The Killer Queen ( Noella Briony ) novel Chapter 211

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."

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!"

Noella's brow furrowed slightly. "Where is he?"

"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, I'll 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 hard.

"Why hasn't he gone to the hospital?" Noella asked, her frown deepening.

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

Approaching Palmer, Noella saw his eyes shut tight, his wounds crudely tended to without signs of infection. Only the bandage on his wrist had come undone, the blood seeping through.

"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."

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.

Annie blurted out, "I've caught Boss staring into space in his room so many times. Later, I found out that it was because you were staying in the room right across from his."

Noella paused for a moment and then nodded at Annie. "Alright, I've got it. 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..."