The Killer Queen

Garrick had intentionally placed Noella in a catch–22 situation. The g with the Schnabel family

quests at the opening ceremony Included several partners affiliated

With Garrick having made his statement, if the Schnabels didn’t let Noella take the stage, it would be tantamount to admitting they had raised a child who lacked savvy

It Noella refused Garrick, it would only serve to embarrass him and, by extension, tamish the Schnabel family’s reputation. Should she perform, at woret, only she would face embarrassment.

Garrick must have calculated that Noella would act in her own best interest and choose the lesser of two evila

Merck frowned in displeasure. “Garrick must’ve been lying in wait, just eager to see our Noella perform. Now it makes sense why he’s been eyeing her all this time!”

Marcel also fixed his gaze on Noella. “Noella, if you don’t want to go up there, I’ve got your back!

The Schnabel family had no tradition of parading the kids out for a show at every festive gathering. Only Garrick, a childless widower, seemed to relish putting other people’s children on display!

Noella shook her head, rising with composed elegance. “It’s just a little performance.”

She didn’t want the Schnabels to be criticized over such a trivial matter. If Garrick was set on her taking the stage, he’d surely have other schemes up his sleeve if she didn’t comply.

et to unfold.

Onana was a fool, Garrick’s true intentions were yet

As Noella shrugged off her coat and stepped onto the stage, a glint of smugness twinkled in Oriana’s eyes.

She must be forcing herself to perform, Oriana thought. Once she’s up there and clueless, she’ll be the laughingstock! Compared to her own flawless piano recital, this Ms. Noella, who rode her family’s coattails to university, would surely pale in comparison.

Noella looked at Mizar, cool and collected, asked, “Master isn’t here, but what about his instrument?”

“Right here! Il fetch it at once!”

A zither wasn’t exactly portable, and frequent moving could damage it. Master Rainer’s zither was backstage.

Seeing her opt for the zither, Garrick raised an eyebrow, both surprised and wholly expecting it. He glanced at his phone’s map, noting the traffic–fme route Rainer was on.

That old rascal surely knew his prized apprentice would end up on stage and had left both the stage and the zither for her.

Backstage, the students and teachers were astounded.

“Noella can play the zither?”

“That’s Master Rainer’s instrument. Can she even handle it??

Oriana bit her lip, sourly remarking, “She’ll never manage. If she darpages Master Rainer’s zither, what then?”

Noella on stage was a vision of serenity, her simple white dress shimmering in the spotlight. Her delicate fingers strummed the zither strings, and the melody of “High Mountain and Flower filled the

hall, her music captivating everyone present

The elegant resonance of the zither filled the air, lingering long after she had finished.

Sienna couldn’t resist capturing her daughter’s performance on her phone, and soon every Schnabel had a video of Noella’s recital.

They had almost forgotten that Noella could play the zither and play it exquisitely, without a hint of stage fright, becoming the star of

the show.

As the last note faded, Noella rose, carefully put away the zither, and left the stage Her rendition made Oriana’s plano solo seem like child’s play in companson Material © of NôvelDrama.Org.

Being a musician herself, Oriana could tell Noella’s mastery of the zither was nothing short of professional, leaving her own bitterness unspoken.

Oriana’s nails dug into her palms, her voice tinged with envy. “That’s Master Rainer’s zither she’s using without so much as a by–your–leave…”

On the big screen over the stage, Master Rainer appeared from his car, all smiles

“Ladies and gentlemen, apologies for my absence, but my zither is there with you. My talented apprentice Noella will play for you, and I promise her music will delight you all!”

The video angle betrayed no hint of traffic; the roads through the car window were clear and smooth.

With Master Rainers endorsement, the crowd was stunned!

Who would have thought Ms. Schnabel was also Master Rainer’s apprentice? Her “High Mountain and Flowing River” was proof enough

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of her talent!

The Schnabel family had indeed found a gem. It was a shame she was already engaged to the Pollack family, otherwise, many would have jumped at the chance to ally with the Schnabels. In fact, several people began exchanging cards with Tristan, inquiring if the Schnabels had any other daughters available!

Tristan’s face was lit up with a pride that couldn’t be priced. His darling daughter was truly magnificent!

Lome, sitting beside Elara, watched the young woman descend from the stage. Just one zither performance, and she shone so brightly that he found it hard to look away

He had initially sought her out for the Polaris Star, but now Lome felt his heart racing beyond his control.

With a hint of playfulness, Lome mused, “Ms. Schnabel is truly extraordinary. If only she’d met me sooner, Mr. Pollack wouldn’t have stood a chance”

Elara locked at Lome with a puzzled expression, turning to face him.

“Excuse me for asking, but does the Richardson family have a history of mental illness? Or to put it bluntly, Lorne Richardson, is your urine matte? Because if it were shiny, wouldn’t you have seen your own reflection when you hit the john?”

It’s not like the Richardsons were so broke they couldn’t afford a mirror, How could he be so blindly unobjective about himself?

Lome turned to Elara. “Elara, what do you mean by that? I’m just a bit smitten with Ms. Schnabel and wanted to get to know her, that’s

“Grandpa Lucian’s noggin is working fine, too. You didn’t take a nasty knock to the head as a kid, did you?”

Or had he not fully recovered from his recent brain surgery? But that wouldn’t have damaged his brain, would it?

Elara shook her head, her gaze on Lome uncertain. “Lome, even if we take a giant step back, you’ve got to admit, you’re no match for Mr. Pollack”

Lome’s eyes widened in disbelief and embarrassment! It must be that Elara’s got a closer tie to the Pollack family. She’s siding with Palmer over him, that must be why she’d say something like that.

Watching Lome wheel away, Elora’s brow twitched.

Was it her imagination, or was there something off about Lorne?

Or was he just a typical clueless guy?

At Larson’s estate, Briony came to with a shiver, groggy and cold!

She sneezed messily only to malize she was lying on the floor of a room,

om, with Yvonne staring daggers at her from the bed.

“Ah! What the hell are you doing!” Briony yelped, jumping in fright!

Yvonne’s gaze shifted away, her hand holding a gleaming pocket knife.

“Why should a tramp like you share a room with me?”

There were too many unknown kids at the Larson’s at the estate was bombed, and many places were unlivable. So, Luther had unceremoniously shoved Yvonne and Briony together

Briony was terrified, stumbling backwards. “No… my dad is a Larson, not some bodyguard. If you lay a finger on me, my dad won’t let you off the hook!”

Yvonne couldn’t care less about Briony’s blathering. She picked up her phone, which buzzed with a message from Queenie.

[Yvonne, I was wrong about the past! I’ve got a ton of followers. You make a bunte account, spread the word that the Schnabels are mistreating their nannies and foster kid. If we can’t have peace, neither will they

A wicked gleam lit up Yvonne’s eyes.

Queenie had millions of followers. Even if the Schnabels got her account banned, a new one would do just the trick!