Chapter 197: Thea York Is Up to No Good

Chapter 197: Chapter 197: Thea York Is Up to No Good

After Mrs. Keaton finished her tirade, she observed Mrs. York’s expression and doubled down on her efforts.

"An elder gave you a little advice, and you actually start cursing us? Do you have to be so petty? Mrs. York is only looking out for you. It’s one thing if you’re ungrateful, but what is with this attitude? I think people like you are the ones who will run into bad luck—you unwanted tramp!"

Enzo Kendrick’s expressionless face grew even colder. "A foul mouth brings even worse misfortune. Madam, I advise you to restrain yourself."

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Keaton laughed even more arrogantly. "That’s hilarious! What era are we in? Who still believes in that garbage! Estelle Lockwood, where did you find this quack?"

"You don’t believe him?" Estelle asked slowly.

Mrs. Keaton shook her head. "Mrs. York, look at this. She really is a lost cause. We came with nothing but good intentions, and she actually found a charlatan to curse us!"

Mrs. York put on a hypocritical front. "Estelle, I know you harbor resentment toward Thea, but it was all your own misunderstanding. Our Thea is magnanimous and didn’t hold it against you... Ah!!"

"Mrs. York, look out!"

"Miss York, get out of the way!"

"Mrs. Keaton, are you alright?"

Before the sentence was even finished, sudden exclamations of alarm rang out.

For some unknown reason, the ink bottles resting on the very top of the display cabinet suddenly toppled over. SPLASH! Red and blue ink rained down, drenching all three of them.

The haughty noblewomen and socialite were instantly reduced to a sorry state. A heavy ink bottle even struck Mrs. Keaton on the head, sending her wailing in pain.

In an instant, the store went dead silent. You could hear a pin drop.

Amidst the deathly stillness, Enzo calmly turned his head and spoke in an earnest tone. "Estelle, look. This is the consequence of wagging one’s tongue."

Thea York’s throat tightened, her face suddenly turning ugly.

Mrs. Keaton was furious. Her outfit today was her absolute favorite, and now it was ruined. She immediately flared up, yelling, "Estelle Lockwood, you knew those ink bottles were right above our heads! Why didn’t you warn us? What kind of twisted intentions do you have?!"

Estelle tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, completely unfazed. "Well, we are just charlatans after all. Even if we had warned you, Mrs. Keaton wouldn’t have believed us anyway."

"You!" Mrs. Keaton wanted to hurl more insults but was stopped when Thea grabbed her wrist.

Thea offered a gentle, poised smile. "Estelle, you keep browsing. We’re going to go change. Mrs. Keaton just lacks a filter; she speaks whatever comes to mind. She isn’t deliberately targeting you, so please don’t take it to heart."

A faint, mocking smile played on Estelle’s lips. "Miss York, you are supposedly a brilliant scholar, yet you can’t tell the difference between speaking one’s mind and sheer stupidity. I’ve certainly learned something today."

"Estelle..." Thea bit her lower lip, putting on an act of tolerant magnanimity as she gently shook her head, as if she didn’t want to argue further. "Never mind. Mom, let’s go change our clothes first. Estelle might still be angry."

After the three women left, Enzo muttered under his breath, "No need to be angry. Every single one of them is going to meet a bad end."

Estelle nodded. She didn’t care at all, treating the whole ordeal as nothing more than a minor interlude.

Twenty minutes later, Estelle had picked out a dress and walked up to the card reader. Before she could even pay, Thea and the other two returned, having already changed their clothes.

When Thea caught sight of the card in Enzo’s hand, her eyes flickered. Her gentle smile took on a meaningful edge.

"Estelle, who is this older gentleman? Aren’t you going to introduce us? I heard him say he wanted to buy clothes for you. But as far as I know, that card is exclusive to the Kendrick family in Capital City. Only the Kendricks can use it, and I’ve never heard of anyone from their family coming to Crestfall. So..."

Thea feigned deep concern. "So, that card probably won’t be able to process a payment. Estelle, are you being scammed? Is this an elder from your family, or... someone else?"

Her tone was gentle, but she deliberately placed heavy emphasis on ’older gentleman’, eager to make others misunderstand their relationship.

Estelle raised an eyebrow. How could someone get slapped in the face, yet still come back for more? Was she that eager for a second serving?

Mrs. Keaton sneered in contempt. "Thea, you’re too naive. What ’older gentleman’? He’s probably some dirty old man Estelle latched onto! It’s filthy. I can’t believe she could even stomach sleeping with him!

"However, this old man is a fraud, too! He pulled out a forged Kendrick family card just so Estelle would think he’s one of the Kendricks and suck up to him!"

Thea shook her head. "Mrs. Keaton, please don’t say that. Maybe he really is an elder relative of hers."

Mrs. Keaton laughed uproariously. "Thea, you said it yourself! Only members of the Kendrick family in Capital City can hold this card. If Estelle had relatives in the Capital City Kendrick family, would she have been a country bumpkin for all these years?"

Enzo was thoroughly intrigued, his face full of exaggerated surprise. "Ladies, you suffered such misfortune just twenty minutes ago, and you still want to keep going?"

Thea pursed her lips and spoke to Estelle with extreme apologetic sincerity.

"Estelle, I was in the wrong before. I brought Christian to the York family home without your permission. I just thought that since Nathaniel and I are good friends, there’d be no harm in helping him look after his child. I never expected you to get so angry.

"How about this? I’ll pay for the clothes you picked out today as an apology. You are a married woman, after all. You should probably distance yourself from this older gentleman... Even if I don’t misunderstand, it would be bad if Nathaniel did, right?"

Thea sighed, then turned back with a smile and nodded to the saleswoman. "Put Estelle’s bill on my tab today."

The saleswoman had initially thought she was going to lose the commission, but upon hearing Thea’s words, she instantly beamed and began to flatter her. "Miss York is truly beautiful inside and out. Unlike certain people who try to suck up to a sugar daddy, only to get conned by him. So utterly stupid..."

She viciously shoved Enzo. Caught off guard, he stumbled backward as the woman sneered in disgust. "If you don’t have money, get out of the way!"

Estelle’s eyes darkened. She pulled out her phone, dialed a few numbers, and stated expressionlessly, "I don’t want these clothes anymore."

Thea maintained her gentle, proper demeanor. "Estelle, it’s fine. It’s just a few pieces of clothing; I can afford it. Don’t be embarrassed. At worst, I’ll just have Nathaniel reimburse me next time..."

"I’m not embarrassed."

Estelle’s tone was calm and indifferent. "It’s just that there’s no need to pay when I’m in my own store. If I like something, I can simply take it. Miss York, wouldn’t you agree that makes sense?"

Enzo subconsciously glanced at the store’s name, and dawn suddenly broke over him. This was his family’s store!

He had lived up in the mountains for so many years that he had completely forgotten. This chain brand belonged to the Kendricks, who held a hundred percent of its shares. Both he and Estelle had equity in it, so they genuinely didn’t need to spend any money.

He had been too careless!

Before Thea could respond to her previous statement, Estelle turned her gaze back to the saleswoman. "Also, you’re fired."

The saleswoman was stunned for a moment. Before she could react, Mrs. Keaton burst into uproarious laughter.

"What did you say? You said this store belongs to you? Hahahaha, that’s hilarious! Don’t tell me you’re also going to claim that you and this old man are members of the Kendrick family?"