The Killer Queen

She was intrigued by the Schnabels instead!

Malvina never expected that her casual inquiries about the Schnabel family, combined with her polite Interest in Ulrich’s medical work, would lead him to believe she was fascinated by the field of medicine.

Did she really look like someone who could understand all those medical terms?

Luckily for her, a nurse poked her head in to summon the ever–chatty Ulrich, “Dr. Schnabel, there’s an emergency patient!”

“I’m on it.” Ulrich dashed off, and Malvina seized the moment to toss aside the stack of medical journals he’d handed her while taking a deep breath in relief.

Beside her was the shiny new smartphone Noella had given her, a perfect replacement for the one that had perished in the fire.

She had no idea how Noella had managed to restore everything from that old phone. If Malvina hadn’t confirmed its demise herself, she would have suspected this was her original phone.

The Schnabels were truly a family of geniuses.

E

Nervously biting her nails, Malvina scrolled through the contacts in her phone and dialed Noella’s number.

Noella had thought of everything–not only had she restored the phone’s original content, but she had also saved several important numbers: her own, Elara’s, and even Ulrich’s.

“Hey, Noella, you up for hanging out?” she called and asked.

“I’ll come pick you up.” Noella answered.

“Perfect! I’ll wait for you at the hospital entrance.”

Half an hour later, Noella zoomed up to the hospital on her motorcycle, looking every inch the rebel in her black leather jacket.

Taking off her helmet, she shook out her tousled hair as her strands were dancing in the breeze.

Malvina hobbled over, swamped in an oversized coat that clearly belonged to Ulrich.

“Did you sneak out without telling Ulrich?” Noella asked.

“I did. He’s busy with a patient who slit the wrist. And he’d worry if he knew I was out. But I need to check on something at South Flora Storage.” Malvina was clearly fed up with Ulrich’s lectures as a doctor.

Noella raised an eyebrow at Malvina’s coat, recalling Ulrich wearing something similar recently. Without prying further, she gave Malvina a considerate look, “Let’s take a cab. Riding a bike isn’t the best idea with your injuries.”

“Sounds good.”

They arrived at South Flora Storage to find it a shadow of its former self. The aftermath of an explosion left only a few unstable structures standing surrounded by piles of police tapes.

Following the coordinates on her phone, Malvina found an underground bunker.

‘Over here, Noella.”

Noella eyed the bunker warily. Her assassin’s instincts alerted her to the presence of others inside– they were members of the Shadow Dragon Society.

“I’ll stay out here and wait for you.” She said.

Malvina nodded and ducked into the entryway, vanishing from sight.

The Shadow Dragon Society had splintered years ago after the untimely demise of their former leader, with some following the Gruber family and others secretly protecting Malvina.

And those with the Grubers were either dead or in jail.

In less than ten minutes, Malvina reemerged with her eyes teary; she was also clutching a box.

“It’s all gold bars… my mom left them for me. I’m rich now. With what I’ve saved, I won’t have to work a day in my life! But…” Her mood dipped, eyes swimming with conflict and loss.

Noella saw through her dilemma, “You want to take them with you?*

“Yeah, they’ve always looked out for me. Without them, I wouldn’t have survived the Grubers. But I don’t know if I can…”

Malvina couldn’t bear to see the Shadow Dragon Society, where her mother’s effort was laid in, disband.

“Your life’s gonna change if you take them.” Noella reminded her.

пров

Malvina blinked, a smile breaking through her face, “That’s okay! What my mom could do, I can do too. Besides, being a mob boss is so

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cool, right?”

She held the box and mused again, “And I don’t want to be loser as well. Thanks for saving me. At first, I got close to you for protection, but I do really like you, Noella. It was that damn Yvonne who made me realize I don’t want to be a damsel in distress!”

Don’t worry, Noella. In Imperial City, the Shadow Dragon Society is mine!”

She didn’t want to be a delicate girl controlled by others, even if her heart raced at the sight of Ulrich’s protective stance.

Malvina wanted to be like Noella. She grabbed Noella and pressed her still bandaged face against hers, “I’ve figured it all out! Instead of waiting for others to shelter me, I’ll shelter myself! My fate is mine to control. Here In Imperial City, you and Elara will be both under my wing!”

Noella’s lips curled into a warm smile, “I’m looking forward to the new Malvina. And you’re always welcome at our place; my mom’s already got fresh pajamas waiting for you.”

“That’s so sweet! I’ll definitely come over!” Malvina hugged Noella tightly. She seemed to make some kind of decision before she turned back into the bunker.

This time, she did not return.

Noella stood amid the ruins of South Flora Storage, overlooking the blast–damaged buildings while the police continued their investigation in the distance.

Alioth emerged from a bush and approached Noella with curiosity, “Boss, I checked out those guys. They’re loyal enough, but for Ms. Gruber to get a grip on them? That’s gonna take some doing. After all, the Shadow Dragon Society is no Sunday school, and Malvina, that pampered Ms. Gruber, will have to hustle hard to get the Society under her thumb.”

“Keep a close eye on her–don’t let her get into any scrapes.” She answered.

“We’ve got it covered. There’s a fight club we run not too far from here, got some ties to the Shadow Dragon Society. Looks like Ms. Gruber’s gonna have to tough it out!”

“It’s alright, it won’t be too rough.”

If there’s sweetness after the struggle, then it’s all worth it.

With Malvina’s disposition, controlling the Shadow Dragon Society won’t be a walk in the park. But Noella will help her make it look easy! NôvelDrama.Org holds © this.

Meanwhile, at the hospital.

After finishing a lifesaving surgery, Ulrich stepped out of the OR and into a private room, only to find the patient who should’ve been resting was gone!

Where the heck?

Just as Ulrich was about to call a search party, his phone buzzed–it was Noella.

Even his head was throbbing while listening to the rundown of events. He was grinding his teeth and his voicr ne from deep within, “Got it!”

He’d never seen such a reckless patient!

A nameless rage surged through Ulrich’s chest, his anger momentarily making his head spin.

Ulrich changed out of his scrubs and strode out of the ER.

Several doctors, taken aback by his urgency, exclaimed, “Dr. Schnabel, where to in such a rush? You’ve been on for over twenty hours–take a break!”

“I’m off to find a disobedient patient, to ask if she’s got a death wish!”

At the border.

A blood–stained Rottweiler combat boot pressed down on the face of a man gasping his last breaths, and the sharp blade was teasing open his windpipe. The owner of the boot was an ice–cold presence, his intent to kill palpable, his gaze lethal.

As Thorpe watched the scene from the other side, his face twitched at the sight of his young opponent.

The man was giving Thorpe a chilly stare. He was travel–worn with the telltale red veins of fatigue in his eyes.

Thorpe let out a low chuckle and sat up straight to meet the young man’s eyes. “You finally showed up, Vocalist! I’ve been waiting on you for ages!”