Chapter 230: What is Estelle Lockwood’s Identity?

Chapter 230: Chapter 230: What is Estelle Lockwood’s Identity?

CRASH! The vase shattered on the floor.

Old Mrs Sloan’s face suddenly darkened. "Are you throwing a tantrum now?! Miss Foster, it seems compensation and an apology aren’t enough to teach you a lesson. Smashing my vase and destroying other people’s property—you really ought to spend a couple of days in jail!"

"You..." Sophie Foster fumed.

"Sophie," Thea played the peacemaker, "don’t be angry. Since the bracelet has been found, let’s just let it go... After all, given Estelle’s status, you can’t afford to offend her. Let’s not blow things out of proportion."

Sophie was so angry she burst into tears. "So what?! Am I supposed to just let myself get bullied for no reason?!"

Thea sighed. "Sometimes, when someone outranks you, there’s nothing you can do. Even I can’t help you today... If you keep making a scene, I’m afraid things won’t end well for you either."

"What, is Estelle Lockwood a robber?!" Sophie suddenly shrieked, her piercing voice grating against everyone’s eardrums. "She stole from me and now she’s targeting me! Is there no justice left in this world?!"

Whispers broke out among the surrounding crowd. As the victim, it was indeed incredibly unreasonable that Sophie couldn’t get justice and was now being threatened instead.

Thea continued playing the ’good guy’ on both sides, now pretending to be magnanimous as she tried to negotiate with Estelle. "Estelle, look at this..."

"Does Miss Foster not even recognize her own lost bracelet?" Estelle spoke up coolly. "Perhaps you should take a closer look, Miss Foster. That is my bracelet, not yours."

The crowd was stunned.

But Sophie screamed without even looking at it, "That is my stuff, you shameless wretch! What do you mean you have the exact same bracelet? Do you have any idea how much this bracelet costs and how hard it is to buy?! What are you? Do you even deserve to have the same bracelet as me?!"

Thea had just praised this brand earlier, so everyone understood that this was a limited-edition piece. Sophie wasn’t wrong. Given Estelle’s status, she probably...

Wait, what exactly was Estelle’s status?!

A faint smile graced Estelle’s lips. "Is Miss Foster implying that, as the daughter-in-law of the Sloan Family and the wife of Nathaniel Sloan, I still cannot compare to you?

"You can buy a limited-edition bracelet, but I can’t. You have money, but I don’t.

"May I ask, are you looking down on Old Mrs Sloan, or are you looking down on Nathaniel?"

Sophie’s face instantly drained of color. She had just spoken out of turn in the heat of the moment. Who knew Estelle would be so shameless? Besides, Thea had told her that Estelle and Mr. Sloan were only a couple in name. In the end, Thea would be the real Mrs. Sloan!

Estelle scoffed lightly. "Actually, if Miss York had kept searching, she would have discovered that there’s more than just one bracelet in my bag."

With that, Estelle looked down and pulled a few more boxes from her bag.

Opening them one by one, everyone saw that they all contained the exact same limited-edition bracelet! They were identical, complete with the authenticity tags. Combined with the brilliant luster of the gems and platinum—there were quite a few wealthy ladies and socialites present who could tell at a glance that the bracelets in Estelle’s bag were all high-quality goods. There were no fakes among them.

So... that meant Estelle owned several identical bracelets!

Estelle drawled, "The one Miss York took, along with the three I have here, have consecutive authenticity serial numbers.

"So, are you sure, Miss York, that the bracelet Miss Foster lost is right here with me?"

As her words fell, the situation completely reversed. Thea’s expression stiffened, her smile gradually vanishing.

A few wealthy ladies chimed in. "Consecutive serial numbers mean they were bought at the exact same time. It couldn’t be such a coincidence either. Even if Mrs. Sloan did steal it, could she have conveniently stolen a bracelet with a serial number consecutive to the ones she already owned?"

"Besides, Mrs. Sloan already has three of them," another added. "Why would she steal another one... Unless Miss Foster lost four bracelets all at once, this accusation lacks any persuasive power whatsoever."

Sophie was dumbfounded. She had seen the authenticity serial number on the bracelet—it really wasn’t hers!

Unwilling to accept defeat, she shrieked at Estelle, "Maybe you’re just greedy!!"

Estelle completely ignored her. Instead, she looked calmly at Thea, the corners of her lips curling up slightly.

Thea had deliberately set her up, so she could naturally return the favor. At the time, there were only three people in the restroom and no surveillance cameras, which meant Thea could spout whatever nonsense she wanted about the truth. Could Estelle not do the exact same thing?

Estelle chuckled lightly as she spoke, "Miss York, you already knew I had four identical bracelets. There was absolutely no need for me to steal another one. You were in the best position to prove my innocence, yet you acted as if you knew nothing from beginning to end. Isn’t that a bit immoral? To those who don’t know any better, they might even think you were trying to set me up on purpose, Miss York."

Thea choked on her words. "Estelle, what are you talking about? How could I possibly know..."

"You don’t know? Miss York, you’ve visited my house so many times and have seen these bracelets on multiple occasions. You even know the reason why I bought four of them in the first place. Why are you flatly denying it now? Do I need to get Nathaniel to come out and testify for me?"

Nathaniel’s lips twitched upward in amusement. She was really something, confidently rattling off evidence that didn’t even exist.

Thea completely failed to grasp Estelle’s meaning, her face turning grim. However, the wealthy ladies standing nearby understood perfectly.

"Mrs. Sloan is saying that Miss York has already seen these four bracelets at Imperial Crest? And that she knew Mrs. Sloan bought four of them all at once?" one lady whispered.

"That’s right," another replied. "Doesn’t Miss York constantly brag about how she can come and go from Imperial Crest as she pleases? Then it’s only normal that she saw them."

"Then what exactly is Thea York trying to pull?" a third person scoffed. "She didn’t mention a single word about Mrs. Sloan owning this bracelet. After it was searched and found, she didn’t even consider that the bracelet might actually belong to Mrs. Sloan. Instead, she immediately pinned her as a thief. I wouldn’t believe it if you told me this wasn’t a deliberate setup."

Indeed, if Thea knew full well that Estelle owned the bracelet, yet still called her a thief after it was found during the search, it could no longer be chalked up to mere forgetfulness. It was entirely deliberate.

Thea trembled all over. Estelle’s words sounded logical and well-founded, but... she truly didn’t know anything!!

Estelle’s lips curved into a faint smile.

It was true—Thea didn’t know anything. There had never been a situation where ’Thea knew she had four bracelets.’ She had completely made it all up, but so what? She hadn’t known that Sophie lost her bracelet either, nor how the bracelet had ultimately ended up in her own bag. If she hadn’t been vigilant, she would have been framed and utterly ruined today!

"You’re spouting utter nonsense!" Sophie charged forward, pointing furiously at Estelle. "You’re just lying! Thea isn’t that kind of person! What’s more, even if you do have four bracelets, you still can’t prove you didn’t steal mine! After all, there were only three of us in the restroom at the time. If it wasn’t you who stole it, who else could it be?!"

Estelle smiled faintly. "Like you said, there were three people in the restroom at the time. Besides me, there was one other person."

Aside from Estelle and the victim, Sophie, there was only one person left... Thea!

Sophie froze for a moment before raising her voice. "Thea? Even now you still want to slander her?! I won’t let you get away with this—"

Before she could finish, two police officers strode into the room. "Who is Estelle Lockwood?"

Estelle smiled languidly. "I am Estelle Lockwood. Yes, I’m the one who reported the case."