CHapter 179


    The expressions on Thorpe and Hollis’s faces soured instantly.


    Hollis’s smile twitched, his previously affable grin near breaking point. “You’re… pulling my leg,


    right?”


    Noe chuckled lightly, her head held high with a touch of arrogance as she looked down at a


    somewhat flustered Hollis.


    “Whether I’m joking or not, you’ll have the chance to find out. But if I’m not, I’m afraid you won’t be


    able to handle the repercussions.”


    “As Lunaris, aren’t you afraid of the bacsh for pulling such a stunt?”


    Noe shrugged nonchntly. “Who cares? If Cerulean Whale had the chops, they wouldn’t be


    perennial underdogs, right? Why aren’t you guys the top hit squad on the deep web? Is it because


    you don’t fancy the title?


    Of course, it was a matter of not having enough power!


    Thinking that Cerulean Whale alone could make the entire deep web condemn Lunaris was nothing


    short of a pipe dream.


    Palmer chuckled along. “It’s not thatplicated. If they die here, who’s to know?”


    The smile finally vanished from Hollis’s face. “Spill it, what do you want to know? You’re aware I’m


    not the sharpest tool in the shed; I tend to forget things.”


    “What went down when the Pock family had their baby?”


    Hollis let out a deep sigh, signaling Thorpe to cool his jets. “In a nutshell, it’s a ssic game of


    getting rid of the mom and switching the baby. You follow, Ms. Schnabel?”


    Xavier pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Hollis’s head! “Watch your damn manners! Speak to her


    like that again, and I’ll feed your brains to the fishes!”


    Hollis chuckled and shook his head, pushing Xavier’s gun aside with a finger. “Let’s not be so


    dramatic; my brains aren’t that tasty. Spare a thought for your fish. We didn’t exert much effort in


    that mess. It was mostly the Pock family’s own power struggle.”


    The Pock family’s grand feud had cost Palmer his mother too. No wonder the Pock sons never


    recovered.


    Noe frowned slightly. “Second matter: was Harriet’s child born at Tandy Hospital?”


    Hollis nodded coolly. “Yes, and then we took the baby. Ran into a dim–witted woman itching to


    marry Marcel. Ambitious but brainless. We handed the kid over. Heard Marcel divorced her anyway.


    Hrious.”


    “What happened to Harriet afterward?”


    “She lost her memory. We gave her some random child, and she took off with it.”


    It all matched up with what Tandy had said. If he was right, then the kid Harriet took by mistake


    must be Vincent.


    Hollis added, “Later, that woman, Ashlyn, proved quite useful to us. Without her, your mother


    wouldn’t have gone to Tandy Hospital to give birth. Mother–inw and daughter–inw issues are


    as old as time, aren’t they?”


    Noe recalled Marcel mentioning that Sienna going to Tandy Hospital was all Ashlyn’s doing. It


    seemed that Ashlyn had orchestrated everything! Her eagerness to marry her niece off to Tristan


    was because she


    knew he wasn’t her biological son. She was paving the way for her own family. As for her


    disdain for the Schnabel kids, that was a given, especially with her own granddaughter Yvonne


    around.


    Third question: who’s behind all this? Who asked you to do these things?”


    Hollis pressed his hand to his temple, exchanging a worried look with Thorpe and shaking his head


    slightly


    Ms. Schnabel, as the head of the Obelisk Organization, you must have navigated these waters


    before. Ever heard of an organization?”


    “What?”


    Hollis turned serious. “Pris Star!”


    A wave of shock washed over Noe. “You’re saying Pris Star is behind all this?”


    Hollis nodded solemnly, his eyes filled with deep fear. “They’re shadowy figures in the international


    warzone. Maybe you’ve encountered them before, but only the tip of the iceberg. We took orders


    from Pris Star, but we never knew who was issuing them. They’re terrifying. Guess what kind of


    people would scour the globe for geniuses and forcibly develop their intellect?”


    Even speaking of his experiences with Pris Star sent chills down Hollis’s spine. He couldn’t


    imagine what horrors awaited those who actually survived the brutal experiments conducted by


    Pris Star.


    “They name their members after constetions. Failures are brainwashed, and that process might


    not always seed. You could end up a fool. I’ve been to Pris Star, but they turned their noses


    up at my intellect and let me go.”


    Noe caught the implication in Hollis’s words. “You weren’t brainwashed?”


    “No, because I didn’t fancy being a fool. You see, I have brothers to look after. They’re not too


    bright; they wouldn’tst without me. So, I became a pawn for Pris Star, to be manipted at


    will.”


    “The contact from Pris Star, who was it?”


    Hollis shook his head gravely. “I don’t know. The messages were always fragmented. You were


    right; it wasn’t Xavier who ordered Marcel’s hitst time. In truth, we were told to eliminate both


    Marcel Schnabel.


    and Sexton Pock!”


    It all made sense now!


    The sting operation in the hospital room was aimed at both Marcel and Sexton from the start!


    The pain was still evident in Hollis’s voice as he recalled his dealings with Pris Star.


    “They’re terrifying, man. I can’t even think about crossing them!”


    Clutching his head, Hollis started to squirm, caught in a wave of excruciating pain. Memories, the


    bad ones, flooded in, threatening to overwhelm his already fragile mind, still in recovery.


    Thorpe quickly crouched down beside him, kneading his temples in a bid to offer some relief.


    Noe frowned deeply as she watched them, her heart pounding like a drum inside her chest. She


    knew all too well what Pris Star was capable of. She was one of the survivors.


    If those orders had indeede from Pris Star… Noe’s gaze shifted to Xavier, who seemed to


    dodge


    her stare.


    “Who was Grandma’s mentor?”


    “Ah, that… I don’t have a clue!”


    “If you don’te clean, I’m cutting you out of my life for good.”


    fler was suddenly frantic. “I swear, I don’t know. Harriet didn’t know my mentor was from Lockhart


    as well. But Harriet… she did visit Pris Star once.


    That was about all Xavier knew.


    “In those days, knowing your sibling was still breathing was a blessing. Harriet and I, we kept our


    distance; didn’t want to drag each other into trouble. That photo is the only thing I have left of her.”


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    It was for this reason that Xavier was so furious to learn of Harriet’s sudden death and Marcel’s


    quick remarriage!


    Palmer’s gaze never strayed from Noe. He knew she was intricately tied to Pris Star, perhaps


    she was once one of those geniuses strapped to ab table, forced to undergo intelligence


    enhancements!


    The thought of Noe–who was so delicate–enduring such inhuman torture made Palmer’s heart


    ache silently.


    His girl had faced such profound darkness!


    He reached out and took Noe’s hand, his eyes softening with concealed sorrow. “What do you


    want to know? We’ll dig it up slowly; I’m with you every step of the way!”


    Even if it meant delving into the abyss to uncover the secrets of an organization that had vanished


    without a trace, he’d be by her side!


    After taking his medication, Hollis let out a long sigh of relief. “Ms. Schnabel, I think my brother’s a


    poet, don’t you?”


    Thorpe pointed to himself, visibly puzzled, “Me?”


    Xavier rolled his eyes. “More like a dead man walking!”


    A poet?


    Noe’s thoughts drifted to the ramblings Tandy had spilled after taking a few sips of vodka.


    Each line yed over in her mind, transforming from a tangled mess into something patterned,


    almost like a code.


    A lightbulb went off in Noe’s head. She turned to Palmer, her expression serious. “Palmer, I think


    there’s a chance that ra’s mom might still be alive!”