Chapter 288: Nathaniel, Estelle Lockwood Is Dead

Chapter 288: Chapter 288: Nathaniel, Estelle Lockwood Is Dead

Before Thea York could answer, Laura Jennings hurried forward, looking eager to smooth things over.

"Oh my, there’s no point in asking. Thea probably just heard it from someone else. Nathaniel, you’re still injured. Lie down quickly. Thea, didn’t you make porridge for Nathaniel?"

Anyone could hear the sheer panic in Laura’s voice.

Nathaniel Sloan was no longer in a hurry. "Miss York, my patience is limited."

Zane Grant chimed in perfectly, "Exactly. We’ve been worried to death trying to find the mastermind. Now that Miss York has delivered herself right to our doorstep, whether she’s the culprit or not, she must know the inside story.

"Nathaniel, since you’re awake now, we can make it public. How about I go write the press release right away? Perfect timing—we’ve caught the ’murderer’ too..."

"No!" Thea jerked her head up, a trace of panic flashing across her face.

She forced an awkward smile. "Nathaniel, how could I possibly harm you? Mr. Grant is just joking around too much!"

Nathaniel remained impassive. "It’s fine if Miss York doesn’t want to say. It’s just that I’m petty and prone to wild guesses. If Miss York refuses to speak, I will have no choice but to keep suspecting you."

He then calmly instructed Zane, "We still have an ongoing collaboration with Chairman York at the company. Remember to give him a friendly reminder later. Tell him he has quite the good daughter."

Zane almost burst out laughing. "Alright, got it."

"Nathaniel!" Thea stood up abruptly, her face turning red and pale by turns as she shot several desperate glances at Laura.

It was Laura who had suddenly shown up at her door, anxiously saying that Nathaniel was injured and Estelle Lockwood couldn’t take care of him. It was a perfect opportunity, and she had told Thea not to miss it.

Of course, Thea wasn’t willing to let it slip by. She had immediately followed Laura to the hospital, planning to stay by Nathaniel’s side and outshine Estelle!

But... but what on earth was going on now?!

"Oh my, could it be that Ms. Jennings was the one who said it?" Zane feigned immense shock. "Could the mastermind not be Miss York, but Ms. Jennings instead?!"

He tsked in amazement. "Now, this I just can’t understand. If it were Miss York, she would at least have a motive. But Ms. Jennings is your own mother, Nathaniel. Your biological mother. How could she do something like hiring a hitman?"

A faint, mocking smile touched Nathaniel’s lips. "I’m quite curious about that myself."

Zane turned to Laura, completely ignoring her face that was now changing colors like a painter’s palette, and asked curiously, "Ms. Jennings, are you the mastermind?"

Laura was speechless.

She truly wanted to kill these two bastards!

Feigning distress, Laura slapped her thigh. "Oh my, how could it be me?! Nathaniel, you’ve completely misunderstood me!"

Zane nodded. "Right, then we’re back to the original question. How did Ms. Jennings find out?"

Laura’s face turned varying shades of green and white. "I... I..."

"Zane, call the police," Nathaniel ordered.

"Will do," Zane replied cheerfully. "I never expected us to catch the mastermind this quickly. How simple.

"Ms. Jennings, you shouldn’t blame Nathaniel. Who told you to be such a ruthless mother...? Sigh, I have a habit of speaking too bluntly, so I’ll stop there. Nathaniel’s car crash was attempted murder. Even though the murder failed, the mastermind is definitely going to prison.

"As for you, Ms. Jennings, make sure to rehabilitate yourself well in prison. If I get the chance, I’ll come visit you."

With that, Zane pulled out his phone to call the cops.

"It wasn’t me!!" Laura finally panicked.

Her eyes darted around wildly. She had never expected Nathaniel to be so utterly unforgiving. What was all this about calling the police? They were a family! And he wasn’t even dead! Why call the cops?!

But she couldn’t reveal the true mastermind either, so she could only speak vaguely, "I just heard Ethan mention it in passing... Nathaniel, I’m your mother! I was worried about you! That’s why I rushed over here so frantically. How could I ever do something like that?!"

Nathaniel gave a slight nod and looked at Zane. "Tell them the mastermind is my father, Ethan Sloan."

Still holding his phone, Zane couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter. "Alright, alright, don’t worry."

He finally understood. Nathaniel was dead set on sending someone to jail today.

"You... this..." Flustered and exasperated, Laura planted her hands on her hips, squeezed her eyes shut, and roared at the top of her lungs, "Nathaniel Sloan! What kind of person are you?! How can you be such a son? Unfaithful and unfilial—"

Nathaniel said calmly, "Zane, when you call the police, add one more charge: Ms. Jennings is making a scene in the hospital and disturbing a patient’s rest."

Zane nodded and dialed the police.

It wasn’t long before a police car arrived with sirens blaring, and departed with sirens blaring, taking Laura with it.

Zane clicked his tongue. He really had no idea what Ms. Jennings was even here to do. She appeared out of nowhere, had a sudden breakdown, and ended up being hauled away in a police cruiser.

However... Nathaniel was right about one thing. Whoever knew about his injury at this point had to be the mastermind.

Could Theodore Lancaster have told Laura? Or perhaps... was Laura also involved in this?

After Laura left, Thea plastered a smile onto her face, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Nathaniel, I’ll take care of you during this time. After all, Dr. Grant is a grown man; he won’t be as attentive."

Nathaniel replied coolly, "I have enough money to hire a caregiver."

Thea let out an ’easygoing’ laugh. "Nathaniel, why are you being so polite with me? We’re good buddies! How could a caregiver possibly be as attentive as me?

"Don’t worry, I happen to have a lot of free time right now. I can stay at the hospital and look after you until you’re discharged. As for Estelle... please don’t be too sad."

Thea added deliberately, "Nathaniel, I was afraid you might do something drastic, which is why I want to stay by your side. Don’t worry, even if Estelle left you, I never will!"

Nathaniel’s eyes suddenly darkened, flashing with a razor-sharp intensity. "What did you say?!"

Putting on a sorrowful front while practically blooming with joy on the inside, Thea said, "Nathaniel, really, don’t be too devastated... Even though Estelle died in a tragic accident, you still have me, and you still have the children..."

Died in a tragic accident?!

Nathaniel’s face turned glacial. His throat sounded like a trapped beast in a cage. "Who said she died in an accident?!"

Thea’s eyes shifted before she covered her face and began to weep. "Nathaniel, Old Mr. Lancaster and Young Mr. Lancaster discovered it. Uncle Sloan was also there at the time. They said the driver fell asleep at the wheel while Estelle happened to be in the car. The car plunged into the river, and they couldn’t find it anywhere..."

Nathaniel let out a cold sneer.

What driver falling asleep? What nonsense about Estelle being in a car that crashed?

Estelle was clearly with him at that time!

The Sloan Family and the Lancaster Family had fabricated a ’death certificate’ out of thin air!

But why did his heart ache so much? Where on earth was his Estelle?

Meanwhile, Estelle was still reading in the study.

There were no clocks in the villa, so she had no idea what time it was. Furthermore, the windows were completely sealed, and the lights were left on twenty-four hours a day, making it impossible to judge the time by the sky outside. Theodore Lancaster obviously didn’t want her to know what time it was.

However, based on her own biological clock, Estelle guessed that about three and a half days had passed.

Suddenly, the study door was pushed open.