The Killer Queen

Yvonne was flipping through the script, and the more she read, the more her fingers itched to jump in.

Stirling, as a Grand Slam Best Actor and a superstar heartthrob, always got his hands on

scripts from top–notch production teams. For someone with her experience, landing a leading. lady role would be a piece of cake.

If Stirling would take her under his wing, she would be strutting around showbiz like she owned. the place!

But she wasn’t sure if Stirling would be down for letting her play the lead.

If he agreed, getting some clout would mean the Schnabel family wouldn’t look down on her so easily anymore!

Clutching the script, Yvonne walked up to Stirling’s study with hope in her heart. “Stirling, you in there?”

Stirling was deep in discussion with Palmer about how to tackle the Lambert and Rosenberg families. Yvonne’s voice made him frown.

“Don’t bother me.”

Yvonne–pushed the door open, looking all pitiful at the entrance, only to catch a glimpse of Palmer chilling on the couch with a coffee!

“Palmer, what are you doing at our place?”

Palmer didn’t even spare her a glance; he just picked up the Lambert family’s personnel files Stirling had prepared and said coolly, “I brought Noella back. She’s resting. Ms. Schnabel, keep it down, will

you?”

Noella! Always Noella!

“Yvonne, what do you want? If it’s nothing, leave. Mr. Pollack and I have business to discuss. and you shouldn’t be here.”

Although Stirling wasn’t too kind to Yvonne, with Palmer, a third party, in the room, he didn’t want to embarrass her.

“Stirling, I saw your script downstairs and thought I’d bring it up. It’s really interesting. Can I give it a shot and audition for a role?”

Her, acting? Getting into the entertainment industry?

Stirling’s gut reaction was to shut it down, but seeing Yvonne’s pale face from a recent dunk in the water, coupled with the fact she hadn’t eaten all day, looking all kinds of pitiful, he bit back the scolding on the tip of his tongue.

“Stirling, just let me have a go; I promise I won’t disgrace the Schnabel family.”

11:14

Stirling pondered. Maybe acting would give her something to do and keep her busy so she wouldn’t hassle Palmer and Noella so much. Might keep her out of trouble!

“Alright, but you’re only playing a supporting role. You can be the maid in the script!”

Yvonne was dumbstruck. She wanted to play the leading lady, not end up as a maid!

“Stirling, I don’t want to play a maid, having to kneel before others; it’s just embarrassing. I want to play the lead!”

Stirling gave her a look, “The lead? And what makes you think you’re up to it? The lead is already set for the Best Actress. You, a greenhorn with no acting chops, think you can handle a role opposite me?”

Forget handling a role opposite him; Yvonne would tremble just from him giving her an extral glance!

“Get out. Don’t push me to lose my temper.”

Yvonne looked at Palmer with tearful, expectant eyes, hoping he would put in a good word for her. But Palmer didn’t even give her the time of day.

She left the study clutching the script, only to hear Stirling’s voice as she stepped out. “Don’t sleep here tonight. Go back to Grandma’s. Noella doesn’t like strangers around.”

Yvonne’s tears fell. She was mortified! Even if the house was Noella’s, it was still the Schnabel family’s property. Why couldn’t she stay?

In the whole of Serene Haven, not even a room was reserved for her! The moment Noella showed up, she became a stranger.

If things kept going this way, she would be booted out of the Schnabel family sooner or later.

$

Yvonne clenched her teeth, looking at the script in her hands. She had to seize more

opportunities for herself. Only by landing the lead could she secure her footing in the Schnabel family and become the future lady of the Pollack family.

Noella padded out of her room barefoot and stepped onto the soft carpet, her dainty feet as charming as porcelain.

She asked, “What’s the fuss about?”

Seeing her, Stirling and Palmer both rose to their feet.

Palmer stepped forward, scooped up Noella, and headed to her bedroom, setting her down by the bed and bending down to slip her into her slippers.

“Why aren’t you wearing shoes? Don’t catch a cold.”

“I’m not cold.”

Stirling acted as if he hadn’t seen anything. After all, the CEO of Pollack Group going out of his

11:14

way to take care of Noella indicated something special. As her brother, even if he was sore about his sister being snatched away, he couldn’t exactly scold Palmer in front of her.

Stirling touched his nose and rolled up his sleeves to head downstairs.

“Sis, you hungry? I’ll whip something up!”

The kids of the Schnabel family weren’t the helpless rich types. In fact, to train them to fend for themselves, Marcel had them roughing it out in military camps from a young age and even surviving on a deserted island. The cooking skills of the Schnabel boys were pretty darn good.

And Stirling was the best cook of the bunch!

Soon, three steaming bowls of chicken soup were served up nice and neat.

Palmer looked at the dining table, his face lighting up with a smile. All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.

“Thanks.”

“No need. You haven’t eaten since bringing Noella back, and we can’t have people saying the Schnabels mistreat their guests.”

The Schnabels, indeed, had impeccable manners. Even if Stirling couldn’t stand seeing Palmer and Noella cozy, his hospitality was spot–on.

The three of them sat down and enjoyed a harmonious and cozy meal together.

“Stirling, you’re really letting Yvonne try acting?”

“Just giving her something to do so she won’t be up in everyone’s business all the time. With her brain, she’s probably not cutting it at MediCore University. Let her audition and see. If she makes it, fine.”

He was not about to pull strings for Yvonne to get her some connections. Sure, there was no

shortage of nepaliem in showbiz, but Stirling only respected real talent.

“Noella, you interested in the entertainment world too? Want me to set something up for you?” Noella shook her head. “Nah, I’m not into making a splash and being all in the spotlight. It’s a hassle.”

Palmer knew her style–she wasn’t one to show off.

“Showbiz is exhausting, both the networking and the acting. Noella should just do whatever she likes, no need to go into acting.” Palmer said.

Stirling actually agreed with him on that. Anything good for Noella, they were on the same

page.

“Mr. Pollack, we’ve had our meal, time you head back, don’t you think?”

Look at how late it was! Didn’t the Pollack family teach Palmer basic manners?

Palmer looked at Noella, a sickly sweet smile creeping on his lips. “Do I seem like a stranger to

11:14

you?”

Noella was a bit puzzled and shook her head. “Not really.”

“If I’m not a stranger, then surely there’s no need to rush me out the door, right?”

Stirling was clenching his fists so tight! He managed to keep a friendly smile on his face, holding back the urge to jump Palmer right in front of Noella.

“Mr. Pollack, your place is right next door. No need to overstay your welcome, is there? Since when has the Pollack family fallen so low that they need to crash at someone else’s place?”

Noella picked up on the undertones in Stirling’s words and glanced at Palmer. “You should go.”

“Alright, I’ll pick you up tomorrow, we’ll head to Grandpa Merrick’s together.”

“Okay.”

Palmer took Noella’s hand and planted a light goodbye kiss on the back of her hand, grabbed his coat, and left.

Once Palmer finally took off, Stirling nearly cried tears as wide as noodles. He had to tell Beckett that if they didn’t do something fast, their little sister might just get snatched away!

“Noella, what’s Mr. Pollack got to do with us going to Grandpa Merrick’s?”

“Grandpa invited him too. You don’t like Palmer?”

Stirling ground his teeth, his face painted with a gentle smile and patted Noella on the head.

“No, why would I? I can’t get enough of him!”

Faced with Noella’s puzzled, slightly frowning expression, Stirling could’ve slapped himself. “That’s not what I meant. I mean, if you like him, then I like him!”