The Killer Queen (Noella Briony)

Lorne's gaze was locked onto Noella, full of hope and desperation. He was convinced she would make the right choice.

However, Noella stood her ground, her expression calm and unwavering.

"I disagree," she said, her voice steady and clear. "Your threats won't work on me."

Lorne was flabbergasted.

"Why? Don't you care about what Elara thinks? This is about her mother! It's impossible! I've checked everything myself. You've used your connections to clean out the rats in Elara's lab. She gets her meals delivered from your diner every day. You can't possibly be indifferent to her well- being! How can you be so heartless? How can you disregard Elara's feelings? Do you really want her mom gone?"

Lorne's eyes were burning with fury, his demeanor verging on the edge of madness. He was battered and bruised, having injected himself with several doses of a potent drug just to keep himself going after taking Lavinia away.

He had made all the preparations, only for them to come crashing down upon hearing Noella's refusal.

Lorne was on the brink of collapse.

After extensive investigation, Lorne was certain that Noella cared deeply for Elara, perhaps even more than for her own brothers in the Schnabel family. She shouldn't have rejected him!

"Or is it because you have a thing for Palmer? He's just a man! I can't understand it! You'd forsake your own sister for a stranger?"

Elara, seizing Noella's hand, fixed her gaze on Lorne. "What nonsense are you spouting? Stop trying to intimidate my sister with your so-called noble speech, Lorne. You've completely lost it! Hasn't my mom been good to you?"

"Good? She wouldn't even share her shares with me! Just because I'm not a blood-born Richardson. But neither is Bowie!”

Lavinia's older brother and his wife, having no children of their own, adopted Lorne and Bowie due to a twist of fate, who have always been regarded as their own by the Richardson family.

Elara retorted with a sneer, "Oh, that really shows your lack of abilities. Even I got a share in the Schnabel family."

Lorne's eyes widened in shock. "Are you mocking me? Are you not afraid I'll kill your mom?"

Elara coolly pulled out her phone. "Hello, police officer, this man here kidnapped my mom."

Lorne hadn't expected Elara to actually call the cops!

On the way there, Elara had forced herself to stay calm, strategizing with Jacob to go straight to the authorities.

Lorne's scheme was nothing more than a ploy to use Elara to pressure Noella, and he surely wouldn't dare to risk Lavinia's life.

Noella slightly tilted her chin up. "Look behind you."

Lorne turned abruptly, only to find a tall figure in a trench coat standing atop a nearby building, his gun aimed straight at Lorne's head!

"Palmer? How did he get here!"

Seeing Palmer, Lorne panicked. He had miscalculated; he had thought Palmer didn't care about Noella at all. The Schnabels and the Pollacks were tied by business, not by feelings.

Facing Palmer's icy gun and cold stare, Lorne felt as if his blood had turned to ice.

Noella spoke calmly, "Oh, I brought a gun too. You've heard about my shooting skills, haven't you, Lorne?"

On the border, there wasn't a soul who hadn't heard of Wise Fool's legendary marksmanship!

With an expressionless face, Noella pulled the trigger, and the silencer-equipped bullet flew, striking Lorne's thigh!

"Ah! You're insane! If you touch me, I'll make sure Lavinia dies with me! I'll take her down with me!"

As Lorne lunged towards Lavinia, Elara rushed to embrace her mother.

The chair toppled under their combined weight with a loud crash, and Lavinia slowly came to, her eyes meeting Elara's.

"Ms. Elara? What are you doing here?"

Tears streaked down Elara's face. "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Shaking her head, Lavinia felt the warmth of Elara's embrace, something so familiar yet so distant. That face, had she seen it somewhere before? It reminded her of her own reflection every morning.

Another bullet from Noella landed, this time in Lorne's arm!

"Don't kill me. Garrick will never let you go. I know too many of his secrets..."

"I don't need to hear them from you."

"If you kill me, the Richardson family won't let the Schnabels off either!"

Noella looked down at him. "Your actions today ensure that neither the Schnabels nor the Richardsons would spare you."

"No! You can't kill me!" As Lorne spoke, he searched for an opportunity to escape.

Noella's gaze fell on the nearby corridor, where the sniper was aiming- the rooftop on this side! In terms of trajectory, the targeted person was none other than Elara!

"Watch out, Elara!"

Lorne bellowed, "I'll kill you all! I've had a sniper ready all along, ha!"

But before his laughter could fade, a bullet fired from the opposite direction pierced Lorne's heart, and almost simultaneously, took down the opposing sniper with a thud.

In the ensuing chaos, Elara's cries echoed.

In a moment of grave danger, Lavinia shielded Elara with her own body. The bullet went through her shoulder, blood seeping out and staining her clothes red.

Elara, panic-stricken, tried to staunch the bleeding with her hands. Content © NôvelDrama.Org.

"Why? Why did you do this? You're so frail. Why save me!"

Noella moved closer, quickly untying the ropes that bound Lavinia, checking her wounds with a practiced eye before gently pressing on her shoulder. "I'll call an ambulance."

"Mr. Pollack's already downstairs. The ambulance and the cops should be here any minute."

As Jacob reached the hotel lobby, he remembered his promise to Lucian not to meet with Lavinia, worried that seeing her might cause undue stress.

Elara and Jacob took different paths as the sound of sirens began to fill the air below.

Elara was inconsolable, tears streaming down her face. "Noella, she's going to be okay, right? I... I just found my mom. I can't lose her now..."

"Don't worry, she's going to be fine. The chair took some of the bullet's impact, lessening the force."

As Noella spoke, she was already performing first aid, trying to stop the bleeding.

Weak and trembling, Lavinia gently caressed Elara's face, her expression filled with love and tenderness. Lavinia couldn't place who Elara was exactly; this child seemed to have no direct ties to her.

"Maybe it's just instinct? The thought of something happening to you right in front of me... it hurts so much, I'd rather die myself, as long as you're safe."

After saying these words, Lavinia passed out, a content smile on her lips.

Elara was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe, wondering why the ambulance was taking so long to arrive; time seemed to drag endlessly.

Noella looked down, gently patting Elara's back.

"Elara, she might have forgotten everything, but she never forgot to love you. Don't worry, you won't be without a mom. Trust me."