Chapter 233: Why Did You Provoke Estelle Lockwood?

Chapter 233: Chapter 233: Why Did You Provoke Estelle Lockwood?

For the first time, Thea York "ignored" Nathaniel Sloan’s words. She gritted her teeth so hard that the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.

After a few seconds of silence, Old Mrs Sloan sneered, "What? Are you unwilling to apologize?"

Thea bit her lip hard. Before Old Mrs Sloan could say another word, some of the wealthy ladies who couldn’t stand the sight any longer began to scoff.

"Just listen to Miss York. She said she ’thought’ she had bought the bracelet, so she put it in her bag. How is that any different from a robber?"

"Exactly. She clearly didn’t buy it, but just because she liked it, she insisted it was hers. And after being caught stealing, she expects to just get away with a simple ’I thought’? Wouldn’t it be pure chaos if everyone acted like that?"

"Whatever Miss York fancies, she can just snatch it away. Who can blame her for her poor memory? If you ask, they’ll just say the York Family isn’t short of money and can afford whatever she wants. So how could Miss York possibly steal on purpose? She merely forgot!"

Thea’s face turned pale, then green. Mrs. York’s mouth twitched several times.

"Earlier, Mrs. Sloan gave Miss York a way out, repeatedly reminding her that there was a third person in the restroom, but Miss York couldn’t seem to ’remember.’ Now she’s pulling the ’I thought’ excuse. My goodness, no wonder they say the York Family has been going downhill all these years. Turns out, they’re just not right in the head."

"I’d say this lack of brains is hereditary. Mrs. York, Chairman York is already at that age, so we’ll let it slide for him, but while Miss York is still young, shouldn’t you take her to the hospital for a check-up?"

Someone else laughed. "What are you talking about? It doesn’t matter if Miss York is a bit slow and forgetful. The York Family will provide for her anyway. It’s not like she needs to inherit the family business in the future. She just has to sit back and collect her allowance!"

Thea had an elegant reputation in the public eye, but in elite circles, everyone knew the dirty laundry of the York Family. As an illegitimate daughter, Thea had stepped over the true eldest daughter, Stella York, to rise to power. The York Family publicly declared Thea as their "eldest daughter," as if the entire family had forgotten about the actual legitimate eldest daughter born in wedlock. Now that the York Family’s power was controlled by Stella, Thea had zero chance of inheriting the family business. It truly didn’t matter if her brain was broken.

"I heard Miss York also has a fiancé abroad, right? Mrs. York, you better hold onto him tightly. After all, with Miss York’s character and intellect, not everyone would be willing to take her."

"You can’t say that. Don’t all the rumors say that Miss York will marry Mr. Sloan in the future and become Mrs. Sloan?"

"Ah! If that’s the case, didn’t Miss York pull this stunt on purpose today? After all, she wants to be Mrs. Sloan, so wouldn’t she first have to ruin the current Mrs. Sloan’s reputation?"

Thea’s face alternated between green and white. "Estelle... I’m sorry, I really didn’t think..."

Unfortunately, it was too late for apologies. Everyone present knew exactly what kind of person Thea was. Playing dumb and acting innocent only made her look even more ridiculous.

Old Mrs Sloan waved her hand dismissively. "Someone, see them out. I don’t want to see the Yorks anymore."

Word of Thea and Old Mrs. York being kicked out of the banquet quickly spread, and rumors even surfaced on the internet. Thea was a relatively famous internet celebrity. Thanks to her status as the eldest daughter of the York Family, combined with her titles as a jewelry designer and violinist, she had nearly ten million followers on Weibo. When these fans mentioned the York Family, they only knew of Thea and knew nothing about Stella. Therefore, they were full of confusion.

[Our Thea is the eldest daughter of the York Family and the future heir! Who would dare disrespect her like this?]

[I heard the host of the banquet’s surname is Sloan.]

[Then I know who it is! It’s Old Mrs Sloan, right? Then she definitely wasn’t kicked out. Thea probably had something to do and left on her own. Old Mrs Sloan has always treated Thea like her own granddaughter.]

Once the public chatter died down, Chairman York furrowed his brows. "Why did you have to go and provoke Estelle Lockwood for no reason? That woman is a bit uncanny."

Mrs. York immediately raised her voice upon seeing her daughter being reprimanded. "How can you blame Thea? Estelle Lockwood stole her position as Mrs. Sloan and even flaunted it in her face. Thea just acted on impulse!"

Chairman York still cared for Mrs. York. Otherwise, despite having a wife at home and countless other women around him, he wouldn’t have supported her in rising from the mistress to the position of his official wife. So, his tone softened. "I’m not blaming Thea! Sigh! But ever since Estelle returned to the Lockwood Family, she has dragged the once-prosperous Lockwood Family down to its current state. That’s why I said she’s uncanny. When Rose Lowell called her a Jinx, she probably wasn’t wrong. Whoever gets close to her ends up in trouble."

Mrs. York was still indignant.

Chairman York, however, shook his head mysteriously. "However, Estelle’s position as Mrs. Sloan shouldn’t last much longer. Don’t interfere with her and the Lockwood Family’s affairs recently."

Mrs. York was bewildered by his words.

Thea’s eyes, on the other hand, darted around thoughtfully.

At the Lockwood’s villa.

Rose was dying of anxiety. "Think of a way to let Noelle stay!"

Over the past few days, the Lockwood Group was getting worse by the day. The shareholders were hinting both overtly and covertly that Chairman Lockwood needed to sort out his "family affairs." For Noelle Lockwood’s sake, Austin Lockwood pretended not to understand. So now, the shareholders stopped pretending and directly questioned Austin whether the relationship with the Sloan Group could be restored to its former state. Even if things couldn’t go back to normal, they at least couldn’t let the Sloan Group suppress the Lockwood Group any longer! And the shareholders believed the culprit was none other than Noelle! A fake heiress who had usurped the true daughter’s identity for years was now ruined and infamous, yet this couple from the Lockwood Family was still protecting her!

Austin’s eyes darkened with uncertainty. He subconsciously probed, "Why don’t we send Noelle away..."

"How can we do that?!" Rose screamed. "That would kill me! I won’t allow it!"

Austin’s gaze darkened further. Of course, he couldn’t bear to send Noelle away either. After all, Noelle... No one else knew, but both he and the old master knew that Noelle was, in fact, his biological daughter! It was just that Rose had always believed Estelle was their biological child and Noelle was adopted. Yet, when faced with the topic of whether to send Noelle away, Rose was even more agitated than he was.

That made things easier. Sometimes, Austin couldn’t help but feel glad that Rose was foolish and dim-witted, unable to wrap her head around complex, convoluted matters.

"Rose, do you remember how Noelle saved Nathaniel’s life when they were little?"

Rose hesitated. "But, but..."

If a life-saving debt were that useful, Nathaniel wouldn’t be so heartless toward Noelle. What life-saving debt? That gratitude was completely wiped out when Noelle plotted the arson to burn Estelle and the child to death. The only reason Nathaniel hadn’t made a move against Noelle yet was that he lacked concrete evidence. It would be far too easy for Nathaniel to simply have Noelle killed, but what he wanted was to expose the truth to the public. In other words, he wanted Noelle to die bearing her crimes! How could someone as ruthless as Nathaniel let Noelle off the hook just for a life-saving grace?

Austin shook his head. "Just a life-saving grace is certainly not enough. However..."