Chapter 169: Taking Estelle Lockwood’s Seat

Chapter 169: Chapter 169: Taking Estelle Lockwood’s Seat

Thea York brought it up as casually as if she were chatting about the weather. "Those scammers who fake accidents are truly despicable. They must be severely punished!

"Fortunately, that man didn’t succeed. I guess it was a blessing in disguise."

Estelle Lockwood raised an eyebrow, already guessing what Thea was trying to get at.

Sure enough, Thea brought up the scam incident in front of Nathaniel Sloan. "At the time, the people around were all blaming Miss Lockwood. I mean, come on, couldn’t they see it was an extortion attempt?"

Nathaniel turned to Estelle. "Are you alright?"

Before Estelle could shake her head, Thea chimed in with a smile. "Of course she’s fine. I happened to be taking a video and captured the old man’s entire act on camera. Otherwise, even if Miss Lockwood wasn’t conned out of her money, she would probably still be entangled in a lot of trouble right now."

Nathaniel paused, his tone meaningful. "Is that so?"

Thea let out a delicate laugh. "Those scammers are the most troublesome. Once they latch onto you, it’s impossible to shake them off. If someone had posted it online, it would have sparked a huge public backlash. It’s a good thing I was passing by."

Estelle rested her chin on her hand, her eyes shifting thoughtfully. She couldn’t help but feel that Thea was deliberately exaggerating the severity of the extortion attempt just to highlight the "credit" she deserved for "helping" her.

Estelle smiled. "Miss York is right. Since those people are so practiced at faking accidents, I’m afraid it wasn’t their first time. Why don’t we call the police? Miss York has the video on her phone, and there are surveillance cameras in that area. It shouldn’t be hard to track down that old scammer."

Thea’s smile stiffened slightly, but she quickly covered it up, subtly gritting her teeth. "But incidents like this are hard to classify. Even if we call the police, it probably won’t be of much use."

Estelle feigned surprise. "How could that be? Has Miss York been abroad for so long that she doesn’t understand the current domestic situation? If you’re a victim of extortion, of course you should call the police. As for how to convict them or whether they’re guilty, that’s entirely up to the authorities.

"For ordinary citizens like us, going to the police when we run into trouble is the right thing to do. Liam, you’re a lawyer. What do you think?"

Liam Sloan sensed something slightly off in Thea’s words. However, unwilling to think the worst of her, he simply told the truth. "That’s right, Thea. We definitely need to report this. If it goes to court, I’ll absolutely help out."

Thea’s grip on her chopsticks tightened. She feigned hesitation. "But... after all, Miss Lockwood didn’t suffer any actual losses. If we call the police and go to court over this, wouldn’t it be a bit... a bit unforgiving?"

"Not at all." Estelle’s lips curled into a leisurely smile. "As Miss York said, the man was so skilled at running this scam that he must be an old hand. That means I am definitely not his only victim.

"I might not have lost anything, but who’s to say others haven’t? Reporting this to the police is entirely justified—it’s getting rid of a public menace. Don’t you agree?

"But seeing as Miss York seems reluctant to call the cops..." Estelle beamed. "I wonder why that is. Could it be that the old scammer has some sort of connection to you?"

Thea’s throat tightened.

She immediately blinked in feigned shock. "How could that be? I was merely worried that others might think Miss Lockwood lacks magnanimity."

Estelle withdrew her gaze. "Then there’s no need to worry. Nathaniel, call the police."

Out of sight of the others, Thea clenched her fists, though she maintained the smile on her face. "That’s good too. At least it will stop them from harming anyone else in the future."

Treating the topic as nothing more than a brief interlude, Thea resumed cheerfully catching up with everyone.

Just then, another KNOCK came at the villa door, followed by a male voice. "Nathaniel, is Thea here?"

Zane Grant recognized the voice as one of the buddies from their old social circle. "It’s Julian Jacobs. I didn’t expect him to show up too. Word travels fast."

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow slightly, letting Ms. Riddle go answer the door.

Noting the slight shift in atmosphere, Estelle searched her memory for the name Julian Jacobs. After pondering for a long moment, she finally dug up his information from some obscure corner of her mind. By the time she and Nathaniel had gotten married, Julian seemed to have rarely interacted with Nathaniel anymore. However, to the outside world, he could never bear to give up the perks that came with the title of "Nathaniel Sloan’s friend."

As soon as Julian entered, he acted incredibly chummy. "Thea, you’re finally back! Nathaniel, long time no see! You don’t mind me crashing dinner, do you?"

Imperial Crest was extraordinarily lively tonight, like a reunion of old friends.

Before Nathaniel could answer, Julian had already bounded inside and hurried over to Thea’s side.

With the addition of another person, there weren’t enough seats. Estelle stood up to take a phone call, leaving her spot empty. Yet the moment she returned, Julian plopped right down into her chair, waving his hand carelessly. "Let’s eat, let’s eat! Hey, you, maid! Come serve us. What are you standing there for?"

The dining table instantly fell dead silent.

Nathaniel spoke mildly. "Ms. Riddle, please add an extra chair next to Miss York."

"Right away, Sir."

Ms. Riddle hurriedly brought over an empty chair as Nathaniel looked at Julian. "That is not your seat."

Julian didn’t budge. He frowned, looking entirely unconcerned. "Who else is coming? Is there someone else? What does it matter if I sit here? Whoever comes late can just sit somewhere else."

As Nathaniel’s eyes darkened, Estelle let out a laugh. "Has Young Mr. Jacobs ever been to an optometrist?" She drawled lazily, "I’m standing right here, yet Young Mr. Jacobs can’t seem to see me. If that’s not a vision problem, what is?"

From the moment he walked through the door, Julian had been intentionally ignoring her. Furthermore, the blatant hostility in his eyes wasn’t something Estelle could easily miss.

Only then did Julian turn around, his brow furrowing. "I’m talking to Nathaniel. What gives a lowly maid like you the right to interrupt?"

Estelle arched an eyebrow, turning a beaming smile toward Nathaniel. "I’m a maid?"

Nathaniel lifted his gaze coolly. "If I recall correctly, you have met Estelle before. If your memory is truly that poor, perhaps you really should see a doctor."

Julian choked on his words, on the verge of roaring out in anger.

Thea bit her lip, maintaining an expression of pure, innocent confusion. "Julian, did you make a mistake? This is Nathaniel’s wife."

Julian showed absolutely no remorse. "Is that so? Oh, well, just find an empty seat anywhere then. Everyone’s already settled. It wouldn’t make sense for all of us to get up and rearrange the seating just for you, right?

"Besides, we’re the guests. Since you’re the hostess, isn’t it your job to take care of us? What’s the big deal if I sit here?"

Having said his piece, Julian grinned and winked playfully at Thea. "Let’s eat, Thea. Don’t mind this. Today, everything is about you!"

"Ms. Riddle, see our guest out," Nathaniel said calmly, suddenly setting down his chopsticks.

Thea’s expression stiffened. "Nathaniel, don’t be like this. I know Julian was wrong to take Miss Lockwood’s seat. How about this? I’ll give my seat to Miss Lockwood, and I’ll sit somewhere else."

As she spoke, she put on a long-suffering, self-sacrificing look and tried to stand up, only for Julian to grab her arm and pull her back down.