No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric) novel Chapter 403

Noelle stared at Donovan. It was shocking to learn the latter had clues.

She vaguely remembered that in her past life, Donoan had somehow offended a powerful family, and his company had nearly gone bankrupt. She wondered if that could be the reason.

Lucas approached her, and his eyes were filled with guilt. With a hoarse voice, he said, "When we were kids, Noelle, I used to take you out to play all the time. I picked you up and dropped you off at school. Whenever Blake scolded you, I would step in to protect you.

"But this time, I admit I had selfish motives. I wanted to get back at you for quitting the team and making me lose that match in humiliation.

"Now that I've lost everything and my reputation is in shambles, could you let this go for the sake of our past sibling affection and not press charges?"

Noelle wasn't surprised at all. He'd said so many sentimental words just to get her to withdraw the lawsuit.

Blake chimed in, "Lucas' team has disbanded, Noelle, and he's paid a hefty sum in penalties. He's suffered enough. Isn't that enough for you?"

Seeing how pathetic Lucas looked, Noelle didn't feel any sense of dissatisfaction. All she wanted was to know who'd escaped the car accident back then, and she wanted them to go to prison and pay the price.

Donovan pressed. "Noelle, have you made up your mind?"

"I told you this isn't something I can decide. Maple Enterprise is the one pressing charges for corporate espionage," Noelle snapped.

"You're on good terms with Alfred, aren't you? He'd let it go if you begged him a bit. A rich guy like Alfred wouldn't care about something so trivial, so as long as the project stays with Maple Enterprise, everything else can be negotiated," said Blake dismissively.

He knew how these things worked better than anyone.

Noelle stated, "I'm just friends with Alfred."

"That makes it even easier. Getting in with the Parhams would benefit the Liddells, too. Right now, you're stronger than any of us brothers.

"With you here and Donovan backing us up, we can definitely uncover the truth behind the car accident."

Noelle glanced at Blake. "I'll investigate myself. If you want a settlement, talk to Maple Enterprise." She'd never make the sole decision to agree to their demands.

Donovan's expression darkened with rage. "Stop right there! You'd rather protect Maple Enterprise's interests than find out the truth about the car accident.

"If you drop charges, just think of it as repaying him for everything he did. You want to cut ties, don't you? Settle the debts first."

What did he mean by settling debts? Hadn't she paid enough? Hadn't she tragically died in her past life?

"What nonsense are you sprouting, Blake? Siblings don't talk about settling debts!"

Frank stepped in to intervene. He looked at Noelle and sent her away. "Go home. This isn't something that can be decided in one day."

Blake frowned. "Don't stop me, Frank. Be careful, or you'll get hurt."

Yet Frank persisted and shielded Noelle from him. "She's young, so give her time to think. Noelle, hurry back and tell me after you've gotten safely to school."

Noelle walked away without looking back.

Seeing how much weight Frank had lost, Blake decided against pushing further. He'd just give Noelle one day to reconsider.