Chapter 249: The Secret of Estelle’s Parentage?

Chapter 249: Chapter 249: The Secret of Estelle’s Parentage?

Estelle Lockwood asked with interest, "A secret about me?"

Stella York chuckled lightly. "It’s something I stumbled upon by chance. I don’t know if it’s true or not. Miss Lockwood, you can believe it if you want. If not, just treat it as an amusing little story."

Estelle nodded. "Please go on."

"Aren’t you quite curious, Miss Lockwood, as to why the Lockwood family treats you this way even though you’re their biological daughter? I believe Rose Lowell claimed it was because of that fortune-teller, didn’t she?"

Estelle narrowed her eyes. It seemed Stella really did know quite a bit. Yes, there indeed was a fortune-teller. Supposedly, after Estelle was born, Rose found a fortune-teller who prophesied that she was a ’Jinx’. Because of this, Rose abandoned her and brought back Noelle Lockwood, the ’Lucky Star’, from the orphanage.

Estelle asked, "Are you saying there never was any fortune-teller? That it was just Rose’s excuse to get rid of me?"

"No." Surprisingly, Stella shook her head. "That fortune-teller did exist, and Rose really did abandon you because she listened to his words."

Estelle raised an eyebrow. She figured Stella had more to say.

"However..." As expected, Stella continued, "That fortune-teller was actually hired by Austin Lockwood."

Estelle narrowed her eyes sharply.

"I only know that the day before the fortune-teller met with Rose, he had a meeting with both Austin and Old Mr. Lockwood," Stella explained. "After that, the rumors started spreading about you being a Jinx and Noelle being a Lucky Star.

"The public has always said that abandoning you was entirely Rose’s doing. They claimed Old Mr. Lockwood and Austin were completely in the dark, and that they only went to the orphanage to adopt Noelle because they couldn’t find you.

"And the supposed reason for adopting Noelle was that Rose had a master read her fortune, declaring her a ’Lucky Star’. She insisted on the adoption, and Austin, having no other choice, went along with it.

"In this whole affair, it seems as though Austin never voiced any opinion of his own.

"Whether it was abandoning his biological daughter or adopting a fake one, it was all pinned on Rose alone.

"But if we establish that the fortune-teller was actually brought in by Austin... Miss Lockwood, don’t you think this entire situation reeks of calculation?"

As Stella finished her piece, Estelle’s gaze grew thoughtful. She was right.

To put it nicely, a woman like Rose was a worrywart. To put it bluntly, she was stupid and easily manipulated. Rose believed in fortune-telling, so upon learning that Estelle was a ’Jinx’, she couldn’t wait to throw her away. She had been terrified that a Jinx would bring her bad luck.

As Rose’s husband, did Austin know this? Of course he did. So, Austin had bribed a fortune-teller to deliberately exaggerate the situation, forcing Rose to abandon Estelle. But why would Austin do such a thing? And what about Old Mr. Lockwood?

Estelle suddenly realized that the people who wanted to get rid of her the most back then were actually Austin and Old Mr. Lockwood, not Rose. Rose had been used from start to finish, but the true masterminds behind the scenes were that father-and-son duo! Yet now, Rose bore all the infamy, while Austin and Old Mr. Lockwood seemed to have faded into the background.

Logically speaking, she was Austin’s biological daughter. What reason could Old Mr. Lockwood and Austin possibly have to absolutely discard her?

Unless she truly wasn’t a child of the Lockwood family!

And Rose had been deceived this whole time!

Estelle had tested the waters many times and confirmed that, in Rose’s heart, Estelle was undeniably her biological daughter. This completely contradicted Austin’s actions. Thus, Estelle could only come to one conclusion. She was not the daughter of Austin and Rose. Somehow, Austin had hidden the truth from Rose and used her hands to throw Estelle away.

But if Austin’s ultimate goal was to discard her, why go through so much trouble to make her a daughter of the Lockwood family in the first place? What kind of conspiracy were Austin and Old Mr. Lockwood hiding?

"That’s all I know. If you’re interested, Miss Lockwood, you can look into it yourself," Stella said before adding more. "Oh, by the way, there are some things I could tell Mr. Sloan, but he might not necessarily listen. So, I’ll tell you directly."

Stella’s voice turned icy. "Chairman York... oh, I mean my biological father. My dear father has a good relationship with Ethan Sloan. They’ve been secretly associating for a while. Eliza Quincy’s rise to power was also aided by Ethan.

"Aside from Ethan, there’s also Old Mr. Sloan, Chairman Lancaster, and Old Mr. Lancaster. These people helped a mistress take over and indirectly caused my mother’s death.

"Don’t you find it strange, Miss Lockwood?"

Estelle caught on instantly. "It is strange. The Lancaster family keeps harping on about how their eldest daughter is Ethan’s original wife, and they claim to look down on mistresses and illegitimate daughters. But in reality, the current Old Mrs. Lancaster used to be a mistress herself, and Yvonne Lancaster is an illegitimate daughter.

"The woman they helped, Eliza Quincy, is a mistress, and Thea York is an illegitimate daughter.

"Mrs. Keaton, who is on good terms with the Sloan family, is a mistress, and Julian Jacobs is an illegitimate son.

"It seems like from the very beginning, the Lancaster family and the Sloan family have been helping these mistresses and illegitimate children rise to power..."

Stella nodded. "Yes. I don’t know anything beyond that; this is the extent of my knowledge. If you have the time, Miss Lockwood, you might want to give Mr. Sloan a heads-up. The Lancaster family is plotting something massive, and Mr. Sloan is the stepping stone they’ve chosen."

With that said, Stella waved her hand dismissively. "It’s getting late. I won’t keep you any longer. Please show yourself out."

Estelle left the beauty salon and stared up at the mid-afternoon sun. She was speechless. She mused that it was hardly getting late. This Miss Stella York was indeed quite different from the rumors.

At the York family’s home.

Chairman York had received the news and had to pull some major strings to bail Mrs. York out of the police station.

"Honey, listen to me, I didn’t want to either... But... but those three little bastards! I was only doing it for Thea’s sake. I just wanted to teach them a lesson!"

Chairman York snapped impatiently, "Can’t you just behave yourself?! Are you trying to cause more trouble for Thea right now? Do you have any idea what the board of directors is saying? They’re saying Thea is being dragged down by you!"

Thea’s eyes flickered.

Mrs. York muttered, "What did the Sloan family say? Didn’t they say they would help Thea? Why hasn’t there been any news at all?"

Chairman York furrowed his brow. "I’ll ask them again when the time comes."

Later, as Estelle was about to return to Imperial Crest, she received a call from her studio. "Estelle, the client wants to see your sketches."

Estelle headed to the studio, where her assistant informed her, "The Prince’s butler wishes to take a look at your design sketches. That way, if there’s anything they’re unsatisfied with, they can offer feedback promptly."

Estelle had no objections. After all, when doing private custom designs, it was perfectly normal for the client to review the sketches first. However, the person negotiating with Estelle this time was not the butler, but a young woman.

Estelle communicated with the other party via video call. The woman kept her face hidden from the camera, and after looking at the design drafts, she simply scoffed disdainfully, "So, you’re Estelle Lockwood?"