The Killer Queen by Noella Briony

Chapter 14

The auctioneer was all chuckles as he wielded the tiny gavel.

“Up next, an open piece of Intel: Cerulean Whale’s launching a crackdown on Obelisk Organization and Abyssal Organization, and they’re stirring the pot in Imperial City.

Starting bid: three million dollars.

Sure, the headline was on the house, but if they wanted the nitty–gritty, they got to bid.

Noella couldn’t care less about Cerulean Whale gunning for her crew. Bring it on, who’s eating who was still up in the air.

She had been knee–deep in the gem gambling biz for the past couple of years, letting her hitman outfit grow like wildfire, and without much fuss, it became one of the deep web’s big three.

What piqued her interest was Cerulean Whale’s shenanigans in Imperial City, and if she wasn’t barking up the wrong tree, it likely involved Marcel.

She had to snag this info!

Cerulean Whale attacked Marcel right under her nose, could she even show her face around?

Noella raised her paddle. “Three million and ten grand, name’s Wise Fool.”

The crowd was like, “Say what now?”

Three million and ten grand was chump change, but that moniker made everyone else put their paddles down!

Even the auctioneer was speechless.

They were hoping to rake in tens of millions for this juicy tidbit, but with Wise Fool in the house, who would dare to bid against her?

In VIP Room No. 9, Palmer was taken aback, setting his paddle aside,as well.

Looked like it was her he was up against earlier. Since she was interested in that last piece of intel, his three million wasn’t spent in vain.

With that thought, Palmer leaned back, a sly grin spreading across his face.

He had scoured every nook and cranny of the Radi Building for Noella to no avail. Wise Fool wasn’t one to be easily tracked down.

With Wise Fool throwing her hat in the ring, the room went quiet as a mouse, letting her walk away with the news.

“Congrats to Wise Fool. Sold for three million and ten grand!”

The auctioneer was grinning from ear to ear. “Up next, a little freebie for y’all: Gemstone

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Chapter 14

Gambling King is teaming up with some families for a public gem gamble next month. Don’t

miss out.”

Noella was confused.

King was a household name in the jewelry game, a riddle wrapped in a mystery, whose casual toss of a rock always turned out to be top–notch

a public appearance? News

strutted over to the message center, swiped her card, and

sending a hitman after General Marcel again tomorrow, the

the Radi Building, a squeaky–clean yet beat–up Volkswagen was about as low–profile as it

the car as soon as

her over, his refined and handsome face all lit up with a welcoming

Noella approached and quipped, “What, you moonlighting as an Uber driver?”

was momentarily frozen, his smile stiffening before meeting Noella’s skeptical gaze. Those eyes of his were

at his ride, recalling the info she had just dug up about

So poor that folks either got tangled in scams

to survive the cutthroat underworld of the deep

if I give you a

a nice gesture to support Palmer’s “side hustle“, Noella hopped

welcome gift for you, in

did not know how to

they had already met a

handed over a little box with

No. 9? Why drop all that cash on this? How many Ubers do you need to drive to make that

an Uber driver was new. Palmer felt a mixed bag of emotions,

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Chapter 14

then; the guy was the head honcho of Abyssal Organization. He could make a killing with just one

me? What if I don’t want to

A gift’s worth is in the joy it brings. If it makes you happy, that’s its true value. Everything else is just gravy.”

cash just

felt her hands holding

always splurge like

to ladies, except for

up sad memories and quickly apologized, “Sorry. Didn’t mean to bring that

does my gift

Noella was dumbstruck.

kind of thing point–blank?

when she got presents from the Schnabel family’s fourth

the slums didn’t get the concept of subtlety? Did they have to wear all

knew they were straight shooters, always fearing they might not get another chance

stifled the oddly exhilarating

“Yeah, happy.”

and Noella, feeling her face

it’s getting hot in

opening her message box right in

person who had dealings with Vincent, a merchant from Tranquility

How did he get mixed up in