The Killer Queen (Noella Briony)

Back in the day, the man stirring the pot behind the scenes of the Pollack family drama was none other than Garrick!

"We don't play ball with his plans, and he decides to throw both our families into chaos. But how could he go after Harriet like that!" Sexton was visibly upset.

Marcel shook his head. "Harriet and Xavier were his biggest supporters back in the day. When they realized something was off with his plans, they were the first to walk away. He held a grudge against Harriet, worried she took secrets of the Polaris Star with her. After Harriet left, Garrick wasn't about to let her off the hook."

Sexton slammed his hand on the table in front of him. "Heartless! He claimed Harriet was like a sister to him, and look what happened!"

"Let's not go there. It's my fault. I didn't protect Harriet when she needed it most. I'm here to pay my respects to your daughter-in-law, and then I'll be on my way."

Outside the hall, a light drizzle began to fall, with dark clouds pressing down, casting a somber ambiance. Inside, the solemn praying continued, its ancient tones offering a measure of peace.

Palmer gently squeezed Noella's hand, reluctant to let go. "It's starting to rain. You head back first. I'll come find you after I finish up here."

Noella knew Palmer had a lot on his plate. "Will my staying here hold you back?"

"I'll be distracted. Knowing you're here, I won't be able to focus."

Despite knowing Noella’s capability and that sometimes she could be of help, Palmer hated the thought of her being anywhere but safe.

"Alright, then I'll head out first."

After bidding farewell, Tristan left with his two daughters in tow.

Once in the car, Sienna finally turned to Noella with a smile. "Noella, why isn't Palmer leaving with you?"

Sienna's question stemmed from spotting Emeric, feeling that Noella’s future father-in-law seemed a bit unreliable.

"There's still a ceremony to wrap up, and some matters that need attending."

Sienna frowned. "Palmer's the youngest in the Pollack family, why does everything fall to him? Even if he's capable, they shouldn't take advantage of him like this!"

Sienna's attitude towards Palmer was pure mother-in-law doting on her son-in-law. In her eyes, Palmer was already part of the family! Seeing how Emeric treated Palmer, Sienna couldn't help but feel sympathetic.

Marcel turned to Noella. "Noella, when you go back to college, could you pass a message to your principal for me? Just tell him, it's time to settle accounts!"

Noella was taken aback. In the confined space of the car, Marcel's calm gaze and authoritative voice made the request all the more weighty.

"Garrick was also a friend of your grandma. Since we're planning to slowly hand over all family matters to you, I don't want to keep you in the dark."

Marcel believed that Noella wouldn’t want to miss anything related to Harriet. With the kids growing up, he trusted in their abilities.

"Tristan will be driving Noella to college from now on."

"Sure thing!"

The prospect of daily drives with his daughter made Tristan ecstatic.

Elara had been fast-tracking through her education, spending any free moment in the lab, leaving Tristan with little chance to enjoy father-daughter moments. Now, he finally had his chance!

...

At Imperial University, as Noella entered the classroom, the class president, Ingrid, swiftly grabbed a book and took the seat beside her.

"Is this seat taken?"

"Nope."

Ingrid had a pleasant, round face with ordinary features that somehow complemented each other, giving her the unique freshness of a college student.

"Noella, there's a competition in the department. Interested in joining?"

"Not really."

Desperate to persuade her, Ingrid quickly pulled out her phone to show Noella all the competition details.

"It's a jewelry design contest. Winning comes with a cash prize! The best designs might even be bought by Falen Gemstones, a partner of our department, and turned into actual products for sale!"

Noella raised an eyebrow slightly.

Falen Gemstones, if she remembered correctly, was the jewelry company Merrick had given her, located not far from the campus.

With so much going on, Noella hadn't found the time to check it out. The company was currently being managed by Beckett, likely arranging this competition with Merrick as a collaborative effort with Noella's department.

Ingrid showed Noella the design submissions from other contestants.

"Look, many of our classmates have entered. Why not give it a try? Ms. Darcy said your design skills are top-notch!"

Ingrid, the class president, often worked with Darcy, the temporary class advisor. Having heard about Noella's impressive drawing and design skills from Darcy, Ingrid had eagerly anticipated inviting Noella to join the department's contest for days!

Noella wasn't much interested in competitions. However, when she saw one of the designs Ingrid showed her, she felt a flicker of recognition.

Opening the design, she saw it was signed by Oriana.

Seeing Noella's interest in the design, Ingrid quickly shared, "Oriana's entry has been a dark horse this time! I already told Ms. Darcy about her previous incident, and she said she'll handle it properly."

"How so?"

"Ms. Darcy plans to have Oriana apologize to you in front of everyone and then give her a major disciplinary mark!"

For any college student, being disciplined in such a manner is a black mark on both their dignity and future resume. A person with Oriana's temperament would most likely never agree!

"She would agree to this?"

"She doesn't have much choice! The incident was just too vile, and Ms. Darcy is absolutely livid!"

Noella gazed at Ingrid, whose round face was marked with signs of indignation and dissatisfaction, all in defense of Noella.

Ingrid, along with Darcy, had dug into the nitty-gritty of the ordeal and even roped in Stirling Schnabel. When it came to light that everything was a malicious fabrication by Oriana, Ingrid was ridden with guilt.

Noella was simply an angel! Despite such a predicament, she remained calm, not letting Oriana's actions get to her. It was infuriating how someone as outstanding as Noella had to face such baseless slander and defamation out of sheer jealousy from Oriana!

"Noella, I hope this doesn't sour your view of our school. We will definitely clear your name!"

"Really?" Noella said with a light chuckle.

"Absolutely!"

Observing Ingrid nodding fervently, like a hen pecking, Noella pointed towards the designs submitted by Oriana.

"I might as well report that these pieces Oriana submitted for the competition are all plagiarized!" NôvelDrama.Org holds © this.

"What? Noella, how did you know? These designs were among our top picks for the contest."

Noella said casually, "Because she plagiarized them from my work!"