Chapter 150: You Should Attend Your ’Deceased Wife’s’ Death Anniversary, Right?

Chapter 150: Chapter 150: You Should Attend Your ’Deceased Wife’s’ Death Anniversary, Right?

Besides, Chapman wasn’t entirely innocent either.

Someone had been spreading nonsense on the internet, leaking half-truths that were completely detrimental to Estelle. Tracking those IP addresses led straight back to Imperial Crest. Nathaniel Sloan checked the estate’s internal network and pinpointed the source directly to Chapman.

Right then, Estelle’s phone went BEEP BEEP, signaling a news notification.

She raised an eyebrow. Seeing the words "Lockwood Group," her gaze darkened. Without caring whether Nathaniel was still beside her, she played the video without hesitation.

It was an interview featuring Noelle Lockwood’s family of three.

Reporter: "Regarding the fire in the hospital delivery room five years ago, there has been a lot of uproar online. Many rumors claim that the arsonist was President Lockwood and Mrs. Lockwood’s eldest daughter. Is this true?"

Austin Lockwood sighed, his face a picture of grief and guilt. "Yes, it’s true."

Reporter: "What exactly happened back then? Many people are condemning the arsonist. Does President Lockwood have anything to say?"

Austin said sorrowfully, "My daughter was not in a good mental state at the time. It was our fault as parents for not keeping a close eye on her, which led to her... Because of that, we also lost our newborn grandson and granddaughter.

"Although Estelle has passed away, we will never cover up her mistakes. We will absolutely pay the compensation that is due and offer our sincerest apologies."

Rose Lowell chimed in hypocritically, "Yes, even though we should respect the dead, what Estelle did was very wrong. We are here to apologize to everyone."

Reporter: "In other words, you both admit that your daughter started that fire?"

Tearfully, Rose replied, "Yes, Estelle started the fire."

Noelle’s eyes were brimming with tears. "The Lockwood family has already paid the hospital’s damages and compensated the victims. Besides... besides, my sister is already dead. I hope everyone can leave us a shred of dignity.

"Two days from now is my sister’s death anniversary. Because we feel deeply guilty toward the victims, this will be the first memorial service we hold for her in five years. We hope everyone can find it in their hearts to forgive..."

The comments were mixed, but they mostly echoed the same sentiments:

[The Lockwood family is so pitiful. They were completely dragged down by her.]

[Who knew Estelle was a psychopath? It’s a good thing she’s dead. If she were alive, who knows how many more people she would have killed.]

[Sigh, it’s been five years since she died, so I won’t say much, but if she were still alive, I would definitely kick her a few times!]

[I originally wanted to ask if there were other factors behind that fire, since Estelle and her two children died in it too.]

[But now that Estelle’s own parents and sister have come out and said she started the fire, it’s pretty much set in stone, right?]

[After all, how could her own biological parents frame their own daughter?]

[So now the truth is out: Noelle was innocently implicated and forced to leave the entertainment industry, President and Mrs. Lockwood are going around apologizing to victims, and Estelle just kicked the bucket and left her mess behind?]

[I can only say it’s a good thing she’s dead. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to absolve herself of the blame. She’d have to spend her whole life atoning for her sins!]

"How could her own biological parents frame their own daughter?" Estelle murmured, reading the netizen’s comment aloud.

Resting her chin on her hand, she smiled faintly. "Mr. Sloan, I think quite a few people wish I wasn’t alive." She clicked her tongue and concluded, "It seems I’m quite despised."

Nathaniel’s heart suddenly constricted, as if gripped tightly by a massive hand, aching unbearably.

The reason the case was closed so quickly as a "suicide" back then was because Austin had produced Estelle’s suicide note, along with a video recorded before her "suicide" where she looked into the camera and said she wanted to die. Nathaniel had searched countless places and mobilized numerous people at the time. He didn’t believe Estelle was dead. Yet, while he was running around desperately, Rose and Austin had already "cremated" her.

Since Estelle had returned, her death back then was absolutely not a suicide. The Lockwood family’s haste to close the case definitely had something fishy about it.

But now, the Lockwood family was online, openly admitting that Estelle committed the arson. They were exploiting the mentality of "how could biological parents harm their own daughter" to do whatever they pleased!

Why dig up old accounts from five years ago? Because the Lockwood family now knew that Yara Lockwood was Estelle.

They were aggressively publicizing Estelle’s alleged arson and labeling her a "psychopath," inciting the public to hurl abuse at her and say things like, "It’s a good thing she’s dead. If she were alive, she would definitely be made to pay."

Wasn’t this all just a massive hint warning Estelle never to return from the dead?

The Lockwood family was sending her a message. They were telling her that since she was dead, she should stay dead and be a good corpse; that way, no matter how angry people were, their curses wouldn’t reach her. But if she insisted on "coming back to life," then whatever she suffered would be well deserved.

And the ones orchestrating all of this were actually Estelle’s biological parents. How utterly ironic.

Nathaniel’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Hearing Estelle’s words, his voice came out incredibly hoarse, yet he didn’t know how to comfort her. "Estelle... It has nothing to do with you. This isn’t your fault."

The room fell silent for a few seconds.

"Of course it’s not my fault," Estelle said in surprise.

Any trace of melancholy instantly vanished. She spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "They don’t want me to come back to life, but what can they do? I just love being a thorn in people’s sides."

Estelle checked the date of her own "death anniversary" and curled her lips. "My actual death anniversary has clearly passed. They even got the date wrong. How careless.

"But it doesn’t matter. I’m going to come back to life on my ’death anniversary’ anyway, so I’ll let this minor issue slide."

Nathaniel’s words of comfort caught in his throat, unable to go up or down.

In the past, he would always lock himself in his room on Estelle’s death anniversary. This year, because she had returned, he had been too overjoyed to even think about her memorial date. After all, the person was still alive; holding a memorial would be terrible luck. Because of this, he hadn’t even realized that the Lockwood family was so careless that they got the date wrong!

Resting her chin in one hand, Estelle smiled brightly and asked, "Mr. Sloan, I wonder how my dear parents’ health has been during my five years abroad?"

Nathaniel paused, unsure why she was asking this. "Quite well, I suppose."

"Quite well? That’s good." Estelle glanced at the time of the memorial service, her burning gaze landing on Nathaniel. "Then Mr. Sloan... surely you’ll attend your ’late wife’s’ memorial, right?"

Nathaniel’s Adam’s apple bobbed. A tingling sensation brushed against his heart, as if a small feather were tickling it. "...What are you planning?"

Estelle leaned back against the sofa, crossing her long, fair legs, and spoke slowly.

"I plan to attend the memorial and perform a magic trick—coming back from the dead.

"But I was afraid President and Mrs. Lockwood might be in poor health and unable to handle the shock, dropping dead on the spot.

"That’s why I asked you how their health has been lately."