Chapter 119

“Damon, I’m your sister, Noelle,” she said with a playful grin.

Damon wasn’t having it. His face darkened, and he shot her a sharp look. “Don’t play dumb. You know exactly what I’m asking.”

There were too many things about Noelle that didn’t make sense. She wasn’t just skilled; she was too skilled. Most people her age wouldn’t even come close to what she could do. It was almost like she had cheated her way through life. And now, she had taken a bullet, hadn’t seen a doctor, and yet, somehow, she was already healing—way too fast.

Damon’s mind raced. The only logical explanation was that she had been part of some top-secret organization, trained for God knows what. That would explain the insane abilities, the unnatural recovery.

Noelle saw the way he was looking at her, like he wasn’t going to let this go. Her gaze flickered, her usual carefree expression dimming just a little. The shift was subtle, but the air around her felt different.

Curiosity kills the cat. Her tone was light, but there was something sharp underneath. Still, she smiled, soft, calm, almost lazy. “I get that you’re curious, but you know what they say. I really don’t want you dying just yet, so how about you stop asking?”

Because if she told him the truth, she would have to kill him to keep him quiet.

People always thought Noelle was all fun and games, nothing but smiles and jokes. But when she got serious, she had a way of making the air go still.

Damon felt it. A quiet warning.

He stared at her, his usual confidence shaken just a little. “Noelle…”

For a second, he wasn’t sure how to respond. Then, almost like he was switching topics out of nowhere, he asked, “By the way, where are the… assassins?”

Noelle blinked at him, caught off guard by the question. “Hmm? Assassins?”

She tilted her head, her expression all wide-eyed innocence, like she had no clue what he meant. Then, after a beat, she smiled and asked, “Damon, are you sure you want to know what happened to them?”

Noelle didn’t really mind telling him, but she figured it might freak Damon out.

Damon suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. His throat felt dry, but he finally managed to ask, “Um, are they gonna be a problem for us?”

“They won’t,” Noelle grinned. “Chill. There’s no way this comes back to us, I swear.”

Damon just stared at her, completely at a loss for words.

After everything that happened today, Damon saw Noelle in a whole new light. All the things she had said before, the ones he brushed off, were starting to seem a lot more real.

He remembered that night after the competition, during the celebration party. Two guys from the team had tried to pull something on Noelle, and she had beaten them so badly they were barely breathing. At the time, she had looked at him, dead serious, and asked if she should just finish the job and get rid of the evidence.

He thought she was joking, but now… he wasn’t so sure.

If he hadn’t stopped her back then, she would have actually done it. That thought alone made his blood run cold.

For the first time, Damon felt something close to fear when it came to Noelle. And worse, he started worrying about the Anderson family as a whole. This girl is dangerous. What if someone in the family crossed her one day? What if she got pissed off and–

Damon didn’t even want to finish that thought. The car fell into an eerie silence.

Noelle, meanwhile, was watching him, her head tilting slightly as she took in his expression. His face kept shifting, going pale, then dark, like he was stuck in some horrible thought.

She blinked. What the hell is he thinking?

After a moment, she tried to put herself in his shoes, just like Nick had taught her. Then, it clicked.

Her eyes brightened, and she let out a small laugh before flashing Damon a reassuring smile.

“Damon, are you seriously worried that I’d hurt you?” she asked, amused. “Come on. You’re my family. You’re not like the others. And if anyone ever comes after you, I’ll be the one protecting you.”

As if to prove her point, she reached over and gave his head a light pat, like she was comforting a scared puppy.

It was almost funny, considering she was about to kill him earlier.

But in Noelle’s mind, none of this contradicted itself. If it weren’t for the lab’s orders, she would never lay a hand on her family. In fact, she would do the opposite; she’d protect them.

After all, she liked them. There was no reason to kill them.

Damon stared at Noelle, unsure what to say.

He had wanted to ask if everything was true.

However, then he remembered, back at the illegal street race, when they got ambushed by those thugs. They had threatened to break his hand, and it was Noelle who had stepped in to protect him.

And this time, she had taken the hit for him. That was the only reason she was so badly injured.

Even the assassins admitted it–Noelle was fast enough to dodge bullets. If he hadn’t slowed her down, she wouldn’t have gotten shot at all.

Damon’s gaze drifted to Noelle’s face.

She might have been acting all casual, laughing like it was no big deal, but her body couldn’t lie. Noelle must be in pain.

Her usual healthy glow was gone, replaced by a sickly paleness. Even her lips had lost their color. She was clearly holding on.

Is she pretending so I won’t worry? That thought hit him harder than he expected.

A wave of guilt crept in as he remembered how, just moments ago, he had been afraid of her. He had actually thought she might kill them if she ever got angry.

But the truth, when it really mattered, Noelle had been the one to protect him. Not many people would do that.

Damon felt silly for having such negative thoughts about his sister over something that hadn’t even happened.

Damon sat there, wrestling with everything that had just happened.

Finally, he looked at Noelle again. He wasn’t great with emotional stuff, but for the first time, he reached out, resting a hand on her head. “Noelle… thanks for this one.”