Chapter 87
Leia’s question was one that everyone had been wondering about.
After all, Noelle had shocked them all with her incredible talents. Despite being so young–only eighteen–how had she achieved things that many could never hope to accomplish in a lifetime?
What had she gone through in her past?
As all eyes turned to her, Noelle blinked, then casually responded, “What else? I worked part–time.”
“Part–time?” Leia’s eyes twitched, sensing that Noelle was hiding something. She smirked and asked, “It can’t just be working part–time, right? How could working part–time explain all these skills? A top–tier chef, a racing prodigy, and even some wild stunts… doesn’t all that take time to learn?”
At Leia’s insinuation, Noelle clicked her tongue and shot her an amused look.
With a superior expression, as if saying “You’ll never understand the world of a genius,” she tilted her head back, and grinned. “Leia, you don’t get it, do you?”
“Get what?” Leia frowned, feeling her irritation spike.
What was this girl being so smug about? Her attitude was enough to make Leia’s blood boil–Noelle acted like she had some secret power, constantly showing off.
Noelle, oblivious to Leia’s growing frustration, raised her chin and explained, “People are different. I’m what you’d call a genius among geniuses. While everyone else spent years learning from their masters, I picked things up way faster. Some things took only a few months, some even just a few days–no big deal for me.”
“Wow, you’re really something, Leia said with a forced chuckle. But deep down, she was sure Noelle was hiding something more. No one could possibly pick up so many skills just by working part–time.
Maybe, Noelle had already known her true identity and, fearing she wouldn’t fit in with the Anderson family, had worked tirelessly to learn all the things they loved, just so she could ingratiate herself with them.
Before Leia could pursue her thoughts further, Damon suddenly spoke up, his voice cutting through the tension. “We did some digging into your past. We found out you showed up at the orphanage when you were ten. But what about before that? What were you doing?”
When Noelle came to the Anderson family to claim her identity, they were all stunned. They had immediately launched an investigation into her past, but aside from learning she had appeared at the orphanage at age ten and dropped out of school at thirteen, they had found no further details.
“What happened before you were ten…” Noelle scratched her head, her mind drifting back to her earliest memories.
Truthfully, ever since she could remember, she had been confined in a huge, white laboratory.
There were other kids there, of different ages.
At first, they had to take countless white pills and get injections of various colored liquids. The injections were painfully sharp, and when they kicked in, they made life feel worse than death.
Some kids began to suffer from muscle atrophy and slowly turned into walking corpses, others had trouble breathing and suffocated to death.
The most terrifying of all the symptoms was when their entire bodies began to rot and fall apart, no longer retaining any semblance of human form.
Many of the children had perished during those experiments. By the time Noelle realized what was happening, most of them had already vanished from her sight.
And Noelle wasn’t exaggerating when she said she was special. As she had claimed, she was the only one who survived the horrific experiments- the so–called “chosen one” among them all. She was the youngest to pass the doctors‘ twisted trials.
But the hardest part for Noelle wasn’t the physical pain–it was the brain development experiments. They placed electrodes on her head to measure brainwaves, claiming it was “cutting–edge human technology.” But to Noelle, it was nothing more than pure agony.
The electrical currents that surged through her brain were unbearable, causing her to thrash around in her restraints, certain her head would explode. Some children had actually died during these experiments, unable to handle the pressure,
When Noelle managed to survive the brain development trials, she noticed significant changes in her body. She could control it with ease now.
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Chapter 87
Whatever she learned, she could master it in no time.
Next came physical enhancement. With the aid of the drugs and brain development treatments, her physical abilities skyrocketed. Thanks to her improved control over her body, even when the scientists crushed her joints, she could heal herself in no time. It was almost like the experiments were designed to test the human body’s healing potential.
The scientists tortured her in all kinds of ways, but Noelle’s will to survive was unbreakable. Eventually, she emerged stronger than ever, able to quickly grasp skills others took years to perfect.
Now that she was outside the lab, mastering skills felt easy for her, but none of this could ever be shared with the Anderson family. All details about the laboratory were classified, and revealing anything would result in severe consequences.
“What’s wrong?” Damon pressed, his gaze sharp as he noticed Noelle’s hesitation. “Is there something you’re not telling us?”
“Ah?” Noelle snapped out of her trance, blinking at Damon. “Oh, I just don’t remember anything before I was ten.”
“You don’t remember?” Damon raised an eyebrow. “You had amnesia?”
Noelle nodded quickly. To avoid any further questions, she added, “Yeah, that’s right. I had amnesia. I don’t remember anything before.”
Damon’s expression shifted to one of disbelief. This little liar. He knew Noelle was hiding something but wasn’t the type to push.
Seeing the lingering uncertainty in the room, Noelle flashed a smile and casually said, “Well, I learn fast because my parents are super smart, right? You guys are so clever, I must have inherited all that brilliance!”
Her words were charming, and Vincent, ever the proud father, beamed with pride. “Heh, that’s true. You kids are all exceptional. It makes sense that Noelle is so bright.”
Kimberly, with a playful grin, teased, “So, it’s all thanks to you, huh? You sure know how to give yourself credit.”
Vincent winked at her, responding in kind, “Hey, if I’m giving myself credit, it’s also crediting you, right? Without you, how could I have such wonderful kids? You’re amazing.”
The playful exchange made Eli groan in exaggerated disgust. “Seriously? You two are still doing this lovey–dovey thing? You’re practically ancient!”
Vincent shot him a look. “What, does it bother you?”
“Yep, Eli shot back.
“Well, deal with it,” Vincent replied, smirking.
At this moment.
Noelle, eager to keep the peace, chimed in, “Aww, Mom and Dad are so sweet. I’m so lucky to be born into this family.”
Kimberly’s face softened, and she teased, “You’ve got a mouth full of honey, don’t you? Always know how to flatter people.”
She reached out to stroke Noelle’s soft cheek, then called the family to the table. “Alright, enough chatting–let’s eat before the food gets cold!”
Noelle grinned and played along. “Yes, yes! We can’t waste Mom’s hard work.”
Kimberly smiled fondly, “Thanks to Noelle the chef, there’s no way we’d have this meal without her.”
“Well, it was a team effort with Mom,” Noelle added with a wink.
Eli, seeing the mother–daughter duo performing in harmony, took his seat. “Alright, alright. In honor of this show, let’s have a clean plate policy tonight–everything on the table must be eaten.”
Damon raised an eyebrow and glanced at Eli. “I see. You just want to eat more
Eli shot back, “What, you didn’t want to? I saw you grab two pieces of pork ribs.”
Damon rolled his eyes.
Kimberly interrupted, “Enough bickering, everyone. Let’s eat.”
The family sat together, enjoying their meal, with Noelle’s bright and sweet voice filling the room. The atmosphere was warm, everyone laughing and joking.
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Chapter 87
Except for Leia. She sat there, watching Noelle smoothly integrate into the family, while she felt more and more like an outsider. The jealousy in her eyes was cold and vicious.
Noelle had to be hiding something. Leia was sure of it. She needed to find out what it was and expose it for everyone to see.
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