Chapter 117
Noelle didn’t think twice. She turned and started to.
The lab staff on the other end hesitated for a moment, noticing how steadily her heartbeat remained. Then, just as she was about to take another.
"Thib." She stopped immediately, obedient as ever.
The man’s voice came through the necklace again, slower this time. “Noelle, you’re really not hesitating?”
“Hesitating?” She blinked, confused. Staring down at the necklace around her neck, she asked, “Why would I? Orders are orders.”
“Are you— sad?” he asked.
Noelle tilted her head. The word felt unfamiliar, like a concept she couldn’t quite grasp.
The man’s voice was steady but firm. “The target we just ordered you to eliminate is your biological brother.” He paused before adding, “If he dies, you won’t have Damon anymore.”
Noelle paused, her mind drafting for a moment.
Actually, when the voice in the necklace ordered her to kill Damon, something sharp twisted in her chest, like a tiny needle prick—quick but noticeable.
She thought, ‘Should I feel something? Regret, maybe? After all, I haven’t built much of a relationship with Damon. And honestly, I don’t have...'
But it didn’t matter. The mission came first. It always did.
“It is what it is,” she said flatly. “Orders are orders..."
Meanwhile, the lab was already analyzing her response. Her vitals stayed steady, no signs of distress. [Subject’s emotional state remains stable. significant fluctuations|||
The man exhaled quietly. As expected. Their bond wasn’t strong enough yet. It wasn’t time.
“Mission aborted,” he finally said. “Focus on strengthening your connection with your family instead.”
“Okay.” Noelle replied without hesitation.
However, deep down, somewhere in the quiet corners of her mind, she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
She didn’t have to kill Damon, and though she couldn’t quite explain it, that felt kind of nice.
Keegan and the other two who tried to assassinate Noelle were finally handed over to the liba logistics team to clean up the mess. When they arrived, they even thoughtfully brought her a fresh set of clothes and some gauze.
After patching herself up and changing, Noelle grabbed the car keys from Damon, hoisted him into the car, and drove out of the underground parking lot.
When Damon came to, he was slumped in the front passenger seat, his head pounding. A massive bump throbbed at the back of his skull, and his neck ached like hell.
The smell of fried food drifted over, paired with the sound of someone happily munching away.
Blinking, he turned his head only to see Noelle, a sprite, doll-like girl, holding an enormous family-sized bucket of fried chicken in her arms, casually biting into a wing.
“Noelle?” His voice was hoarse as he stared at her in disbelief.
“Yeah?” Noelle glanced over mid-bite.
The moment she saw he was awake, her eyes lit up, and she scooted closer with a bright smile. “Damon! You’re up! Are you hungry?” She held out a drumstick, completely unbothered by the situation.
Before she could say anything else, Damon, now fully awake, grabbed her wrist. “Noelle!!”
Chapter 117
Noelle blinked, confused by his outburst.
Then, as if realizing something, she sheepishly pulled out his wallet from behind her and held it out to him. “Uh… Damon, I was kinda starving, so I used your wallet to buy some food. Just a little bit.”
She said it like it was no big deal, but in reality, while he was knocked out, she had gone out and grabbed some soup, eight drumsticks, turkey, duck wings, and who knows what else.
When Damon still hadn’t woken up, she figured she might as well hit up a fast-food joint and order three whole family buckets.
She was just finishing the last one now.