CHapter 71
Theb crew were all whiz kids Noe plucked from the brink of the international warzones. Their
IQs had been cranked up to the maximum humans could handle. They rattled off the experimental
data Noe needed in under five minutes.
“Boss, I’m gonna run a control experiment on Mirage Grass, see what ailments it really kicks. butt
against.
Noe skimmed the data and quickly zeroed in on the vital clue. “Highly likely it’s brain cancer. Half
an hourter, the control experiment results were in, and Mirage Grass was a
game–changer for brain cancer but only had side effects like an anesthetic or hallucinogen for other
diseases.
Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org.
It was a godsend for patients with screwy minds, or who had been under mental duress for ages,
but for those with their heads screwed on right, it was pure poison.
“Boss, how the heck did you figure that out? That’s just nuts; you’re even smarter than us!”
“Set up the new experiment. I need five hundred slides.”
Five hundred slides meant Phecda and Megrez were in for hours of hustle, but they didn’t utter a
peep and got cracking, seamlessly working in sync with Noe to carry out the experiment
methodically.
After finishing up in theb, Noe stepped out to find night had fallen–it wasn’t early by any
stretch.
She then remembered she had promised Ulrich she would swing by hisb that afternoon. She had
blown it off, and Ulrich must’ve been blowing up her phone.
She pulled out her phone, and sure enough, there were twenty missed calls and a barrage of over
fifty messages.
[Sis, where you at?]
[Got caught up in something? Hit me back when you see this!]
Noe quickly dialed back, chatting with Ulrich as she made her way to a car parked at the curb and
hopped in.
“Ulrich, I got tied up this afternoon; it totally slipped my mind to tell you. I’m with Palmer now, be
home in a jiff.”
Hearing her voice nearly brought Ulrich to tears!
“Alright, as long as you’re safe. I was scared you got nabbed by aliens or something! Next time,
give me a heads up, okay?”
11:14
“Got it.”
Ulrich had been worried sick about Noe and couldn’t even focus on surgeries. Even thought the
surgeries went well, he was so distracted he nearly stitched up Noe’s name. If it weren’t for
worrying about stressing out his sis, he would’ve sent way more messages!
Palmer was dealing with contracts in the car, only putting them aside when Noe climbed in.
“Tuckered out? I’ll take you to dinner, then home.”
Noe nced at the mountain of contracts by Palmer’s hand. “Why are you working in the car?
Yourpany went belly up? Or did the Pock Group building get knocked out by an
earthquake?”
“I’m chuffed you’re worried about my safety, but both thepany and the Pock Group building
are A–OK. Just wanted to make sure you had a ride when you got out, so I came to get
you.”
Noe couldn’t be bothered to get her driver’s license, even though driving was a cinch for her. But
things are different in Imperial City than in the international warzones, and Noe didn’t want to be a
hassle for the Schnabel family, so she either got a lift from them or hailed a cab.
“How’d you know I was at theb?”
Palmer chuckled, took her hand in his, and yed with it. “Since you agreed to Thorpe’s request,
you’d definitely be researching Mirage Grass. If not at Ulrich’sb, then here. The gear I sent over is
way better than Ulrich’s.”
The moment the equipment arrived, the men in Lunar Lab poked and prodded and tweaked it all
over again. Partly because the geniuses didn’t trust anyone but Noe, and they wouldn’t touch the
equipment unless they were sure it hadn’t been tampered with.
The other reason was their experiments were so frequent that regr machines just couldn’t take
the high–load action..
The current setup was perfect for Lunar Lab!
The secretary drove into the city center and asked, “President, which restaurant are we heading.
to?”
Palmer’s gaze rested on Noe next to him, draped in his suit jacket, her head tilted slightly, fast
asleep. In the dim night, her sleeping face was exceptionally peaceful and cute.
The high–frequency experiments were brain–draining and tough on the heart; she must’ve been
beat to fall asleep next to him.
As an assassin, dozing off next to another assassin could only mean she truly trusted him now!
Palmer’s heart softened, shifted Noe’s head onto his shoulder to let her sleep more
“Roger that.”
11:14
Outside the Schnabel Manor in Serene Haven, Palmer scooped up the snoozing Noe and carried
her into the Schnabel family home.
Tristan and Sienna were still being lovey–dovey at her folks, leaving only Stirling in the living. room,
supposedly reading a script.
He was “reading a script” but his eyes kept darting to the door, the same spot in the script stared at
all night, without even a hint of his part.
Seeing Palmer carry in Noe, Stirling leaped up from the couch and zipped over.
“What’s up with Noe?”
“Asleep. Where’s her room? I’ll take her up.”
Stirling was all defensive, hand outstretched. “No need to trouble you, Mr. Pock. Hand her over;
I’ll take Noe up.”
“She might wake up.”
Palmer showed zero signs of handing Noe over, a faint smile on his face as he faced Stirling. but
his words were filled with a no–arguments vibe.
Stirling, seeing Noe’s sleeping face, backed down but warned, “Alright, I’ll show you. But don’t
you dare try anything funny!”
Palmer, with Noe in his arms, strode upstairs.
Phoenix Tower at Serene Haven got a makeover that was totally Noe’s jam, but the ce was still
chock–full of gifts from the four Schnabel brothers and a ton of plushies that ra snagged – the
girly vibes were off the charts!
Palmer gentlyid Noe down on the bed and nted a kiss on her forehead. “Nighty night, my
adorable fiancée.”
Stirling was leaning against the door, rolling his eyes, but kept his trap shut.
He told himself, “Hold your horses. Stirling. Palmer and Noe are–betrothed, and the dude’s just
following protocol. Don’t go flying off the handle and deck him…”
“You can take off now.”
“Do me a solid and rustle up some grub, can you? Noe hasn’t had her dinner yet, and she’ll
probably be starving when she wakes up.”
Hearing this, Stirling’s re at Palmer softened a smidge, but his words were still dripping with
sarcasm. “Howe Noe’s missed dinner hanging with you? If she marries into the Pock
family, what’s next? Skipping breakfast, too? What on Earth were you up to this afternoon? Ulrich
said Noe was off the grid all afternoon!”
No contact all afternoon, looking beat and getting toted back by Palmer…
11:14
The more Stirling thought about it, the more outrageous it seemed, his head filling with
censor–worthy scenes, damn near ready to shake Noe awake and drill her on what the heck
happened!
Did Palmer do something despicable to their little princess?
That was just begging for a fight.
Of course, Palmer wasn’t about to spill the beans about Lunar Lab to Stirling. That’s a secret
between him and Noe, not for anyone else’s ears.
“Noe wasn’t feeling top–notch today. If the Schnabel family can’t handle the Lambert situation,
just give me a shout, and I’ll step in.”
The mention of the Lambert family had Stirling’s face falling. It was tricky for the Schnabels to make
a move – partly because Marcel’s status was super unique, and even a little wave could have a
bunch of eyes on them.
Stirling gestured towards his study. “Mr. Pock, right this way.”
Yvonne got back to the Schnabels‘, raided the kitchen for what felt like ages, and finally stuffed
herself silly, belching contentedly.
Nobody from the Schnabel family had the decency to drop off some food while she was cooped up
in the hospital! She was starved!
The living room was deserted, a few scripts tossed on the marble tabletop.
Yvonne tiptoed over, snatched up a script, and started flipping through.
Breaking into acting! Even though she usually looked down on celebs, thinking of them as nothing
but actors, Stirling was a top–tier movie star. If she hit the screen, raking in the dough would be a
piece of cake!