The Killer Queen ( Noella Briony ) novel Chapter 225

Noella exhaled a long sigh as she looked at the person lying on the bed. "Why are you here?"

Malvina was wrestling with a pile of plush toys on Noella's bed, distorting the face of a teddy bear with a forceful tug.

"I missed you, sweetie. You hadn't been home for a while, so I thought I'd wait for you in your room!"

"Spit it out if you've got something to say."

Malvina's fidgeting had already betrayed her; it was clear she had something on her mind or she wouldn't be camping out in Noella's room.

"I knew I couldn't hide anything from you!" Malvina pulled out her phone and handed it to Noella. "Got these weird messages a couple of days ago. Someone claims they've got a bunch of my mom's stuff. But it feels off."

Growing up with the Grubers, a family notorious for living on the edge, Malvina had developed a keen sense for these things. One glance from Arthur, and she knew exactly what to do and say. Her gut told her something was wrong the moment she saw those messages.

After some thought, the only person she felt she could turn to was Noella, so she made her way to the Schnabel’s. After all, Noella was so capable; she was bound to know how to handle the situation!

"Did you look into this guy?"

Malvina would have naturally inquired within the Shadow Dragon Society to find out what was going on. Her mother had passed away when Malvina was just an infant, so whoever had her belongings now should be known to the members of the Shadow Dragon Society who were close to her.

"I did. Turned out to be an ex-member of the Shadow Dragon Society who retired due to age."

Malvina propped her chin on the stuffed animal, her brows knitting together in thought.

Noella nodded, affirming Malvina's suspicions. "It's unusual. If these were truly your mother's things, those close to her—and now you, as the head of the Shadow Dragon Society—would've handed them directly to you. There's no need for a secret rendezvous."

Noella gave the phone a shake. "Mind if I use this?"

"Sure, go ahead!" Malvina said generously.

She expected Noella to do something with her phone, but instead watched her bend down and retrieve a palm-sized laptop from under the bed.

Noella deftly used a hairpin from her head to activate a hidden mechanism on the laptop, only then noticing the unusual heft of the pin in her hand. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the hairpin was of the Glassy Type jade, flawless under the light. It was from a piece of jade she had won during a recent showdown at the Gruber estate.

"Hey, that hairpin is gorgeous. Did you buy it recently?"

"Sort of."

Noella suddenly remembered the night before when she was bandaging Palmer's wounds. She had noticed numerous cuts on his palms. As an assassin, Palmer faced countless challenges, and injuries were par for the course, so she hadn't thought much of it. But now, holding the jade hairpin, she realized Palmer had intentionally tousled her hair last night.

He had actually used the piece of gemstone she had gifted him to craft this hairpin for her!

Receiving a hairpin from Ulrich had delighted her, but holding Palmer’s hairpin now made her feel distinctly different- her heart began to beat erratically for some unknown reason.

Utilizing the hairpin, Noella unlocked the laptop's mechanism and powered it on.

Fingers flying across the keyboard, Noella's gaze was steady and focused as she connected Malvina's phone.

Malvina watched the stream of data on the laptop screen and felt overwhelmed.

What on earth was all this? She couldn't make heads or tails of it! Was Noella really that amazing? How could she know how to do all this?

Soon, the data pinpointed a discreet location, and Noella's eyes narrowed at the address.

"Do you recognize this place?"