Chapter 215: Rose Lowell Gets Slapped

Chapter 215: Chapter 215: Rose Lowell Gets Slapped

Austin’s fingertips tightened. Cold sweat trickled down his back as he realized the trap in Estelle’s words.

If Noelle was innocent, then it had to be Old Mr. Lockwood who stole the membership slot. If Old Mr. Lockwood knew nothing about it, then Noelle was lying! Either way, there was no right answer!

Austin’s face turned deathly pale, his dark, gloomy eyes fixed fiercely on Estelle.

Estelle simply curled her lips into a faint smile. He had to pick one—whose fault was it exactly?

Silence fell over the venue. Austin’s jaw trembled. For a long while, he couldn’t utter a single word. He couldn’t say it! Whether it was Old Mr. Lockwood or Noelle, he couldn’t throw either of them under the bus!

"Nathaniel..." Amidst the dead silence, Noelle’s eyes suddenly welled with tears. "Nathaniel, you know this. I’ve always been a member. I even mentioned it to you before, didn’t I?"

Her reputation couldn’t afford to take another hit. Surely Nathaniel wouldn’t be so heartless!

However, Nathaniel didn’t even spare her a glance. He calmly raised his eyes. "Chairman Lockwood, please answer."

Almost everyone turned to look at Austin. Ian Perry nodded in agreement. "Since Chairman Lockwood knows the truth, you must give Mr. Lynch a proper explanation. I will ask one more time. The person who stole the membership slot—was it your father or your daughter?"

How was Austin supposed to answer that?

The veins on his forehead bulged as his mind raced to find an excuse to gloss over the situation. At that moment, however, Noelle seemed to suddenly remember something and shook her head aggrievedly.

"Dad, Grandpa gave me this membership slot ten years ago. I’m willing to take the blame for him. Please don’t put yourself in such a difficult position."

Austin felt a surge of emotion. This child, Noelle, was truly so thoughtful...

"Oh? Willing to take the blame for Old Mr. Lockwood?" Estelle suddenly raised an eyebrow and turned to Ian. "Mr. Perry, listen to that. According to Noelle, the person who stole the membership slot must be Old Mr. Lockwood."

Ian smiled. "Thank you for the evidence, Miss Noelle. We will go to Lockwood Manor to verify this when the time comes. Oh, and thank you for your cooperation, Chairman Lockwood, in choosing righteousness over family loyalty."

Austin’s expression froze, and he instinctively whipped his head around to look at Noelle, but she avoided his gaze.

His expression remained rigid. Of course, why hadn’t he realized it? Noelle’s words seemed like they were exonerating him, but in reality, she was completely washing her hands of the matter and pinning all the blame on her grandfather!

"Noelle, you..."

"I’m sorry, Dad. It slipped out. I’m sorry..." Noelle cried desperately, shaking her head. "But this is Grandpa’s fault for wronging Estelle. Our family already has so many misunderstandings with her; we can’t keep making things worse."

Hearing Noelle’s high-sounding words sent a chill straight through Austin’s heart.

Others might not know, but he knew exactly what had happened!

Did Old Mr. Lockwood just willingly give her that slot? No! Noelle had found out about it and egged Rose Lowell on to go and beg his father for it!

Now, she was wiping her hands clean of the entire mess!

"Austin, Noelle is a victim here too. Don’t blame her!" Rose pursed her lips in utter dissatisfaction. "You don’t have the guts to take your anger out on your father, so you’re venting it on Noelle, aren’t you?"

Austin’s face turned livid. Thinking about the origins of this membership, and knowing Rose was well aware of the truth too, he was furious.

"Rose Lowell! I didn’t see you, her biological mother, speaking up for Estelle just now, but here you are so quick to defend Noelle!"

Rose looked as if she were completely in the right, stiffening her neck stubbornly. "Well, I didn’t know your father stole the slot! I just misunderstood Estelle. How is that my fault?"

