Chapter 196: "Hah, Immediate Misfortune.

Chapter 196: Chapter 196: "Hah, Immediate Misfortune.

Estelle’s attention was immediately drawn over.

Mr. Linton had also mentioned the Lancaster family just a moment ago. She thought about it for a second and suddenly realized something—Ethan’s original wife was a Lancaster, born into the wealthy Lancaster Group. She wondered if this Lancaster family was the very same Lancaster Group.

Back when Laura Jennings, the mistress, used her "illegitimate son" to secure her position, and the original wife, Miss Lancaster, died of a bizarre illness, almost everyone had waited for the Lancaster family to turn on Ethan and teach Laura a harsh lesson. Instead, the Lancasters relocated their entire family and turned a deaf ear to Miss Lancaster’s death.

Over two decades had passed. Laura Jennings had long secured her position as Mrs. Sloan, and Miss Lancaster’s name was gradually forgotten, no longer mentioned by anyone. And now, of all times, the Lancaster family had returned...

Nathaniel nodded to indicate he understood. He then asked, "What is Ethan doing?"

"Chairman Sloan and Ms. Lowell went to the airport beaming with joy," Luke White replied. "They should have already met with the Lancasters by now."

Estelle suddenly narrowed her eyes. Ethan and Rose Lowell went to the airport beaming with joy to welcome the Lancasters?

Although outsiders claimed that the original wife, Miss Lancaster, died of an illness, everyone knew in their hearts whether that illness was real or fake. As the culprits who caused her death, the scumbag Ethan and the mistress Rose actually went to welcome Miss Lancaster’s family, beaming with joy? And the Lancasters didn’t mind in the slightest?

Coupled with the fact that the Lancaster family didn’t care about Miss Lancaster’s death over twenty years ago... Estelle couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. The waters of wealthy families truly ran deep.

Nathaniel sneered. "They certainly are deeply affectionate and loyal." He laced those words with absolute mockery.

Luke asked, "Mr. Sloan, do you need me to make arrangements in advance?"

Nathaniel’s expression remained as usual, completely unbothered. "That won’t be necessary. Just proceed with the auction as scheduled."

Luke bowed and withdrew.

Estelle raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is the Lancaster family coming to make trouble for you, the ’illegitimate son’?"

Nathaniel remained noncommittal. "That should be the case."

Estelle was curious. "How old were you when Miss Lancaster passed away? Five at most. Why is the Lancaster family being so friendly and amiable with the scumbag and the mistress, yet they want to settle the score with you?"

A smile played on Nathaniel’s lips. "Who knows? Perhaps someone has a guilty conscience."

A sudden guess popped into Estelle’s mind. Laura Jennings was unusually harsh to Nathaniel, and this cruelty even extended to Christian. Could it be that Nathaniel really wasn’t Laura’s son?

But if Nathaniel wasn’t Laura’s son, then where did he come from? Why would Ethan raise an outsider? Unless...

Back then, Miss Lancaster and the mistress Laura had been pregnant at the same time. Miss Lancaster had failed to give birth to her child, while Laura secured her position through her child, ascending to power with her illegitimate son. Using the excuse that Miss Lancaster had no children, Ethan brought Laura and his ’son’ into the family home.

But was Laura’s child truly her biological son? Was Miss Lancaster’s son really dead?

Nathaniel didn’t elaborate further. "Let’s head back. Mr. Kendrick is still waiting for you."

Estelle returned to the private dining room and had a meal with Enzo Kendrick, bringing up the Lancaster family halfway through.

Enzo said, "I told Nathaniel earlier that he’d be in trouble once the Lancasters return, but he said he didn’t care."

Estelle was curious. "How much do you know about the Lancaster family?"

Enzo answered truthfully, "I’ve been staying at the Taoist temple all this time, so I don’t know much about these wealthy families. However, Eleanor said that Miss Lancaster was actually quite pitiful. She had no one to rely on within the Lancaster family."

