The Killer Queen

In Yvonne’s eyes, a guy like Palmer could only be snagged by a top–notch chick like herself.

As the helm of the Pollack Group, Palmer’s wealth was off the charts Yvonne had eavesdropped on Marcel cracking jokes about it.

If the Pollack family ever hit rock bottom, the entire GDP of Imperial City would take a twenty–year nosedive!

Right then and there, Yvonne vowed to herself that she’d tie the knot with Palmer no matter what.

Noella was just a bumpkin fresh from the sticks – she’s not qualified to stand next to Palmer?

“Granny, chill. I’ll make sure Mr. Pollack falls head over heels for me.”

Ashlyn gazed at her granddaughter, the apple of her eye, all smiles and pride.

Yvonne really knew how to show some love, who always popped by to see her. She was not the same as that wild, rule–breaking girl.

Ashlyn dialed Noella’s number with her nose in the air, “Noella, where the heck have you been these past two days? Did I ever say you could skip looking after me in the hospital? I’m laying it down for you now – bring Mr. Pollack along today to see me, or you’ll have hell to pay!”

Noella glanced at her phone while she was at the Horwich Mansion, keeping company with a couple of old–timers and eating with the Schnabels.

She was in the middle of cracking a lobster for Freya so her hands were tied. In that case, she just flipped on the speakerphone.

It didn’t occur to her that it was Ashlyn on the line, and her rant echoed throughout the dining

hall.

Sienna couldn’t sit still as she heard it. She slammed the table and stood up, only to be held back by Tristan next to her.

His wife was on a tear and he’d just managed to pacify her. If she went head–to–head with his mom, he’d be the one in hot water.

Ashlyn was clueless that Noella had audience. “You have no idea of what’s decorum just like your mother. The other day I asked her to bring me some food, and she wolfed it all down herself. And my carnelian bracelet’s gone missing – wouldn’t put it past your mom to swipe it.” Sienna, hearing this blatant lie, shoved Tristan away. “Who stole your stuff? That bracelet of yours can’t even compare to one of my hairpins! And I didn’t see you wearing any bracelet when I visited!”

Ashlyn snorted when she heard Sienna’s voice, “I knew it; all those years of playing nice and now your true colors are showing. Sooner or later, I’ll have Tristan divorce you, you

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home–wrecker.”

Freya, who looked so glum, couldn’t take it anymore.

“Ashlyn, if you’ve got beef with how we raise our family, come talk to me face to face. My daughter hasn’t wronged you one bit.”

Ashlyn was caught off guard by Freya being on the line and clammed up.

Freya continued, “I recorded everything you just said and I’m going to send it to Marcel Schnabel as is. I want to see how your family has been treating my daughter all these years! And let me tell you something today. Not only will my daughter not be coming to see you, my granddaughter won’t either. You’ve got a whole squad of caregivers and you still want to boss around my kid?!” Freya’s laugh was dripping with sarcasm. “And who are you to expect Mr. Pollack to visit you? If you don’t have a mirror in your hospital room, I’ll have one sent over pronto. Take a good look at yourself and see what you’ve become!

Everyone knows your game – you just want to pawn off your wild granddaughter to the Pollack family. You think they’d fall for the kid you’ve raised? Don’t act like your past shenanigans are forgotten. Zip it, will you?”

Although Freya was a science worker, she didn’t pull any punches when she was riled up.

Ashlyn lost her voice, obviously knowing she was in the wrong.

“I’m just sick and asked your daughter to take care of me. Isn’t that what she’s supposed to do?”

Freya rolled her eyes.

“What kind of sickness do you have that requires my daughter to check on you at five in the morning? Watch your,step! Wait if you keep harassing my daughter and granddaughter.”

With that, Freya hung up and went ahead and helped block Ashlyn’s number on Noella’s phone. Merrick turned to Tristan, “Sienna doesn’t have to return to the Schnabel family until this mess is sorted out. And if it’s not sorted, I’m not optimistic about your marriage.”

Tristan was in a tizzy when he heard his father–in–law lay this down.

“Merrick, I’ve been dealing with this over and over, but my mom just pays lip service and forgets right after. I’m starting to think she’s got a screw loose.”

Noella spoke up after a pause, her tone cool, “Last time I heard Professor Calvin say that Grandma Ashlyn might be showing signs of dementia. She is paranoid about her things being stolen and suspecting grandpa’s caregivers of infidelity – those are red flags for dementia.”

At their age, dementia was nothing out of the ordinary.

Freya didn’t look pleased either.

“Dementia? I think she brought it on herself! And it’s not like she’s been this way for years. She gave your mom a hard time when she was young. If it wasn’t for Tristan moving out with your

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mom and living apart from her, nobody knows what would happen.”

“Has Grandma Ashlyn always been like this?” Noella asked.

Tristan managed a bitter smile. He was almost breaking down right there. “No, it wasn’t like this before. When Sienna and I started dating, she was actually supportive and said she could tell in the first place that Sienna was a good kid.

But I don’t know when she had flipped a switch. She kept picking on Sienna and spouting nonsense from then.”

Noella nodded, getting the picture about Ashlyn’s changes.

If so, Ashlyn must have been popping Nourishment Pills since before Tristan tied the knot with Sienna.

The person who first slipped Ashlyn those magic beans had to be someone in her inner circle, but then the baton got passed to Yvonne.

Merrick wasn’t in the mood to be a Debbie Downer either, “Let Tristan deal with that mess. Sienna’s gonna crash at our place for a bit, and it’s perfect timing since Noella’s also bunking here for a few days. Grandpa’s got this itch to pen a new novel and is thinking of using Noella as his muse–what do you say?”

The crowd at the table was gobsmacked.

Beckett shot a look at Noella with a gut reaction was a hard no.

Who in their right mind would volunteer to be the muse for Merrick’s brainchild, knowing the blood, sweat, and tears it would take

The old man would craft his protagonist straight out of his noggin, and he didn’t mess around with his standards. In other words, his little sis ain’t gonna have it easy for a while. Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

“Grandpa, let’s not. My sister is still wet behind the ears!”

Merrick waved him off, “You rascal. I just wanna whip up a story about a dancer. Noella can just pick up a few dance moves and pluck the zither a bit. She’s golden for the rest!”

Stirling by Noella’s side was also freaking out.

“Grandpa! Sis doesn’t know any of that jazz! You’re setting the bar sky–high, and she’s just a squirt–it’s gonna be brutal for her to pick up!”

Merrick was a bit miffed. He had this vision of Noella dancing with Palmer on the yacht, and bam, he thought of a forest sprite!

But then, giving it a second thought, he realized he might be asking for the moon from his granddaughter.

Still Merrick wasn’t keen on throwing in the towel, his eyes twinkling with hope at Noella.

“Noella, would you wanna be the leading lady for your old grandpa’s next masterpiece?”

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Noella was caught off guard.

Merrick, a literary giant of his time, was notorious for his hardcore standards. But that was

mainly because all his works sent shock waves through the literary world..

After a beat, Noella nodded, “Sure, Grandpa. I’m in.”

Merrick’s face bloomed into a grin that stretched from ear to ear.