Chapter 194
Malvina was the apple of the Gruber family’s eye, the most cherished daughter of her generation.
The secretary hesitated. “Sir, if anything happens to Malvina, I’m afraid it won’t be easy to explain to Arthur.”
‘Arthur dotes on her, sure, but it’s just because he hopes she’ll fetch a high price, bringing in a lucrative alliance for the Gruber family. Didn’t we find a new girl? Let Yvonne take her place.”
Yvonne was nothing like Malvina. It was clear as day that Yvonne was a few sandwiches short of a picnic, all ambition and no brains – the easiest kind to manipulate.
“Go tell Yvonne that if she takes care of Malvina, she’ll be the Gruber family’s new darling!” The secretary got the message loud and clear. Yates was setting Yvonne up to take the fall.
Yates had been harboring a grudge ever since Malvina had driven his mother out of the Gruber family, blaming her even for his mother’s car accident.
Whether or not Yvonne could handle Malvina, there was no loss for Yates.
“Right away, I’ll go find Ms. Yvonne.”
Malvina stepped out of the Gruber mansion, stretching languidly as her willowy waist swayed softly. Suddenly, a hand clamped over her waist, and before she could react, covered her mouth and nose, dragging her into a car parked by the curb!
200 € €
“Mmph…” Malvina’s eyes bulged in terror.
“Ms. Gruber, you’d best cooperate with me, or I’m not sure whether you’ll return to the Gruber family on your feet or in a body bag.”
The voice was cold
with a thin layer of chill that seemed to caress her delicate skin with the sharp edge of a blade.
Malvina’s mind raced, and then she burst into tears. “I don’t want to die. I’ll do whatever you want! Do I need to strip? I will! Just let me live!”
Ulrich’s hand tightened around Malvina’s neck, his grip silencing her sobs. “No need for that drama. I’m taking you somewhere, and you just need to do a little recon for me.”
“Fine, just don’t kill me, and I’ll do whatever you say!”
Ulrich looked at Malvina, willing to do anything to survive, and felt a twinge of headache.
This Gruber princess really was something else.
1/4
11:08
Meanwhile, Noella’s motorcycle was parked by the curb, and ahead at the crossroads stood a few tough guys sporting Shadow Dragon Society colors, their eyes fixed
menacingly on Noella and Elara.
Elara, experiencing this kind of scene for the first time, was a mix of thrilled and terrified, her voice shaking. “Noella, don’t be scared, I’ll protect you!”
Noella’s gaze swept over the brutes, quickly sizing them up, while casually saying,
“Thanks.”
The brutes locked their sights on Elara and Noella and advanced, quickly surrounding
them.
“Come with us!”
Noella’s hand lightly touched Elara’s nape, whispering, “Elara, take a break.”
Elara’s eyelids drooped, and she collapsed into Noella’s arms.
Noella, unfazed, spoke flatly. “Make it quick. You have five minutes.”
The brutes were still confused when suddenly a dozen figures leapt out from behind a nearby wall!
Phecda, wielding a stun baton, grinned wickedly. “You’ve got some nerve. It’s because of scum like you that I lost two years‘ worth of wages!”
“Boss, five minutes is generous for these guys. You’re underestimating us.
The Shadow Dragon Society members were dumbstruck–they’d been tailing the Schnabel sisters and hadn’t noticed anyone following them. Where did these people come from?
Three minutes later, the Shadow Dragon Society members were down on the ground, and Erek with the Obelisk Organization left swiftly, just as they had arrived.
“Boss, Ulrich is on his way. We’ll leave this to you and head to the next spot!”
“Okay. I’ll catch up with you guys soon.”
A surprised voice echoed from the crossroads. “Holy smokes, these guys are the core muscle of the Shadow Dragon Society, and they’re wiped out just like that?”
Noella simply said, “They won’t die.”
The Shadow Dragon Society members groaned, nursing more wounds than they could count, unable to do anything but watch Noella and her group. They hadn’t even processed what had happened before they were taken down!
Malvina patted her heaving chest, foregoing any questions and immediately grabbing Noella’s hand, plopping down on the pavement with a face full of crocodile tears.
Ulrich arrived with the police to a scene of Noella holding the unconscious Elara, with
11:09
Malvina walling beside them.
Malvina cried out, “Officer, please help us! These people just came out of nowhere and started attacking us!”
The burly Shadow Dragon Society members were silently fuming.
They were the ones who were taken down, weren’t they? This was a barefaced lie!
Ulrich scooped up the passed–out Elara and pulled Noella to her feet, his eyes filled with
concern and care.
“Noella, are you guys alright? What happened to Elara?”
Noella pointed at the people from the Shadow Dragon Society sprawled on the ground with their eyes wide open. “It was their doing. I’m clueless. Elara seemed to have passed out.”
“Don’t worry, I’m here!”
Malvina looked down at the members of the Shadow Dragon Society and muttered, “You know very well whether your hands are clean or not. Regardless of the truth, you’ll be blamed for today’s mess.”
She may not have known what had transpired, but she was certain that the scene before
her was somehow connected to Noella.
Everyone has their secrets, and the overly curious seldom live long!
The Shadow Dragon Society knew everyone from the Gruber family and had previous dealings with Malvina. Taking her words as an implied threat from the Gruber family, they bit their tongues and remained silent.
Malvina tugged at Noella’s sleeve. “Honey, give me a hand.”
Noella casually helped Malvina to her feet.
At Ulrich’s signal, the members of the Shadow Dragon Society were quickly taken away, not one was left behind.
Ulrich’s gaze fell thoughtfully upon the surveillance camera at the corner.
Elara opened her eyes and was a bit surprised to see Ulrich’s face. “Ulrich, why are you here? I think I just fainted… Oh dear, how’s Noella?”
“You’re alright, that’s what matters. What made you faint so suddenly?”
Elara shook her head in confusion. “It was probably something the Shadow Dragon Society did, I can’t remember. Thank goodness you came!”
Relieved to see Noella and Elara were unharmed, Ulrich exhaled deeply.
Malvina, holding onto Noella’s arm, pouted. “Sweetie, your brother is so scary. He almost
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choked me to death!
Ulrich, unaware that Malvina and Noella were on good terms, was momentarily embarrassed and coughed awkwardly.
“Sorry about that. It’s just that you’re most familiar with the Shadow Dragon Society, so I wanted you to lead the way. My apologies if I offended you.”
Malvina’s mother had been the only daughter of the head of the Shadow Dragon Society, but she had died in a gang clash years ago, paving the way for Yates’s mother to rise to
power.
“Hmph, just say you came for Noella, and that would be enough!”
Ulrich knew he had been somewhat impolite and said sincerely, “I apologize for my
behavior.”
Malvina clearly wasn’t appeased by his apology. “If sorry was enough, we wouldn’t need the cops!”
Noella glanced at the message that had just popped up on her phone.
[Boss, things are going south with Vocalist, need you ASAP.]
