Chapter 227: Waiting for a Good Show

Chapter 227: Chapter 227: Waiting for a Good Show

Everyone waited to watch the drama unfold.

Estelle Lockwood calmly took a sip of her tea just as Nathaniel Sloan spoke up. "Indeed. Estelle is brilliant."

The wealthy lady who had feigned a compliment earlier froze. She hadn’t actually meant to praise Estelle!

Nathaniel parted his lips, speaking with nonchalant ease. "After all, out of everyone present, no one can surpass Estelle in jewelry design achievements. If she isn’t brilliant, who is?"

Old Mrs. Sloan scoffed in agreement. "Yes. Certain people would do better to mind their own business. They have no education, no skills, and absolutely nothing to their name except their tired family background."

The lady’s face flushed red, then drained of color. She was left completely speechless by the rebuke. Perhaps feeling she was losing face, she stammered, "I-It’s not like no one else knows jewelry design. Doesn’t Thea know it too?"

Thea York offered a gentle, modest laugh. "I’m still far behind Estelle. I just design for fun, unlike Estelle, who treats it as her actual profession."

A nearby lady chimed in, "Mrs. Sloan, Thea will be developing her career in this field as well in the future. You mustn’t bully her."

A faint, ambiguous smile curved on Estelle’s lips.

Thea hastily waved her hands. "There’s no such thing as bullying! In business, it’s just fair competition. By the way, Estelle..." She let out a soft chuckle, her words carrying a veiled edge. "I wonder if you have a favorite designer? I personally love the chief designer at Star. What about you?"

Estelle blinked. She subconsciously sized Thea up. Was there something wrong with this woman’s brain? Estelle herself was the chief designer of Star. Was Thea confessing her admiration directly to her face?

But anyone with half a brain knew that wasn’t Thea’s intention. Well, things were getting interesting.

Estelle raised an eyebrow. Oh, she understood now. Thea was trying to imply that the chief designer of Star was a young, highly accomplished woman—so who was Estelle to dare call herself a designer in comparison? But had truly no one ever told Thea that before you mock someone, you should probably do your research first?

Among the guests, one of the wealthy ladies looked a bit bewildered. She vaguely remembered that Estelle was, in fact, the designer for Star. But seeing Thea’s confident demeanor, she assumed she must have been mistaken. After all, no one would make a fool of themselves in front of their idol. If Estelle really was that designer, Thea wouldn’t possibly fail to recognize her.

"Oh," Estelle replied flatly.

A glint flashed in Thea’s eyes. She figured Estelle was feeling inferior. After all, that renowned designer was also young. Estelle kept claiming to be a jewelry designer, but she had never shown off any actual pieces. She probably had nothing to show for it. Now that Thea was rubbing salt in her wound, Estelle might be smiling on the outside, but she was likely dying of frustration on the inside.

At that thought, Thea’s mood soared. She pursed her lips into a smile. "Estelle, as it happens, a friend of mine has a bracelet made by that very designer. You can take a look. It might give you some inspiration! After all, being in this industry means you constantly need to learn." With that, she turned to wave a woman over. "Sophie, come over here and show Estelle your bracelet."

Estelle recognized her. This was Sophie Foster, the same wealthy heiress who had rolled her eyes at her in the restroom just moments ago.

Sophie was eager to show off the bracelet, too. It was a limited edition, and she had pulled a lot of strings to get her hands on it. She couldn’t wait to take it out. However, a second later, her expression drastically changed. "Where is my bracelet?!"

The crowd paused, unsure of what was happening.

Sophie dumped out the contents of her entire purse, her face turning pale. "My bracelet is gone!"

Thea also seemed to panic. "What? Sophie, weren’t you wearing it on your wrist? Think carefully. Where did you put it?"

"Where else could it be? I went to the restroom earlier, and I took it off because I was afraid of getting it wet. And then..." As Sophie recalled this, her expression darkened. Boiling with fury, she lunged forward and grabbed Estelle’s wrist. "I know! It was you!"

Sophie’s sudden attack on Estelle left everyone stunned.

Estelle’s eyes turned cold. "Let go."

Nathaniel’s gaze was glacial. "Estelle told you to let go. Are you deaf?"

"Mr. Sloan, she stole my bracelet!" Sophie glared daggers at Estelle.

The surrounding guests heard the commotion and looked over in shock. The banquet hall fell dead silent.

Today was Old Mrs. Sloan’s banquet, and all the invitees were prominent figures in society. Face and reputation were paramount at events like this. Even if someone had a grievance, they would usually brush it off as a minor squabble out of respect for the Sloan family. The word "steal" carried far too much weight. Furthermore, the accused thief was none other than Old Mrs. Sloan’s granddaughter-in-law. That single word was enough to utterly ruin Mrs. Sloan’s reputation.

It suddenly dawned on Estelle what Thea’s eerie smile in the restroom had meant. So this was the trap waiting for her.

There were too many people at this banquet who resented Estelle, feeling that she stood in the way of their own daughters’ prospects. As soon as Sophie’s words fell, a few people began to lob intentional, veiled insults.

"Women from petty households truly are unreliable. They are so short-sighted that they only know how to steal when they see something nice. Little does she know how much face she is losing for Mr. Sloan."

"What could Mr. Sloan possibly be unable to buy? Would she really need to steal? It just goes to show she hasn’t kicked her old bad habits. Who knows, maybe she’s stolen her way through life up until now."

"If her first instinct upon seeing someone else’s nice belongings is to steal them, what kind of person could she be? Old Mrs. Sloan really misjudged her this time."

Old Mrs. Sloan’s face hardened. "Miss Foster, you must have evidence when you speak. The Sloan family’s granddaughter-in-law is not someone you can casually slander!"

Thea frowned imperceptibly. Why was Old Mrs. Sloan still defending Estelle?

"Estelle stole it! Give my bracelet back!" Sophie yelled in exasperation. "There were only the two of us in the restroom earlier! I put my bracelet on the sink, and then it disappeared!"

Thea bit her lip, appearing to try and defuse the situation. "Sophie, you must be mistaken. Why would Estelle do such a thing?"

Unfortunately, since Old Mrs. Sloan already didn’t believe her, Sophie was burning with rage. Hearing her best friend doubt her only added fuel to the fire.

"I’m not lying! Estelle stole it! It had to be her! If I’m slandering her, I’ll get on my knees and apologize! Pull up the security footage if you have the guts! See for yourselves if she went into the restroom with me!"

Nathaniel’s expression instantly froze over. Shielding Estelle behind him, he ordered, "Security, escort our guest out!"

Hearing that she was about to be kicked out, Sophie immediately threw herself onto the floor and threw a full-blown tantrum. She wailed at the top of her lungs, "You’re all being unreasonable! My things were stolen, and you’re kicking me out—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Sophie met Nathaniel’s icy eyes and gave a violent shudder.