No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)

Noelle hadn't expected Donovan to be the one answering the call. Her voice was cold as she questioned, "Where's Frank?"

"Frank? Who's that? You don't see him as your brother, so what makes you think you deserve any of the Liddell family's assets? You're not a Liddell anymore, so what right do you have?"

Donovan was relishing this moment of finally having the upper hand over Noelle. She'd been a pain in the ass for way too long.

Noelle's tone remained firm. "Mom and Dad left me that, and you have no right to decide who it goes to. I'd rather donate it to some charitable organization than let Xenia have it."

"Keep dreaming, Noelle. Unless you drop the lawsuit against Blake and Lucas, I'll give Xenia everything our parents left you. I mean it."

With that, he hung up. Noelle kicked the table in frustration and felt utterly disgusted, as if she'd swallowed a fly.

Then, she received a call from Maple Enterprise. "Noelle, we have bad news to share."

"Go ahead."

"Frank's company lost the bid, right? But they've recently been making moves again and are actively competing with us. They're also spreading negative rumors about our company."

Upon hearing that, Noelle's lips curled into a cold smile. Sure enough, the Liddell family was making their move.

"What kind of rumors?" she asked.

"They're claiming that as the true daughter of the Liddells, you were involved in Liddell Corporation's Al project. After running away from home, you stole the corporation's commercial secrets only to turn around and sue them."noveldrama

"That might be all they got," Noelle said, smirking.

She couldn't just sit back and do nothing. It was time to publicly set the record straight before the Liddell family's endless schemes continued to haunt her.

After Noelle completed a scrim with her team, she went straight to the gym. She'd just started running on the treadmill when a familiar voice sounded beside her.

"I told you to rest for a few more days, didn't I?"

Upon hearing Cedric's voice, Noelle adjusted the treadmill's speed and turned to him. "Why are you here?"

"You spoke to Mr. Rodrick about the Liddell family's inheritance dispute?"

"That's right. I used to not care about those assets, but Donovan insists on giving them to Xenia. I absolutely won't allow that."

After their parents' deaths, the Liddell family was on the verge of bankruptcy. The wealth they had accumulated since then was the result of her brothers' collective effort, and she never intended to share in that.

They could give Xenia as much of their wealth as they pleased but not their parents' legacy.

Cedric understood her stance. "Didn't expect them to use such despicable tactics to force you into submission."

"That's nothing new. They've always used such tactics since we were kids."

Noelle looked at Cedric and

continued, "Since we discovered plagiarism during Maple Enterprise's last bid, Donovan now spreads rumors that I stole Liddell

Corporation's commercial secrets."

"What are you planning to do then?" Cedric could tell from her expression that she

had a plan.

"I'm going to hold a press

the open. That way, the Liddlet

conference and lay everything out in

family won't have any room for manipulation."

It was time to completely sever ties.

Cedric smirked. "Sounds good."

"Since you agree, I'll have TG Public Relations arrange a press conference." Noelle refused to have Donovan's tactics disgust her any longer.

Cedric studied her. "But if you go public like this, you won't be able to claim your parents' assets for a while. How will you handle that?"

"Xenia has taken over the foundation, hasn't she? With her greedy and manipulative nature, she's bound to tamper with the accounts.

"All I have to do is gather enough evidence which will not only throw her in jail but also embarrass Donovan thoroughly."

Noelle would never back down. Cedric handed her a bottle of water. "Looks like there's nothing left for me to do then."