Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 535

Noreen was truly plumbing new depths, Bianca thought with disgust. First, she was stringing Dylan along, then she was getting cozy with Healy, and now she was moving on to Padgett Novak.

The hypocrisy was astounding. Bianca pulled out her phone and sent a message to her group chat.

*Guess who I just saw at Rivercrest University?*

Predictably, the first person to respond was Jude. He was so idle these days that he was always online. Since Noreen had become a major shareholder in Seymour Group, his influence had dwindled to almost nothing. He was just another person collecting dividends, with far too much time on his hands.

*Who?* Jude typed back.

*It looks like Noreen and Padgett Novak are really a thing,*

Bianca wrote.

She remembered Healy showing them a photo of Noreen and Padgett having dinner together once, but she'd dismissed it at the time. She hadn't believed for a second that a man of Padgett's caliber would be interested in a woman like Noreen. But now, having seen the way he looked at her, Bianca realized she had severely underestimated Noreen's talent for wrapping men around her finger.

She had sent the message deliberately, wanting everyone—especially Dylan—to see Noreen's true colors. Some people put on such a virtuous act in public, but in private, they were utterly shameless. Dylan claimed he'd been in love with Noreen for years. Well, let him see exactly what kind of person he was pinning his hopes on.

Throughout the lecture, Bianca was completely distracted, her eyes glued to her phone, waiting. But Dylan never responded. Was he refusing to face the truth? A contemptuous smirk crossed her face.

After all, she had been cast out of his inner circle once before.

Halley's students fell into two categories. There were the official graduate students he supervised for the university—a high bar that only one or two people cleared each year. Then there was the second, far more exclusive group: his direct protégés. To be considered, one had to possess an extraordinary, almost prodigious, talent for mathematics. Over the decades, Halley had only taken on five such students.

His most promising one, a young woman, had been expelled midway through her training. As for Henry, Sanford's son, he had some talent but fell short of Halley's exacting standards. It was only after Sanford had pleaded repeatedly that Halley had reluctantly agreed to take him on.

Whenever Sanford visited, Halley would inevitably bring up the disciple he had cast out, his voice always tinged with regret. He never revealed her name or any identifying details, only that she was a girl with a brilliant mind who had thrown away a dazzling future for a man. It was a betrayal that left him both heartbroken and furious.

Sanford was desperate to find this woman. The Brooke family owed her a debt of gratitude they could never fully repay.