Chapter 223: Grandpa Lockwood Is Miranda Lancaster’s Friend

Chapter 223: Chapter 223: Grandpa Lockwood Is Miranda Lancaster’s Friend

To outsiders, the meaning of those words was lost, but the expressions of everyone from the Lancaster and Sloan families instantly changed.

Old Mr. Lancaster’s eyes turned icy as he shot a vicious glare at Ethan Sloan. They had agreed this matter would remain solely between them, and Ethan had promised not to tell Old Mrs. Sloan. Why did she know about it?!

Old Mr. Lancaster quickly composed himself. "I have no idea what you’re talking about! Old Mrs. Sloan, you should show some understanding. After all, my eldest daughter died in the Sloan family. What’s wrong with me wanting the child she gave birth to to inherit Sloan Group?

"Right now, Sloan Group is controlled by Nathaniel Sloan, an illegitimate child. And Miranda’s shares in Sloan Group were actually given to Estelle Lockwood instead of Theodore. Is that reasonable?! If word gets out, what will outsiders think?!"

Old Mrs. Sloan suddenly laughed. The mockery in her smile was impossible to hide. "Oh, save it. Anyone can spout high-sounding nonsense. You’re so old you’ve got one foot in the grave, yet you’re still twisting the facts. Now you suddenly want to avenge Miranda? Where was the Lancaster family when she died? Not a single one of you was anywhere to be seen!

"Old Mr. Lancaster, it’s one thing to fool the crowd, but don’t end up fooling yourself! Think about it—Miranda had shares in Sloan Group, yet she didn’t leave them to her own father, nor to Theodore, her ’precious son.’ Instead, she left them to Estelle, someone she had absolutely no connection with.

"I’d say, as her family, why don’t you reflect on yourselves? Perhaps it’s because you’re an unworthy father who lacks the dignity of an elder!"

"You... you..." Old Mr. Lancaster had originally intended to seize the moral high ground to force Nathaniel into compromising and making Estelle surrender her inheritance rights. But after Old Mrs. Sloan’s interruption, it suddenly sounded as if he was the one who had wronged Miranda Lancaster?!

"What ungrateful wretches," he thought. "Miranda is an ingrate, and Nathaniel is one too. They’re cut from the exact same cloth..."

Laura Jennings flushed red and tried to retort. "It was Nathaniel who wronged Miranda in the first place—"

"Oh, I didn’t see you earlier. I didn’t realize you were here too." Old Mrs. Sloan feigned utter shock. "Why don’t you tell me, how exactly did Nathaniel wrong Miranda? Because he’s an illegitimate child? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Come on now, Laura. You’re the mistress who drove Miranda to her death, yet you don’t feel the slightest bit remorseful. How can you pin the blame on Nathaniel?

"And Old Mr. Lancaster, you must be going senile. You claim to love your daughter, yet you’re playing happy family with the very culprit who killed her. The Lancaster family is so wealthy. Knowing you have a mental illness, why haven’t they taken you to a doctor?"

A sharp, choked gasp escaped Old Mr. Lancaster’s throat. Unable to catch his breath, he toppled backward, stiff as a board!

"Dad!"

"Old Mr. Lancaster!"

Yvonne Lancaster and a group of people rushed forward, but Old Mrs. Sloan merely scoffed. "Your lies have been exposed, and you can’t keep up the act, so you’re playing dead to escape. Fine, whatever makes you happy."

"Oh, right," Old Mrs. Sloan added, gracefully smoothing her hair after her tirade. "Instead of acting so aggressively here, you’d be better off figuring out how to fill such a massive financial hole."

She swept her gaze over the Sloan Group shareholders. "I can’t control things over at Lancaster Group, but as for Sloan Group... surely you aren’t expecting this useless son of mine to fill the deficit?"

The shareholders exchanged bewildered glances before finally turning hopeful eyes toward Nathaniel. Ethan Sloan’s expression shifted repeatedly, but in the end, he didn’t dare say a single word in front of his mother.

