No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)

"Are you saying Noelle wrote the source code?" Donovan froze, disbelief clouding his face. "How did I not know this?"

Could Noelle really be that capable at such a young age?

"Donovan, I've mentioned this to you before. You just forgot," Frank said with a sigh. "Noelle has done a lot for this family behind the scenes, but we've always overlooked it."

Only now did Frank realize how badly they had wronged her.

Donovan was at a loss for words. "I thought you wrote the source code and she just helped a little."

He had assumed Frank was simply trying to appease Noelle by giving her more credit than she deserved. He hadn't expected it to be true.

The secretary interrupted anxiously, "Mr. Liddell, the tech department can't handle it. What should we do? If this leaks, the company will be in huge trouble."

Donovan said angrily, "What's the tech department even doing? How can a young girl outdo them?"

Donovan's pride was wounded. He glared at Noelle. "What exactly do you want? Are you doing this just to get back at me because I forgot who wrote the code?"

He couldn't believe Noelle would go this far just to get back at him for forgetting who contributed to the source code.

He thought it was only natural for Noelle to contribute, considering she was part of the Liddell family.

"Yes," Noelle said, looking at him coldly. "Donovan, you've got bigger problems. I suggest you fix this before your company falls apart."

Donovan shouted, "You ingrate! Everything you have the clothes, the food, the roof over your head—came from the Liddell family. How dare you try to destroy us? Don't you have any conscience?"

Noelle stood firm at the door. "First of all, my parents left us trust funds. All my schooling came from that."

Donovan sneered. "Fine, but you lived here for years. We took care of you. What about that? Every birthday, we bought you expensive gifts. Doesn't that count for anything?"

Noelle let out a bitter laugh. "Have you forgotten? Since our parents passed, I stopped celebrating my birthday. Every gift was for Xenia, not me."

"No, I remember buying you an antique crown," Donovan retorted.

Noelle smirked. "Xenia took it a long time ago."

"Impossible. That was for you, not her!" Donovan exclaimed, shooting a questioning look at Frank.

Frank lowered his gaze and said, "Donovan, it's a misunderstanding. Noelle gave

it to Xenia as an apology after their fight."noveldrama

Donovan's face flushed with embarrassment, and he felt a sting of discomfort. "You can apologize all you want, but you can't just pass off the gift gave you to someone else. Frank, what were you thinking?"

2UMS

Noelle calmly pulled out an envelope stuffed with cash. "This is the total of my meals over the years-ten thousand dollars. Consider this paid in full. I have no further ties to the Liddell family."

She tossed the money into Frank's trembling hands, but he couldn't bring himself to take it.

Donovan's face turned crimson with rage. "Noelle, don't think you can get away with this!"

Noelle met his gaze. "Mr. Liddell, I suggest you leave. If you don't, I'll be forced to release the source code for the Liddell Corporation system. All of your company's secrets will be exposed to outside hackers. Your competitors will be thrilled

Donovan shook with fury. "How dare you? Very well! From now on, I'm officially cutting ties with you, Noelle. I'll never forgive you, and I'll never recognize you as my sister!"

"Donovan! How can you say that?" Frank interjected, quickly grabbing him. "She's our sister! We promised Mom and Dad we'd take care of her!"

"If it weren't for Noelle, our parents wouldn't have died in that car accident! Donovan said, his eyes bloodshot with fury. "If I had known Noelle would turn out like this, wish Xenia's father had saved our parents first, not her!"

Noelle's mind flashed back to the scene of the accident. She nearly lost her balance, barely managing to steady herself against the doorframe.