Chapter 153: Mr. Sloan, Do You Think This Suicide Note Is Real or Fake?

Chapter 153: Chapter 153: Mr. Sloan, Do You Think This Suicide Note Is Real or Fake?

Noelle Lockwood’s face stiffened for a couple of seconds, a faint sheen of cold sweat breaking out on her temples.

Others might not know who Yara Lockwood was, but she knew perfectly well!

She had assumed Estelle Lockwood wouldn’t have the guts to show up at her own "death anniversary" memorial, but why was she here?!

Estelle curled her lips into a smirk. "Miss Noelle, are you surprised to see me?"

Noelle’s throat tightened, but she maintained her innocent, pure facade. "Of course not. I’m just surprised. Today is my sister’s death anniversary, after all, and considering Miss Yara and my sister..."

"Ah, I don’t mean that you can’t pay your respects, Yara. I just... I just..."

Noelle’s public persona had always been that of a pure, innocent little flower. She covertly shot a meaningful look at Rose Lowell.

Rose’s eyes darted as she caught on. "You’re not related to my daughter, so what are you doing here? Who knows if you’re harboring some ulterior motive!"

"Mom, don’t say that," Noelle quickly interjected. "Yara might have good intentions. But since you’re here for the memorial, Yara, please wait off to the side. In a moment..."

Estelle chuckled. "Miss Noelle, you’re right. I am indeed here for the memorial."

Noelle bit her lip hard, her suddenly clenched fists betraying her inner anxiety.

She wondered what Estelle was doing here. Did she want to reveal her true identity?

No, no, that was impossible. She wouldn’t allow it!

Besides... Estelle’s reputation was already completely ruined. Even if she did reveal her identity, it wouldn’t do her a bit of good!

With that thought, Noelle gradually calmed down. "May I ask what exactly brings you here, Yara?"

"I’m just a little curious." Estelle’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. "The basis upon which the Lockwood family determined that Estelle committed suicide, committed arson, murdered her own children, was jealous of you, Miss Noelle, and all her other supposed crimes—

"Was surprisingly just a single suicide note."

Estelle enunciated every word clearly. "And who can guarantee that this suicide note is authentic?!"

The venue abruptly plunged into dead silence.

As Estelle’s words settled, Noelle’s face paled. She forced a strained smile. "Yara, I don’t understand what you mean. Of course the suicide note is real. As my sister’s family, wouldn’t we be able to recognize the note she left behind?"

Rose’s heart clenched as well. "What do you mean? Are you saying the suicide note is a fake?! Estelle was my biological daughter! If it were fake, how could I not tell?!"

Austin Lockwood pursed his lips.

Of course, he knew that the person confronting them below the stage right now was his biological daughter.

But everything he did was for the sake of the Lockwood family’s reputation.

What did it matter if one person had to be sacrificed for the sake of the Lockwoods?

If Estelle had any sense, she would have obediently accepted her sacrifice instead of standing here and blowing things out of proportion!

Austin grew displeased. "Yara, I don’t know what kind of scene you’re trying to cause, but as Estelle’s father, it’s absolutely impossible for me to pin a suicide note that wasn’t hers onto her."

Hearing the Lockwoods’ words, the reporters below the stage came to their senses.

After all, Estelle’s suicide note was filled to the brim with her jealousy toward Noelle. It detailed extensively how she had framed Noelle and how she planned to set fire to the hospital, dragging everyone down to the grave with her.

Estelle’s crimes were undeniable.

For Yara to question the suicide note at this moment... could it be that she was trying to clear Estelle’s name?

"Goodness, what kind of twisted morals does this person have? Estelle Lockwood did so many vicious things; she deserved to die."

"Exactly. She’s already dead. What’s the point of dwelling on this now?"

"The suicide note is definitely hers! She wrote down exactly where and when she planned to start the fire. That alone is enough to prove Estelle was the arsonist. What is Yara trying to do? Sympathize with Estelle? For all we know, she might be a murderer too!"

Noelle subtly curled her lips.

She thought, "What to do, Estelle? You’ve already died at my hands once. Why can’t you learn to be a little smarter?

"Now, not only will you be unable to reclaim your identity as Estelle Lockwood, but even this persona of Yara will suffer endless abuse."

Biting her lower lip, Noelle looked at her with tear-filled eyes. "Yara, I don’t know what kind of relationship you had with my sister, but... but if the evidence wasn’t irrefutable, how could we bear to let my sister carry such a terrible stigma? If the evidence wasn’t irrefutable, why would the Lockwood family admit that my sister committed the arson and pay tens of millions in compensation for no reason?

"If my sister hadn’t done all this, why would the Lockwoods spend so much money? The Lockwood Group isn’t a charity!

"The reason for all of this is because the arsonist was my sister, the biological daughter of the Lockwood family. That is why, after she recklessly set the fire and took her own life, the Lockwoods tried to atone for her sins...

"Yara, and everyone else here, ask your conscience. If the person who made the mistake wasn’t your child, would you take on the infamy and donate money for compensation?" Noelle cried, tears streaming down her face.

Rose also wailed loudly. "Back when Estelle set the fire and the incident was exposed, the Lockwood Group was dragged through the mud on trending searches! Our stock market plummeted, and we almost never recovered.

"If Estelle hadn’t done it, why would the Lockwood Group take the blame? It was all because we couldn’t live with our conscience!"

"Committing arson and suicide isn’t exactly something to be proud of. According to you, Miss Yara, we forged the suicide note just to pin the crime of arson on our own biological daughter. Does Miss Yara think everyone in the Lockwood family is mentally ill?" Austin chimed in, furrowing his brows.

These words were spoken with such earnest emotion that the crowd nodded repeatedly in agreement.

The Lockwoods had no reason to admit that Estelle started the fire if it wasn’t true. This Yara must be crazy to claim that the family forged the suicide note. Why would they forge a note just to harm themselves? The logic made absolutely no sense!

Estelle watched the family of three put on identically spectacular acting performances and chuckled softly.

She asked lightly, "President Lockwood, Mrs. Lockwood, Miss Lockwood, may I ask..."

Estelle paused, her tone suddenly turning razor-sharp. "May I ask, in which of my sentences did I ever mention a forged suicide note?!"

Everyone froze in shock.

Noelle instinctively felt a sense of dread.

Estelle didn’t speak quickly, but her enunciation was crisp enough for everyone present to hear her perfectly:

"I was merely curious about the authenticity of the suicide note, yet the three of you are acting as if I stepped on your tails, rambling on with your explanations. What... are you feeling guilty?"

Henry Kendrick nodded from the sidelines. "Indeed. Logically speaking, Ms. Lowell, when a daughter’s suicide note is questioned, a normal parent’s first thought should be: ’Perhaps the note was swapped out,’ or ’Perhaps someone impersonated my daughter to write it.’

"Just as the three of you claimed, you are Estelle’s ’closest family’ in this world. If there was a problem with her suicide note, suspicion would fall on anyone but you.

"Yet, the thoughts of all three of you were surprisingly unified. You all immediately assumed Yara was targeting you... Hmm, did Yara stumble upon the truth by sheer luck?"

Henry then added a question, "Mr. Sloan, why don’t you tell us? Do you think this suicide note is real or fake?"