The celebration banquet, which was originally meant for Theodore, ended in such an absurd manner. Not only did they fail to celebrate, but they also lost face and a massive sum of money.

Old Mrs. Sloan couldn’t care less about what the people from Sloan Group thought. She walked elegantly to the door of the conference hall and looked back. "Nathaniel, Estelle, let’s go. It’s too toxic in here; it’s giving me a headache."

Nathaniel gave a slight nod. Estelle raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised by Old Mrs. Sloan’s fiery temper.

Left behind in the conference hall were the unconscious Old Mr. Lancaster and a group of furious Sloan Group shareholders.

"Chairman Sloan, what do you suggest we do about this?!"

"We thought you brought back some peerless genius, but it turns out he’s a bumbling fool! He’s barely returned to Sloan Group and has already cost us tens of billions. Heh, anyone who didn’t know better would think Young Mr. Lancaster is a walking charity."

Laura Jennings immediately shielded Theodore behind her, planting her hands on her hips and yelling, "Who do you think you are?! How dare you speak to Theodore like..."

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by Theodore’s gentle and refined voice.

"I am truly sorry. I will personally speak with the authorities and do my utmost to minimize the losses."

Theodore slowly closed his eyes. He would definitely remember this grudge!

Later.

After walking out the door, Old Mrs. Sloan ushered Nathaniel and Estelle into a car, which then drove toward an estate on the outskirts of the city. Upon arriving, Nathaniel recognized it as one of the Sloan Family’s properties. The old lady had been recuperating here for many years. However, to Estelle, Old Mrs. Sloan didn’t look like someone plagued by a severe illness.

Nathaniel helped the old lady into the house. "Are you feeling any better?"

Old Mrs. Sloan suddenly glanced at Nathaniel and let out a heavy sigh. A complex array of emotions flashed through her eyes—regret, tender affection, and finally, a deep sense of helplessness.

She had lived on this estate for years, turning a blind eye to the outside world, which had caused Nathaniel to suffer a great deal of unwarranted grievances. In the earlier years, it was because her health truly was failing, leaving her in a constant state of lethargy. However, even after she recovered over the past two years, she had continued to vent her anger on Nathaniel simply because she couldn’t accept what had happened back then.

But Nathaniel was the child Miranda had fought so hard to leave behind. She had even been willing to sacrifice her own life for him.

Old Mrs. Sloan pondered for a long while before burying her emotions deep in her heart. "I’m feeling much better. I plan to live here from now on."

Nathaniel nodded in understanding. This was his first time at the estate. In the past, Old Mrs. Sloan had refused his visits, and since she never offered a reason, he never asked. Looking around now, he found the estate to be quite lovely.

Estelle thought the same. Rumors in the outside world claimed that Old Mrs. Sloan was gravely ill, and that Laura Jennings had found a suitable mountain villa for her to recuperate in.

Thus, Estelle let out an incredulous sigh. "Laura was quite generous back then."

"Hah." Unexpectedly, Old Mrs. Sloan scoffed. "Laura? This estate was left to me by Miranda; it’s part of her inheritance. How on earth did the credit for this end up on Laura’s head? Those two are utterly shameless!"

Miss Lancaster?

Estelle suddenly realized that Old Mrs. Sloan and Miss Lancaster must have been very close. It was more fitting to describe their relationship as mother and daughter rather than mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. The old lady’s fondness and care for Miranda was impossible to hide.

Could Old Mrs. Sloan know about the shares? The thought prompted Estelle to ask, "Old Mrs. Sloan..."

"You can call me Grandma, just like Nathaniel does." Old Mrs. Sloan waved her hand dismissively. "I know what you want to ask, but I don’t know the details regarding the shares. Miranda always had her reasons for the things she did, though I must admit, I didn’t expect her to leave them to you.

"I only remember her saying back then that she didn’t want anything from the Sloan Family. Those shares are worth a massive fortune. If she rashly left them to someone else, given Ethan’s scheming nature, it might have brought trouble upon them.

"Therefore, she ultimately decided to gift the shares to a friend who had helped her."