"You, you..."

Rose was still disgruntled. "We wasted two hundred million on that jinx! That money was meant for Noelle! If you have any conscience, you’ll pay that money back right now!"

Before Austin could stop her, Nathaniel’s voice drifted over, carrying a faint, mocking smile. "The Lockwood family can spend two hundred million on an adopted daughter, but not on their own biological flesh and blood?"

"Of course not!" Austin slapped a hand over Rose’s mouth. His forced smile was barely holding together. "It makes no difference who the money is spent on. It’s all the same, all the same. Naturally, we don’t need it back..."

Nathaniel raised his eyes indifferently and suddenly spoke. "Chairman Lockwood, I heard that a master once read Estelle’s fortune. The fortune-teller claimed she was a jinx born under an ominous star, and that if she remained in the Lockwood family, everyone would suffer misfortune. Is that why Rose Lowell took advantage of a moment when no one was looking to abandon Estelle at the hospital?"

Austin’s heart skipped a beat. He had no idea why Nathaniel was suddenly bringing this up, but right now, all he could do was wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Y-Yes, that’s right... Back then, ever since Rose gave birth to Estelle, she started getting injured frequently. First it was colds and fevers, then she hurt her hand, and finally, she fell straight down the stairs...

"When we later found out the truth, we didn’t blame Rose. I-It was also because she really had suffered so many injuries back then. It was a moment of impulse..."

Nathaniel spoke mildly, "I’m afraid there’s more to it than that. Could it be that you and Old Mr. Lockwood never hinted to Ms. Lowell that if she didn’t get rid of Estelle, she wouldn’t be able to keep her position as Mrs. Lockwood?"

Austin’s eye twitched!

"How is that possible?! Nathaniel, even if that fortune-telling master said Estelle was a jinx, no one except Rose actually believed it. How could we have intentionally thrown Estelle away?"

Austin sighed heavily as he spoke. "I know we’ve been too biased recently and let Estelle down. But even a vicious tiger won’t eat its own cubs! How could we ever treat our biological daughter like that?"

The crowd exchanged glances, visibly caught off guard. Was this really something they were supposed to be hearing? Why would Mr. Sloan ask such a question in public? Was he genuinely trying to stand up for Estelle?

Nathaniel nodded slowly. "I’m relieved to hear you say that, Chairman Lockwood. When you have the time, perhaps you should look into that ’fortune-telling master’ from back then."

With that, he turned to Ian and said coolly, "Continue the auction."

The three members of the Lockwood family were unceremoniously kicked out, utterly humiliated. Austin just wanted to hurry home and discuss things with his father, but Rose grabbed him fiercely. "What did you mean back there?! You actually wanted Noelle to take the fall? You are so heartless!"

Austin was in no mood to argue with her.

But Rose was relentless. With her hands on her hips, she raised her voice into a shrill shriek. "Did I say anything wrong? You even spent two hundred million on that jinx! Giving birth to such a wretched thing has brought us nothing but bad luck! I couldn’t wait to cut all ties with her, yet you and your father insisted on bringing her back into the family... Ah!"

SMACK!

A loud, crisp slap echoed through the quiet parking lot.

Austin’s eyes were dark and menacing as he gritted his teeth. "Rose Lowell, you had better shut your mouth! If I ever hear you talk about severing ties with Estelle again, you’ll see what happens!"

Rose’s eyes went wide with sheer disbelief and terror. She didn’t dare say another word.

Deep down, however, she resented Estelle even more. She knew that girl was a jinx! It wasn’t enough to harm Noelle; now she was coming to ruin her too!

Back at the auction venue.

After that minor interlude, the auction officially resumed.

The earlier lots were fairly ordinary. Estelle casually placed a few bids and then paid them no more mind.

It wasn’t until an hour later, as the auction neared its end, that the final lot was unveiled.

Estelle secretly raised an eyebrow. It was finally here.