Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 240

Amount: seventy million.

Sender: Seth.

Noreen had worked as Seth’s assistant before. Just one glance, and she could tell this was his personal account.

Which meant the compensation Bianca paid to Winrich and InnoCore—the money that had caused such an uproar—came straight from Seth’s private funds.

She’d mentioned it to Bianca just that afternoon. By evening, the money had already arrived.

That kind of efficiency? If that’s not true love, what is.

“Noreen?” Carman’s voice crackled through the phone, sounding concerned after a long silence. “Are you still there? Did the call drop?”

Snapping out of her thoughts, Noreen set her phone down on the desk and buried herself in paperwork again. “I’m here, sorry. Let’s keep going.”

…

Very few people knew that Noreen was planning to bid on the project. Who would expect a small company like Winrich to even try for a government contract?

Bianca’s side, on the other hand, had been making waves for weeks. She was all confidence, spreading the word early.

With the Aurelion Group backing her, she had every right to be.

But Claire Chase was fuming. She’d been ranting on the phone for ten minutes straight. “She’s just absurdly lucky! No matter what she does, Seth’s always there, giving her his full support. He even handed her such a huge project! How did I never realize Seth was such a hopeless romantic idiot?”

Noreen laughed. “You sound even angrier than I am. I’m honestly not that bothered anymore.”

“I just can’t stand to see you treated this way, sweetheart.”

Even through the screen, Claire’s eyes brimmed with concern.

She knew better than anyone how much Noreen had suffered in that relationship. How many times her heart had been broken.

“Seth only dares take advantage of you because you never fight back! At least a fifth of Aurelion’s success is due to your work, right? And now he’s using the money you helped earn to make his new girlfriend happy. It’s beyond messed up!”

Claire let loose a curse. “I hope the two of them have a kid with no—” (She caught herself, gritting her teeth.)

“Where’s your elegance, Ms. Chase?”

“Ran away from home!” Claire huffed, still venting.

Maybe, once upon a time, Noreen would have minded.

But now, she just felt… free.

“Except he’s still alive,” Noreen reminded her dryly.

“Right, but he’s got terminal lovesickness. No hope for a cure.”

After hanging up, Noreen headed over to Omniva Group to report to Dylan.

They grabbed dinner together afterward.

Since Noreen’s car was in the shop, Dylan drove her home. He dropped her off outside her apartment complex, and they said goodnight.

She turned to head inside, but footsteps sounded behind her, sharp and sudden in the quiet.

She hadn’t seen anyone else nearby—she assumed it was Dylan.

Without looking back, she called, “Forgot something, Dylan?”

“Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not here to give you a warm ride home.”

The man’s face was cast in shadow beneath the orange streetlight, his eyes cold and dark.

His voice was like something yanked straight from a freezer—glacial and biting.