlight draped the Gruber grounds in tranquility. He lifted his cup to have a sip of black tea and asked with a chilled voice, “What’s there to panic about? Isn’t this something we’ve dealt with before? Is it really that urgent?”

The secretary burst in, breathless, “Sir, the Shadow Dragon Society… are all wiped out! Anyone who survived was taken by the cops! Our businesses are restricted, and your accounts have been frozen!”

The cup fell from Arthur’s hand onto the carpet, “What did you say? Who dares to do this?” “The gang was planning to move against Hector today, but he… he led the cops straight to several Shadow Dragon Society strongholds. We’ve lost most of our men.”

“The Schnabel family, Palmer, and Polaris Financial are all sanctioning our corporate assets… We’re going under!”

Arthur looked at his secretary in disbelief, “Have the Pollack and the Schnabel families lost their minds? And how dare that Polaris Financial, a small company that’s barely on its feet, sanction me?”

The secretary stammered, “It’s… it’s the Shadow Dragon Society. They hired the

12.54

Westwood Mercenary Corps for help, and they… they ambushed Mr. Pollack… Material © NôvelDrama.Org.

Arthur’s eyes bulged in shock.

Had everyone gone mad?

Daring to attack Palmer?!

If they succeeded, the Gruber family would have one less rival. But if they failed, it would spell disaster for the Grubers.

Arthur slumped to the floor, his face beaded with cold sweat.

“Get me the phone; I need to make a call…” As soon as the call connected, Arthur began frantically, “Lucian, you have to save me! The Gruber family rose with your help, and can you bear to watch us go bankrupt?”

On the other end, Lucian moved a chess piece languidly while glancing across the board at Master Hector.

“It’s your turn. Oh, Arthur, what was that? The Grubers are going bust? No biggie, your folks are small– time anyway. If you go under, you go under. No sweat. Hey, Master Hector, no take–backs on the chessboard!”

Arthur clenched his teeth and pleaded, “I know I messed up. I’ll listen to you from now on, I swear. No more bucking heads with the Richardsons. Please, just bail out us Grubers. We’ll all be in your debt!”

“Look at you, always the joker when you get up there in years. Since when could the Grubers even dream of squaring up to us, the Richardsons? Arthur, you might as well go down with some dignity.” Lucian glanced at the chess piece in his hand and said indifferently, “Your grandson, Yates, had the gall to make a move on my one and only granddaughter. He’d better be ready for the consequences.”

He hung up with a chuckle and got back to his game.

Arthur stood there, utterly lost, until a voice message played through his phone–recordings of Yates stirring up trouble between Elara and Noella!

“You are the disgrace of the family! It’s because of you lot that the Grubers have come to this! But what did Lucian mean by his ‘one and only granddaughter‘? Who was he talking about?”

Arthur didn’t have a clue, nor the luxury of time to figure it out.

Yates was visibly panicked, “Grandpa, I… I just wanted to ask Ms. Schnabel out for a bite, that’s all!”

Arthur’s hand flew across Yates’s face with a smack.

“Get lost! You’re a disgrace! If the Grubers go under tonight, you’re sleeping under the

12.54 I

At the doorway to the endy, Malving beaned against the frame and popped a gun trade

with a loud anap, “Going under, huh? Sooner than I thought./