Chapter 276
“Bennett?” Noelle was a bit surprised.
“Noelle?” Bennett stood in front of her door, surprising her.
She blinked. “What’s he doing here, lingering like t
that? Don’t tell me he’s got something else for me to do…
Sensing trouble, she immediately tried to shut it down. Just so you know, I’m completely exhausted today. If you’ve got something to say, save it for tomorrow. Actually–no, wait. I’ve got another experiment tomorrow. Say it the day after.”
Bennett raised a brow at how wary she looked, then let out a laugh. “Do I really seem that scary to you? Like some kind of monster?”
“In my eyes?” Noelle tilted her head. “You’re way worse
than n a monster.”
Thinking about all the hellish experiments she’d endured, she was practically traumatized by now.
“You’re not exactly sugarcoating it,” Bennert said dryly.
Noelle pouted. “We’re siblings–why bother being polite?”
Bennett paused, caught off guard. “Siblings?”
She blinked. “Aren’t we?”
“Yeah,” he replied after a beat. Then he looked at family?”
ther more closely and suddenly asked, “Noelle, do you like being part
of the Anderson
Noelle was a little confused by the question but nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“But we weren’t exactly nice to you in the beginning,” Bennett reminded her. “Damon even said he’d kill you.”
Somewhere, Damon sneezed.
Noelle tilted her head, unsure why Bennett brought this up out of nowhere. After a moment, she said, “I didn’t think you were that bad.”
“You didn’t? Bennett looked at her, surprised.
She shook her head. “No. Not really”
Sure, they’d been cold at first, but no one in the Anderson family had ever deprived her of basic needs. And honestly, in Noelle’s life experience, that was already more kindness than most had ever shown.
She’d been out in the world since she was ten, after being released from the lab. People who were nice to her always wanted something in retum. She never expected kindness from anyone, nor did she take it for granted.
Even Vincent, their pride–obsessed father, still sent Kimberly to buy her clothes when he realized she had none. Eli might grumble nonstop, but he always brought her along with Leia. And even when they fought, they never really cast her out–if anything, they’d apologize when they were in the wrong
To Noelle, the Anderson family was surprisingly good. Not quite as good as Nicolas, of course–but still pretty great. Bennett studied her face, the unwavering sincerity in her eyes. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “You really
“So what?” she asked, her interest piqued, expecting praise.
“You’re
Norile deflated instantly. She looked like a puppy that had just been denied a treat.
y are something else.
help but righ. He had seen the worst of people and firmly believed in the darkness of human nature–unti Noelle
maybe people could still shine. temunded him that mayb
her so easy to buri
* Brandon wanted all of Noelle’s memotes from birth -be ling experiment suureded, Bennett was sure Brandon would make his
and he had to stop whatever firankon was plotting
2:25 PM c d ·
Chapter 276
The next day. Noelle officially began the “Memory Read/Write experiment. It would last a full eight hours. She lay flat on the table, her head covered in dozens of metallic electrodes, while beside her, a massive machine pulsed and flickered–mapping out the wavelength of her memories.
Once her memories were fully transferred, they could be decoded and implanted into other life forms, effectively allowing others to inherit Noelle’s experiences.
And the experiment was a resounding success. Just like she promised, Noelle passed it on the very first try–transferring all her memories perfectly.
Brandon was more thrilled than anyone. For the first time, he even beat Bennett to Noelle’s side, scooping up her nearly unconscious body and exclaiming with delight, “Noelle, you were incredible. We got the entire memory set!”
Soaked in sweat and completely drained, Noelle managed a tired smile. She had never seen Brandon so happy before.
“That means I don’t have to do any more experiments now, right?” she asked weakly.
“No more,” Brandon confirmed with a bright smile. He held her close, practically glowing with joy. “It’s all over.”
Thank goodness…” she murmured. If she had the energy, she would’ve run laps around the lab in celebration.
Brandon gently patted her head. “To celebrate, I’ll take you out to eat tonight–anything you want.”
Noelle froze, then gave him an awkward glance. “Uh….actually, I already made plans with Nicolas. We’re supposed to have dinner together.”
The moment Nicolas’s name came up, Brandon’s smile faltered.
Noelle immediately grew nervous. Is he going to forbid me
from going TOW?
But to her surprise, Brandon simply smiled again. “I see. Then go ahead–you two have fun. We’ll celebrate another day.” Noelle blinked. ‘Wait, that’s it? Just like that? No pushback? Is this… a trap? Or did Brandon actually mellow out?”
As soon as she stepped out of the lab, Nicolas’s car was already waiting at the gate
“Nicolas!” she called, rushing into his arms.
Nicolas hurried to catch her. “How did it go? Did it work?”
“Of course it did!” she grinned, showing off her pearly teeth. I’m amazing, remember? One and done.”
“My brilliant girl, Nicolas said, fondly pinching her cheek.
Let’s head to
the restaurant,” he added.
Noelle nodded “Okay”
Before e getting into the car, she didn’t forget to turn around and wave. “Brandon, we’ll head–out first!”
Brandon stood in place, smiling gently. “Go ahead. Have a great time*
Noelle nodded and goi
in the car.
only to catch the man staring at
about to climb in too, but he glanced back at Brandon–only
was cold, like he was staring straight through Nicolas… as if he were already
ugh Brandon wore a pleasant unde, the look in his eyes was i read man walking
badly be wants the dead. Nicolas mued Interesting
“Murales” Nortle braned
ard, puzzled by
