Chapter 280: Nathaniel Sloan Knew All Along

Chapter 280: Chapter 280: Nathaniel Sloan Knew All Along

Of course Nathaniel’s last name was Sloan. What else could it be?

There was nothing to hide, so Nathaniel nodded again.

Scott York’s expression immediately changed. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he looked incredibly wronged.

Estelle Lockwood was momentarily at a loss for words. She subconsciously looked at Nathaniel, her eyes conveying an obvious message: "You didn’t bully this little kid, did you?"

Nathaniel was speechless.

Mr. Sloan felt deeply wronged. To be honest, this was his first time meeting Scott.

The three little ones immediately stepped forward to comfort him, prompting Scott to tell his friends the truth.

"My nanny said... my daddy and mommy got into that car crash because they offended someone with the last name Sloan."

Offended someone with the last name Sloan?

Young Mr. York and his wife had died five years ago. They had passed away in a car crash shortly after Scott was born. And the nanny said it was because they had offended someone with the last name Sloan.

In Crestfall, the surname Sloan, coupled with the word "offended"... No matter how one looked at it, it had to be the Sloan family. But when did Young Mr. York ever offend the Sloan family? And why would offending them lead to his death?

Who exactly in the Sloan family had he offended?

Suddenly, Nathaniel narrowed his eyes. A specific person came to mind.

The two-day autumn trip flew by. On Sunday afternoon, they embarked on their journey home.

After dropping the three little ones off, Estelle noticed that Nathaniel seemed deep in thought. She asked, "What’s on your mind?"

"I’m thinking about the person Scott mentioned."

Nathaniel rubbed his fingertips against the tabletop. His eyes narrowed slightly, a cold glint flashing behind his gold-rimmed glasses.

Estelle rested her chin in her hand. "Someone with the last name Sloan... Is it your father, or Old Mr. Sloan?"

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow slightly. "Who would use their real name when doing something bad? When Young Mr. York died, Stella York and the original Mrs. York refused to believe it was an accidental death. They hired countless lawyers and repeatedly begged the police to investigate, but they never found anything.

"Afterward, the first wife fell into a deep depression over the matter and passed away not long after. Stella never stopped investigating, but she never managed to uncover anything."

Estelle understood. "Even Scott knows his father offended someone with the last name Sloan. Since the nanny was the one who said it, there’s no way Stella wouldn’t know. It’s just that—no one fit the criteria."

Nathaniel’s tone grew meaningful. "Right. On the surface, no one in the Sloan family had any interactions with Young Mr. York."

Due to Laura Jennings and Ethan Sloan’s relationship, the Sloan family had always been close to Mrs. York and Thea York. Naturally, they wouldn’t interact with the first wife’s side of the family.

But it wasn’t as if Young Mr. York had no power of his own. If he died just from offending anyone, that wouldn’t make sense. Therefore, the person he offended must have been powerful and influential... Someone with the last name Sloan. Who could it be?

"Theodore Lancaster."

Suddenly, Nathaniel uttered a name.

Estelle froze for two seconds before her eyes widened in shock.

Right! Who said Theodore Lancaster didn’t have the surname Sloan?!

The Sloan family claimed that Theodore was the son of Ethan Sloan and Miranda Lancaster. Therefore, Theodore technically carried the Sloan surname too! But why would Young Mr. York die for offending Theodore? Did his identity pose a threat to him? Theodore was supposedly the "legitimate son" of the Sloan family—he was basically a carbon copy of Young Mr. York’s situation.

Both of their fathers had remarried their mistresses, and both families had an "illegitimate son." Yet, as the "legitimate sons," they had to do everything in their power to seize control and rise to the top.

Logically speaking, Young Mr. York should have been the person Theodore had the most in common with. Why would he have offended him?

Unless...

Estelle stared fixedly at Nathaniel. "Unless... Theodore isn’t Miranda’s son at all."

She paused, uttering three words that would shock anyone to their core. "You are."

Time and space seemed to come to a standstill.

At this moment, the world fell into a dead silence. It was as if Estelle had voiced an earth-shattering secret, and even the air had frozen in shock.

It took a long while before Nathaniel turned around, a smile playing in his eyes. His tone was calm, as if this wasn’t some monumental revelation but a casual answer to whether he had eaten yet. "Yes. You’re very sharp, Mrs. Sloan."

He admitted it just like that—with absolute tranquility.

There was no earth-shattering emotional outburst, no lamentation over his years of endurance, and no shock at how Estelle had guessed it.

Nathaniel simply smiled, shaking his head slightly. "I didn’t plan on telling you so soon."

Estelle pursed her lips. "...How long have you known about this?"

Nathaniel adjusted his glasses. "I had my suspicions at ten, started looking for evidence at thirteen, and confirmed it at eighteen."

That meant ten years ago.

Why was he able to confirm it ten years ago? Did something major happen?

A flash of inspiration suddenly struck Estelle. "Ten years ago, you inherited the charity foundation. You inherited the codename ’Mr. Lynch’."

Nathaniel’s lips curled up. "Yes. The previous Mr. Lynch left me a letter. It was a rather special letter—one that probably only I could decipher."

Estelle was surprised, but then it clicked. "A cipher?"

"Yes, the letter was encrypted. Or to be more precise, it wasn’t a letter at all. It was the income and expenditure report for the charity foundation from twenty years ago.

"It detailed the five years of financial records from twenty-five to twenty years ago. The previous Mr. Lynch specifically requested that it be delivered to me, the new Mr. Lynch. It passed through the hands of countless people, but none of them discovered its hidden secret."

Estelle blinked. "So... what was it?"

Nathaniel nodded. "When I was young, I kept a book close at hand."

Estelle blinked again. "What kind of book? An educational primer? A bedtime story? The Sloan family actually bought you books?"

If Nathaniel and Theodore’s identities were swapped—then Laura Jennings was actually Theodore’s biological mother, while Nathaniel was the son of the first wife. Would a mistress like Laura take good care of the first wife’s son? If Nathaniel hadn’t ruthlessly seized control of the Sloan Group, he probably would have been dead long ago.

So, how did the young Nathaniel end up with a book? With Laura’s personality, she would have wanted nothing more than to raise Nathaniel as a useless good-for-nothing. Would she really give him books to read?

Nathaniel was silent. He loosely curled his hand into a fist, brought it to his lips, and cleared his throat, deliberately skipping over the topic. "Anyway, there was a book. I suddenly remembered that many years ago, when I was a child, someone taught me a type of cipher..."

Estelle paused, raising an eyebrow with piqued interest. "Mr. Sloan, don’t change the subject. What book was it? Tell me."

Nathaniel knew he couldn’t hide it from Estelle. Helpless, he massaged his temples.

"This book was left to me by someone. When I was young, Miranda hadn’t passed away yet. Abandoned by the Lancaster family, she had essentially nowhere to go and could only stay at the Sloan family’s home. She had to watch Ethan and that mistress, Laura, be incredibly affectionate with one another while she was left bedridden."

Nathaniel intentionally omitted the book’s title. "Back then, Laura would lock me in my room. Occasionally, someone would talk to me through the door. I saw her—it was Miranda.

"One day, there was a thunderstorm. I was..." Nathaniel paused. "...only four or five at the time. I suppose I was a bit scared, so she came to find me."