The Killer Queen

Briony was green with envy!

“Theard the boss of Triple Entertain Media is an old geezer, over fifty, and just so happens to have the last name Schnabel, Now Noella’s going by Noella Schnabel–don’t tell me she’s snagged herself a sugar daddy or something.”

Stuff like that isn’t exactly unheard of in showbiz.

Milford was itching just looking at that poster. If Noella really was planning to make her debut. it could be a sweet deal. As long as he had some dirt on her past, he could make sure she’d be eating out of his hand!

Briony was a hot mess, planning to grill Noella about the whole deal as soon as she got home.

If Noella really did enter the limelight, she wouldn’t last two minutes!

Meanwhile the director escorted Noella and Beckett to the university president’s office. respectfully handing over some documents.

“Mr. Schnabel here’s Ms. Yvonne’s school record. She barely got into school because Ashlyn donated a building, plus she had the Imperial City residency… her academic foundations are pretty shaky.” Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Beckett, without breaking a sweat, pulled out a fine cup, poured Noella some water, checked the temperature with his hand, and handed it to her before asking in a cool tone, “I won’t bother reading the documents. Just give me the gist. Yvonne’s been a poor student from the get–go. but do you think that justifies her being bullied by her classmates?”

The director’s head shook like a bobblehead.

“Are you joking, Mr. Schnabel? Who in their right mind would dare pick on Marcel’s granddaughter?”

She’d be lucky not to bully someone herself…

Beckett knew Marcel’s character; the Schnabel family kids went to school without him flaunting his clout to get them perks, let alone using his status to push people around.

Frowning, he asked, “Has my grandfather come to visit Yvonne at school?”

“Nope, the old Mr. Schnabel is busy; no time for that. It was Yvonne herself who announced she was his granddaughter at the inauguration ceremony.”

Marcel might be low–key, but that didn’t stop others from making a big deal of it!

Beckett was speechless.

“Since enrolling. Yvonne rarely attends classes, claiming to be caring for the old Mr. Schnabel

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In the hospital and sharing pictures of her and the old Mr. Schnabel on social media. This exam had a hired gun test–taker for Yvonne. Here’s the paper.”

Two exams were laid out before him, one with a score of just 58 out of 100.

Beckett raised an eyebrow, “Has she always hired someone for her exams?”

“Yes, but to be fair, our school’s exams are tough, and considering Yvonne never attended a single class, scoring 58 isn’t too shabby…”

The director was sweating bullets.

These were all half–baked compliments he had conjured up, and even he found them absurd.

Judging by Beckett’s care for Noella by his side, he probably wouldn’t be any less protective of Yvonne. If he made a fuss, the school would be in deep trouble…

Noella glanced at the exam paper and casually asked, “Got any blank papers and a pen?”

Beckett thought she was just bored and instructed the director to fetch a blank exam.

After some digging, the director could only find a graduate–level medical competition paper.

“This is all we’ve got. It’s super tough. Even Professor Calvin scored only 80. You can just skim through it.”

“Thanks.”

The director was worried Noella might doodle something silly on it, and he’d have to come up

with more flattery.

But watching her handle herself with composure, she was leagues ahead of Yvonne, who always strutted into the office like she owned the place.

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Now, the mere mention of “Do you know who my grandpa is?” gave the director a headache.

“How’s Yvonne’s social life at school, really?”

“Not too bad, mainly ‘cause Yvonne can’t stand the other students. She calls them all ‘country bumpkins‘ and ‘poor as church mice.‘ And since she hardly ever attends classés, she doesn’t really interact with them! But yeah, relations are great!”

Knowing Yvonne’s character, Beckett could guess the kind of drama she’d stir up at school.

Noella put down her pen and handed the test back to the director.

“All done? Don’t worry if you didn’t get the professional jargon. Wait, what?”

The director, almost choking on his own saliva, was stunned by the answers and calculations Noella had jotted down.

He didn’t even have the answers himself; they needed to be looked up on the medical intranet.

“Mr. Schnabel, please bear with me for a sec!”

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Five minutes later, the director was a bundle of nerves, looking at frontlike one w kind of prodigy.

Professor Calvin couldn’t get past 80, and Noella had scored 50

They knocked off one point because her paper was all worked out processes being some points for presentation.

But it proved she had just aced the paper in ten minutes

“Miss Schnabel, would you be interested in enrolling in our school? We’d like to offer you fast–track invitation to a combined bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. program

Noella shook her head and said, “No thanks.” She was just killing time and curTIUS TO SEE HIM tough the school’s questions were.

Turned out she accidentally got the test paper she designed, and since Calvin only scored she went ahead and scribbled down the calculation processes for the key questions Consider it payback for his help with her experiments.

Beckett’s eyes lit up, looking at Noella with extra tenderness.

“Noella, interested in medicine? Ulrich could mentor you. If you are, I’ll set up a lats for you night away.”

“No, it’s just that the granny who raised me wasn’t well, so I picked up a bit on the side. Not really interested.”

If it weren’t for taking care of old Mrs. Lambert, she wouldn’t have bothered with medicine at

all.

The director looked a bit bummed out, eyeballing Noella with puppy–dog eyes.

“If you ever change your mind, remember to hit me up!”

Noella nodded, then glanced at the failed test paper on the table. “As for this test, it’s a piece of cake. If your school ever needs someone to set questions, you know where to find me.”

“Sure thing! Even if you don’t come to school here, it’d be great to have your insights”

Her questions might just crank up the rate of students staying extra years at MediCore University.

“Noella, what major are you interested in?”

“Haven’t decided. Anything’s fine, I guess. A school closer to home would be better.”

The Schnabel family’s parents and brothers kind of enjoyed having meals with her, and they’d be the first to veto if the distance was too great.

She wasn’t all that keen on going to college either. To her, she had already learned everything they could teach, so attending was just a waste of time.

But then, there were those countless nights old Mrs. Lambert would cuddle her on the rocking

chair at the ancestral home, gently swaying and moon–gazing.

“My dear, you must go to a top–notch college, attend the best school. You have to spread your wings from here, and go to the finest places!”

“What about you, Grandma, If I go?”

Old Mrs. Lambert chuckled, fanning herself with a fan, softly patting her back.

“I’ll turn into the moon, and I’ll always be with you in the sky. So you can’t go astray. You must go to college!”

Those memories were buried in dust, yet they were the cherished moments Noella would never forget!

Noella’s phone flickered with an encrypted number. She stood up. “Beckett, I need to take this.”

Beckett had some things to ask the director in private and said. “Alright, don’t wander off too far.”

Noella stood in the hallway and pressed the answer button.

“Boss, got a message from the old Linefort City estate. Belinda’s planning to relocate old Mrs. Lambert’s grave!”

“Relocate? Isn’t Grandma’s grave in good shape?”

Noella had forked out a hefty sum to have old Mrs. Lambert’s resting place picked out, meant to bless the descendants with prosperity and fortune.

“Yeah, the place is great, and that’s why Belinda wants to move old Mrs. Lambert’s coffin out. so her own parents can move in! She claims the Lambert family’s recent bad luck is all because of the bad location of the ancestral grave, so she wants to tamper with old Mrs. Lambert’s. Boss, we paid top dollar for that plot, you know. If someone digs it up, where’s old Mrs. Lambert supposed to go?”

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