Eleanor Vance was Enzo’s sister-in-law, Mrs. Kendrick. Estelle nodded, planning to ask her about it later.

By the time they finished their meal, Nathaniel’s acquisition of Celestine Pavilion was also complete. Enzo coughed softly. "Estelle, I recently came into a bit of money. Come on, I’ll take you out to buy some clothes. I won’t feel at ease until I spend it all."

Enzo had left the Kendrick family precisely because his fate clashed with wealth. Any money that ended up in his hands would slip away in unexpected ways, so he basically spent it all as soon as he got it. Estelle was curious. "Who did you do a reading for?"

Enzo clicked his tongue twice. "Yeah, a big client. Someone sent over a person’s birth chart and expectantly asked me if the owner of that chart was their family’s Lucky Star. I took one look at it—forget about being a Lucky Star, that person would practically jinx their entire family to death.

"I told them the truth, but the person actually got angry and yelled at me, calling it complete nonsense. Still, I wasn’t going to refund the consultation fee. Speaking of which, that person was quite generous. Half a million for a single reading."

Estelle knew that many people in wealthy circles believed in these things—fortune-telling, feng shui, divination, seeking out masters; they did it all. But Lucky Star and Jinx... Why did that sound so familiar?

Nathaniel acted as their chauffeur himself and drove them to the mall. Upon arriving, Nathaniel went to park the car while Enzo led Estelle into a boutique, acting exceptionally generous. "Pick whatever you want!"

Estelle had no intention of spending Enzo’s money, but she browsed through the clothes anyway. Suddenly, a woman’s voice came from behind her.

"Sigh, say no more. At the end of the day, we were still in the wrong. Even though our intentions were good, we didn’t consider the child’s or Estelle’s feelings at the time. It’s all our fault!"

Hearing someone mention her name, Estelle raised an eyebrow.

Then, a flattering middle-aged woman’s voice chimed in. "Mrs. York, please don’t say that. In wealthy families, which child doesn’t take over the family business early on and learn about the sinister nature of people? You were doing this for Christian’s own good. As the eldest young master of the Sloan family, how is he supposed to gain a foothold in the future with such an uncompetitive and passive personality?"

Mrs. York sighed. "Exactly. That’s exactly what Thea and I thought, which is why we lied and said Christian would have other siblings competing with him for the inheritance. It was all meant to stir up his fighting spirit. But, but... Sigh! Never mind. This is someone else’s family affair. No good deed goes unpunished. I wash my hands of it!"

The flattering voice sighed along with her. "Young Mr. Christian is still young, so it’s fine if he doesn’t understand. But to think that Mrs. Sloan doesn’t appreciate your and Thea’s good intentions either. She’s so ignorant! Not to point fingers, but it’s no wonder the Lockwood family didn’t like her before. There’s a reason for it. If it were me, I wouldn’t like her either!"

"It’s fine, Mrs. Keaton. As one of Nathaniel’s bros, I only hope for the best for him and his children. Even if Estelle misunderstands me, I don’t mind."

Estelle let out a soft sneer.

Enzo was utterly baffled. He frowned. Had he been away at the mountain temple for too long? Was thick, manipulative ’green tea’ behavior the trend nowadays? The stench of this manipulation was overwhelming! Acting all coy while calling themselves ’bros’—who were they trying to fool?

Not to mention, they were even gossiping behind people’s backs, badmouthing Estelle. Enzo immediately turned his head to examine their facial features. He stated expressionlessly, "HAH, they’re about to run into some bad luck."

He didn’t lower his voice, so Mrs. York and Thea, who were only ten steps away, heard him loud and clear.

Thea turned around, feigning surprise. "Estelle?"

Mrs. York frowned and shot Mrs. Keaton a look. Mrs. Keaton immediately stepped up as her pawn. "Who are you saying is about to run into bad luck?! Stop cursing people!"