Chapter 172
Noella withdrew her gaze, a hint of a smirk playing at the corner of her mouth. “Don’t try to cozy up to me,” she said with a chuckle to Xavier, who looked at her expectantly. “Neither Grandma nor I will forgive you.”
Xavier’s spirits plummeted. He knew if Harriet ever found out about his deeds, she’d be furious. Still, he took a small comfort in the fact that he hadn’t crossed any unforgivable
lines.
With a sigh, he lifted his head and gave a wry smile. “Shall we go see Tandy? He should be awake by now. You’ve got questions for him, right?”
The staff at Lockhart Prison had their methods to wake a man up, just as they had their methods to put one down for good.
Noella nodded. “Lead the way.”
With a wave of his hand and a stern face, Xavier barked, “Hop to it! Clean out that room over there. You expect my darling to stand while she interrogates?”
Noella glanced at him nonchalantly and stayed silent. She didn’t acknowledge her ties to Xavier, but she needed him to get to Tandy. So, she wouldn’t refute him. The fact that he had crossed the Schnabel family, not once but many times, was enough to haunt his
conscience.
Lockhart Prison was a maze of layers, from the towers above to the sea below, each with their own brand of cell. Tandy was locked up in one of the underground cells.
As they walked side by side, Xavier led Noella towards Tandy’s cell. “How had Harriet been? Was she alright?”
“Is it considered alright to always be content despite never eating enough, and to have faced illness with almost no money for treatment but no regrets?”
Noella didn’t hide the truth.
When her grandma fell ill, it was her who worked tirelessly. Night after night, she slept barely two hours a night, waking to draw design after design and sewing clothes into the wee hours, with only the stars for company. She was terrified of losing her grandmother.
Vincent wouldn’t spare a dime, always claiming Grandma Harriet had savings. Luckily, Noella made enough money–not only to see her grandma off but plenty to spare, though she still couldn’t keep her grandma alive.
Xavier nodded, absorbing her words. “She’s got a poor memory. If she had never mentioned me before, it must have been that she forgot.”
Noella shot him a cold look. “No, Grandma told me she had a brother. As a child, he was slashed with a knife protecting her, from the corner of his eye to his jaw, scars all over his
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body. Grandma said she missed her brother terribly but thought you were dead.
Xavier froze in place.
Harriet… she remembered him all along! Only he and Harriet knew that past!
An old man, hardened by years of living on the edge, the only redemption in his heart was his dearly departed sister. At that moment, a flood of emotions overwhelmed him.
“She remembered me?”
“Grandma mentioned a brother, not necessarily you.”
“Yes, yes, it’s me!” Xavier insisted, his heart racing. Harriet had only one brother–it had to be him.
The cell where Tandy was kept was modest, with all the necessary amenities, even a small bookshelf.
Tandy sat on the bed looking scholarly and genteel, wrapped in a Lockhart Prison blanket, a book in his hand. He seemed like an academic, if not for the bloody sheets and the
fresh bloodstains on the wall.
Xavier entered the room, glanced around, and dragged over a chair, wiping it down with
his sleeve.
“Noella, take a seat,” he offered, his voice carrying a hint of affection. “I’ll just stand.*
Noella looked up, her gaze indifferent as she surveyed the fawning Xavier, but she didn’t refuse the seat. After all, why stand when you could sit?
Tandy, putting his book aside, coughed twice. “Xavier, what’s all this fuss today? Coming to see me with such a crowd? And who’s this young lady?”
Xavier knew Noella’s questions wouldn’t be simple. He dismissed Magee, leaving only himself and Palmer at the sidelines.
Tandy, intrigued by Xavier’s gesture, removed his barely intact, black–rimmed glasses and set them aside.
“What’s the matter?”
Xavier spoke with a cold edge, “She has some questions for you. You better answer truthfully, or… you know the consequences.”
Tandy chuckled, which soon turned into a violent cough, blood speckling the linen. “Heh, Xavier, look at me. I won’t last much longer. Whatever you want to know, I might not have the answers.”
Noella spoke lightly, “Hollis is alive. I saved him.”
Initially seemed unconcerned, Tandy’s eyes widened in shock upon hearing Noella’s
words. “What did you say? Hollis is alright? Why should I believe you!”
Tandy must care about his brother as much as Thorpe did if he was willing to meet with the Toxic Monarch and get arrested for Hollis’s sickness..
Noella crossed her legs nonchalantly, the click of her high heels echoing in the cell.
She smiled slyly. “You don’t have to believe it. While operating, I might’ve left something extra in Hollis’s brain. Guess what it could be?”
Tandy’s pupils dilated to their limits. “You!”
“Take a guess. If I’m not pleased, will Hollis meet the grim reaper with you? It’d be quite a hassle for Thorpe to handle the bodies of both you and Hollis.”
Tandy suddenly couldn’t sit still. “You can’t do that; he’s innocent! He’s never done anything illegal. Just tell me what you want to know, and leave him out of it.”
Seeing his reaction, Noella nodded. “Wouldn’t it have been easier to start like this? First question: Do you know Vincent?”
Tandy frowned slightly, clearly not expecting such a question from Noella.
“Yes, college buddies.”
“What major? Which university? How was your relationship during that time, and did you have any business dealings afterward?”
“Finance Engineering, Linefort University. We were just acquaintances back then; no dealings after graduation.”
Noella spoke with a hint of frost in her voice, “Nothing, huh? Think hard. He sought you out last year, didn’t he?”
Tandy’s expression flickered ever so slightly at Noella’s words. “If you already know so much, then why bother asking? There’s no business between us–it’s just that we’re old schoolmates. We catch up over Thanksgiving and Christmas; is there a problem with
that?”
A sly chuckle escaped Noella’s lips.
Vincent, always the opportunist, would never reach out to Tandy without some agenda, certainly not for the sake of old school ties.
“Next question: Do you know who I am?”
Tandy eyed Noella for a moment, then shook her head. “No, I don’t. Should I?”
Noella leaned back, settling comfortably into her chair as she studied Tandy. “But I saw you last year at Vincent’s place. You even said hello to me.”
Tandy looked at Noella with a rising skepticism. “You’re mistaken. I’ve never been to
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Vincent’s place, nor have I met you.”
“Really? If you’ve never met me and don’t know me, then why did you hand me over to Vincent? I mean, nineteen years ago at the Heartfelt Orphanage!”
The mention of that name wiped the composure off Tandy’s face in an instant!
Noella watched carefully, taking in every shift of Tandy’s expression.
“Not knowing me, yet managing to deliver me straight to the Lambert family–that’s quite impressive!”
