Chapter 102: Estelle Lockwood Was So Heartless Back Then

Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Estelle Lockwood Was So Heartless Back Then

The event began, and many parents and children were already trying out the paternity test activity. The whole kindergarten was bustling.

Mia was the little social butterfly of the kindergarten; almost the entire class were her good friends. Other parents had, more or less, heard of Mia from their own children. So when they saw Estelle Lockwood bringing Mia, they all greeted her one after another.

"Mia’s mom! Wow, do you have three kids?"

Estelle froze for a moment. For some inexplicable reason, she thought of her child who had died in the fire back then.

Before she could answer, Mia nodded. "Yes, yes!"

The parent looked at the three children and couldn’t help but say, "It’s a pity that everyone can only try the paternity test activity once today. Mia’s mom, you can only choose to take one child to try it out."

Estelle was taken aback. She had originally planned to let both Zachery and Mia try it.

Mia rolled her eyes playfully. "Mommy, let Zachery go. I don’t want my hair pulled."

"Zachery" also chuckled softly. "Yeah, Mommy, I’ll do it."

Estelle felt something was a bit off, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. She nodded, walked to the activity area, and did the paternity test with "Zachery."

With their plan successfully completed, the three little ones exchanged glances. The test results wouldn’t be out for a week, so they were in no rush. Christian felt a surge of secret excitement. In a week, he would finally be able to officially reunite with his mommy!

***

Meanwhile, upon returning to the Lockwood family home, Noelle Lockwood could no longer maintain her gentle facade. With a scream, she smashed everything on the table!

"Get lost! All you useless things, get out of my sight!"

The servants were startled and hurriedly retreated. Outsiders always praised Noelle for being reasonable and well-educated, but only the long-term servants of the Lockwoods truly knew what kind of person she really was.

After smashing things, Noelle went crying to Rose Lowell. Rose already knew about what had happened at the Celestar Commercial Center today. She gritted her teeth. "Why is that bitch Yara targeting you like this? And Vivian too—over a hundred million! Where are we going to find that kind of money to compensate her?"

Previously, due to the plagiarism scandal, Noelle already had to pay Yara over two hundred million in compensation, and now there was another hundred million on top of that. The company had also suffered a significant blow. It seemed someone was secretly acquiring their shares. The Lockwoods all knew that the Lockwood Group was not doing well right now.

Noelle pursed her lips and hinted, "Mom... don’t you think that ever since Yara came to Crestfall, our family has been facing nothing but bad luck? First, Christian started hating me, and Nathaniel drove me out of Imperial Crest. Then came several astronomical compensation payouts, and now our shares..."

Rose calmed down. "Now that you mention it, it really is true. Could Yara be targeting us on purpose? But there is no bad blood between us. Why would she do that?"

Seeing that Rose had taken the bait, Noelle’s eyes shifted. "Mom, there’s something... I don’t know if I should say it."

"Just say whatever is on your mind."

Noelle feigned hesitation and bit her lip. "Actually... I think Yara might be Estelle..."

Rose’s eyes widened in shock. "What!"

Noelle pursed her lips tightly, her small face covered in tears. "Mom, I don’t think Estelle died back then. You know, Estelle always felt that I stole her place, so she hates me, and she hates the Lockwood family..."

Noelle’s speculation didn’t come out of nowhere; she genuinely felt that the woman was Estelle Lockwood!

Noelle deliberately spoke in a helpless tone, "Mom, if Yara is truly Estelle, then... I might as well leave. It’s better for me to sever ties with the Lockwoods than for your biological daughter to hate you like this..."

As expected, this show of weakness instantly sent Rose into a rage.

"Why should you leave! That bitch tried every possible way to kill you back then, and now she wants revenge? She’s the one who should get lost! Goddamn wretch! No, I have to drive her away!"

Seeing her goal achieved, Noelle hurriedly added, "Mom, I can’t be sure either. Besides, if she really is Estelle and you drive her away, everyone will definitely think I’m a bad person. They’ll say you favored your adopted daughter so much that you couldn’t even tolerate your biological daughter..."

Rose was sick to her stomach with anger. It was clearly Estelle who couldn’t tolerate Noelle. Must Noelle suffer so many unprovoked disasters just because she was an adopted daughter?

Suddenly, a thought struck Rose, and her eyes instantly darted around. "Don’t worry, Noelle. Mom has a way!"

***

Nathaniel Sloan still went to the kindergarten. He watched the parents happily participating in activities with their children inside, an unfathomable look in his eyes.

Luke White remained silent. He inexplicably felt that his boss looked like a stay-at-home husband coming to catch a cheating wife; the resentment in his eyes was almost palpable. It made sense, though. Young Mr. Christian was having a blast playing with Ms. Yara, while he, the biological father, was shut out. How tragic.

Luke was just about to suggest that Nathaniel go inside to take a look when Nathaniel’s phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and narrowed his eyes.

"Father."

The person on the other end of the line was Ethan Sloan. The father and son didn’t communicate much, and Ethan rarely called him. Although Nathaniel came from a wealthy background and never lacked material comforts, he had never been close to his parents. In the Sloan family, he was actually closer to Old Mr. Sloan and his aunt.

Ethan cut straight to the chase. "Nathaniel, Noelle is a celebrity after all, and she has ties to the Sloan family. How could you show her so little respect in front of outsiders?"

Nathaniel’s eyes were indifferent. "Did Noelle Lockwood run to you to complain?"

Ethan frowned. It was Rose who had called Laura Jennings, and Laura had run to tell him about it. That was how he found out. Although Noelle wasn’t directly involved, how could someone like Ethan not figure it out? Therefore, Nathaniel’s words weren’t wrong. It really was Noelle who had come complaining.

Ethan didn’t deny it. "That’s not the point. The point is—Nathaniel, I heard you’re courting Yara?"

The surroundings instantly quieted down. An icy chill surfaced in Nathaniel’s eyes as he spoke in a hoarse voice, "Yes."

Ethan seemed to think of something else. "I also heard that Yara and Estelle are the same person?"

These words were, of course, hinted at by Rose to Laura. Laura was a fool and didn’t understand, but Ethan caught on. Rose despised her biological daughter and wanted to use the Sloan family’s hands to drive her away. Although Ethan felt disdain for the Lockwoods’ actions, he couldn’t let Estelle return to Nathaniel’s side either.

"If Yara is just Yara, I have no objections to you courting her. But if Yara is Estelle, then absolutely not!"

Nathaniel’s eyes were filled with freezing hostility. "And what if you object?"

Ethan raised his voice. "Back then, Old Mr. Sloan insisted on this marriage. You were unwilling in the first place. Since that’s the case, why must you reconcile with that woman?

"Besides, have you forgotten how cruel Estelle was and everything she did? Christian was almost burned to death, and my other two grandchildren died in that fire! But what did she do? She set a fire and just walked away!

"If Estelle had died five years ago, I could still acknowledge her as my daughter-in-law. I could believe she committed suicide in a moment of despair.

"But if she didn’t die, then she deliberately set a fire that killed her own children, caused a massive disaster, and pushed both the Lockwoods and the Sloans to the forefront of public scrutiny! What does all of this amount to? It proves that this woman is deeply scheming and utterly heartless!

"Moreover, have you even thought about who she had those two kids with—Zachery and Mia?!"

Nathaniel abruptly tightened his grip on his phone.