Chapter 114

“Noelle?” Damon frowned as she ran up to him. His expression darkened. “What are you doing here?”

Noelle flashed him a bright smile. “Shopping, obviously! And what do you know, I just happened to run into you. Total coincidence!”

Damon narrowed his eyes.

“Truth?”

Like he'd believe that.

Under his sharp gaze, Noelle hesitated, then sighed. “Okay, fine. I followed you!”

Damon scoffed and turned toward the mall without another word. Seeing that he wouldn't stop, Noelle hurried after him. “Damon!”

She reached for his arm, but he dodged, stepping away before she could grab him. His tone was colder than usual. “Noelle, just stay away from me, okay?”

Noelle stopped in her tracks, thrown off by his mood.

Sure, he had always acted annoyed when she clung to him, but this was different. He had never gone out of his way to avoid her before.

Damon saw her stunned expression and clenched his fists. Something about it unsettled him, but he pushed the feeling aside. After a pause, he turned and walked toward the underground garage. “Come with me.”

Noelle hesitated for a second before following. The garage was quiet, almost empty.

Damon took a breath and finally faced her. His voice was steady, but his words were blunt. “Eli is already on your side. Charlie and the others will come around soon enough. You don’t need me. So quit following me around.”

“Why?” Noelle frowned. “Can’t we just get along?”

Her whole goal was to build a good relationship with the Anderson family, including Damon. If she got along with everyone else, but he still resented her, she would consider that a failure.

Damon let out a dry chuckle. “Why does it even matter to you?”

Damon had been biting his tongue for days, but Noelle just didn’t get it. He exhaled sharply and decided to just spell it out.

“You saw what happened with Leia. Everyone is slowly taking your side. If I start being friendly with you too, she’ll have no one left in the Anderson family," he stated.

Noelle wasn’t a bad person, he knew that. She was a little naive, sure, but she meant well. Still, none of that changed the fact that Leia needed him.

If he backed off now, Leia would be completely alone.

And no matter how much he might like Noelle in some ways, keeping his distance was the only choice.

Noelle frowned. “Why does Leia have to be alone just because we get along? Damon, why can’t we all just be on good terms? If Leia treats me well…”

She didn’t get it. Leia was manipulative—Noelle was well aware—but she wasn’t holding a grudge. As long as Leia stopped coming after her, she wouldn’t make things difficult, either. She wasn’t the type to waste time on drama.

Damon scoffed, shaking his head. “Not everyone thinks like you, Noelle.”

Leia had her flaws, he wasn’t blind to them. She was vain, jealous, and could be downright petty.

But before Noelle came along, none of that had ever been an issue. Leia had always been seen as the perfect sister—kind, sweet, untouchable. Then Noelle showed up, and suddenly, the cracks started showing.

Eli had always put Leia on a pedestal, but now even Thannon had seen it. He wasn’t clueless about Leia’s behavior anymore. But at the end of the day, she was still his sister.

Others might walk away, but he wouldn’t. They had been family for over a decade, and that wasn’t something he could just throw away.

He fully believed that she was just struggling to adjust, and maybe she wasn’t handling things well, but that...

As long as Leia had someone by her side, someone who made her feel like she wasn't alone, Damon believed she’d get through this. She would be alright.

“I’ve said everything I need to say. If you get it, then don’t bother me anymore. I don't want to see Leia upset again.” With that, he turned to leave.

Noelle could feel the distance between them growing, and for some reason, that scared her.

If she didn’t do something now, she might never get the chance to fix things with him.

The underground garage suddenly went dark.

But before she could figure out what to say...

The overhead lights flickered out, plunging the entire space into complete darkness.

Then, out of nowhere, a sharp, icy sense of danger hit her.

A gunshot!

Noelle’s instincts kicked in. The second before the shot rang out, she moved, just fast enough to dodge the bullet aimed straight at her heart.

“What? She dodged it!” A voice echoed through the garage, laced with shock.

“Who’s there?!” Damon’s voice cut through the darkness, filled with panic.

Someone was shooting at them!

Damon’s head spun. He had always lived by the rules, far removed from anything like this. But now, someone was trying to kill them.

Meanwhile, Noelle had already zeroed in on the shooter’s location.

Her expression turned cold. Without hesitation, she yanked off her bracelet and hurled one of the beads toward the voice.

“Shit!” A sharp cry of pain followed as the bead hit its target.

Noelle didn’t wait. In a blur, she dashed toward the attacker.

The guy clearly hadn’t expected her to fight back. Before he could react, she had already closed the gap, grabbed him by the throat, and slammed him to the ground.

“Who sent you!” she demanded, her grip unrelenting. “Why are you trying to kill me?”

That bullet had been meant for her heart. Whoever this was, they wanted her dead.

“Noelle!” Damon finally snapped out of his daze. Fumbling with his phone, he turned on the flashlight and rushed toward her, his pulse hammering in his ears.

With the light on, they finally got a clear look at the guy.

He was young, probably in his early twenties, with sharp features and an annoyingly smug expression. The night vision goggles strapped to his head made it clear he had come prepared.

Noelle ripped them off and glared at him. “Start talking. Why the hell did you shoot at me? What did I ever do to you?”

The guy didn’t even flinch. If anything, he looked amused. “Nothing personal. Someone just wants you dead. I’m here to get the job done.”

Noelle scoffed. “You’re gonna have to be more specific. I’ve got a long list of enemies."

“You saw my face? Yeah… that’s a problem.”

But instead of answering, he shifted his gaze to Damon. A slow, twisted smile spread across his face. “You saw my face? Guess you gotta go too.”

Damon’s eye twitched.

Before he could process what was happening, Noelle tensed. Her sharp instincts flared, and she shouted, “Damon, move!”

Another gunshot rang out.

“What?” Damon barely had time to react before Noelle shoved him to the ground. The bullet whizzed past, missing its mark by inches.

However, saving him had cost her.

The young assassin took advantage of the opening, his lips curling into a smug grin as he sprang to his feet.

“Gotcha,” he muttered, leveling his gun at Noelle.

Another shot was...

Damon’s head hit the concrete hard, sending stars bursting through his vision. His ears were ringing, his thoughts scrambled. Then, through the haze, he heard a pained groan.

7:22 AM

Chapter 115

His heart pounded as he forced his eyes open. The first thing he saw was blood. Noelle had been shot.