Chapter 396: Claire Yeats’s Lie, Aethel’s Men Are Coming

Chapter 396: Chapter 396: Claire Yeats’s Lie, Aethel’s Men Are Coming

"You... you still refuse to admit your mistakes!"

Old Mrs. Yeats’s face twisted into a fierce scowl. She shouted sharply, her cane hitting the floor, THUD, THUD. "Get on your knees!"

She was scolding Estelle Lockwood, but in her mind, she was lashing out at Eleanor Yeats.

That damn bitch should have just been a helpless orphan living on their charity, yet she had constantly overshadowed her. Since Old Mrs. Yeats had never been able to get the upper hand against Eleanor, she was determined to take it out on Eleanor’s daughter.

The most venomous resentment in Old Mrs. Yeats’s heart erupted. Pointing at Estelle, she gritted her teeth. "You don’t even have the guts to admit what you’ve done. If you ask me, you did it on purpose! You deliberately wanted to ruin the partnership for the branch of the Yeats Group. This is pure revenge! Have you ever considered anyone else? Do you take us all for fools?! You’re a shameless, brazen little slut!"

The shareholders of the Yeats Group branch were filled with righteous indignation, acting as if stacks of cash had just sprouted wings and flown away because of Estelle’s actions. Meanwhile, some reporters frowned. Old Mrs. Yeats’s insults were far too vicious. Anyone who didn’t know better would think they were mortal enemies.

Estelle raised an eyebrow. These shareholders were nothing but useless deadwood, only knowing how to act high and mighty while bossing their assistants and secretaries around.

Previously, the branch had an exceptionally capable assistant who handled every single business deal, big or small. These shareholders didn’t have to lift a finger—they just sat back and collected their dividends. But the assistant had been overworked and eventually collapsed. When he took a week of sick leave, these very same shareholders pointed fingers and cursed at him, accusing him of taking the money without doing the work. They even called him a dog that didn’t deserve such a high salary. Furious, the assistant resigned on the spot.

Consequently, the shareholders’ profit dividends dwindled more and more. Now, they finally had a new partnership on the horizon, meaning they could go back to making easy money.

But this woman, Estelle, was nothing like that former assistant. She was disobedient and impossible to control. Now that she was costing them money, the shareholders were furious. Naturally, they absolutely refused to believe it was because they were incompetent. They unanimously decided that Estelle was crossing the line. Wasn’t it just asking her to work a little harder to make money for everyone?

Look at what a mess she had made of things now!

Listening to the shareholders whispering among themselves, Old Mrs. Yeats’s fury burned even hotter. "Estelle Lockwood, I’ll give you one last chance. Where is the jade token?!"

She wanted Estelle to confess—to admit that she had never obtained the jade token and had forged it for fame and fortune. Then, she would push Claire Yeats right into that coveted position!

But what Old Mrs. Yeats didn’t expect was Estelle’s calm and indifferent response.

"I’ve already told you. That Green Jade Token is real."

"Insolence!" This response further provoked Old Mrs. Yeats. A wave of dizziness washed over her mind, and she could barely stand straight. "Estelle, Estelle... you still refuse to admit it. Fine, fine..."

The words Old Mrs. Yeats had wanted to scream for over thirty years finally burst from her lips. "If you don’t hand over the jade token, the Yeats Group will sever all ties with you! Both you and Eleanor will be expelled from the Yeats family, and we will never have anything to do with you again!"

A momentary silence fell over the room. Wasn’t this an overreaction? If Old Mrs. Yeats kicked Estelle out of the Yeats family, how would she explain it to Old Mr. Yeats? Then again... considering the massive losses Estelle had caused, banishing her from the Yeats family was justifiable.

Estelle was momentarily speechless, but then she couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

"Old Mrs. Yeats, listen to yourself. How many times have you said that now?

"Expelled from the Yeats family? Even if you aren’t tired of saying it, my ears are tired of hearing it. You talk and talk, but why don’t you actually take some action?

"But you’d better think this through, Old Mrs. Yeats. If my mother and I sever ties with the Yeats family, there will be no one left to cover for Evan Yeats when the world finds out he stole my father’s belongings and built a fraudulent reputation.

"Right now, you can still claim that Evan and my father were ’relatives.’ Because I haven’t completely turned against you, the reputations of the Second Master of the Yeats family and you—the old madam who condoned the theft—are still somewhat intact.

"But if we are no longer part of the Yeats family, then..."

Estelle smiled, speaking casually. "Actually, that would be great. I never wanted to be part of the Yeats family anyway."

"You, you..." Old Mrs. Yeats swayed on her feet.

The crowd hadn’t expected things to escalate like this, but they had to admit that Estelle’s logic was sound. However, the most important thing right now was the partnership! This wasn’t the time to argue over who was right and who was wrong!

The people from Aethel were arriving any minute. What if they refused to cooperate when they didn’t see Mr. Lynch’s token?

Seeing that the perfect opportunity had arrived, Claire’s eyes darted slightly before she let out a helpless sigh. She shook her head in sheer disappointment.

"Estelle... I truly wanted to give you a chance. As long as you admitted your mistake, I was willing to take the blame for you. But you...

"You’ve disappointed me. You refuse to admit that you sold the jade token, you refuse to admit you were wrong, and you even want to ruin this partnership. Forget it. I won’t hide the truth from everyone any longer..." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

The crowd instinctively looked toward Claire, unsure of what she was about to reveal. Claire pursed her lips slightly and bowed to the crowd.

"I apologize for making you all watch this farce and for wasting your time.

"The truth is, the real White Jade Token is in my possession."

What?!

The venue plunged into dead silence as everyone stared in utter shock. What did she mean... the White Jade Token was in Claire’s possession?

Someone voiced their doubts. "Then why didn’t Miss Claire take it out earlier? Moreover, why do you have the jade token?"

Claire shook her head helplessly, tears gleaming in her eyes. "Because I couldn’t bear to see Estelle’s reputation ruined. I wanted her to turn over a new leaf, which is why I... I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I originally planned to slip the jade token back to her secretly. We could just say she was in a rush and grabbed the wrong one by mistake, but..."

It suddenly made sense to everyone. So, Claire had known what Estelle had done all along. Out of sisterly love, she hadn’t wanted to embarrass her and had tried to protect her. If Estelle had simply admitted her mistake, Claire would have quietly returned the White Jade Token to her. Then, Estelle could claim she actually had two jade tokens and had just taken out the wrong one, proving the White Jade Token was the real one. The crisis would have been smoothly averted, and no one would have blamed Estelle.

But unexpectedly... even at a time like this, Estelle remained completely stubborn. Left with no other choice, Miss Claire was forced to step forward and explain through her tears.

"I bought the jade token back from a pawnshop. Estelle... I know this jade token is highly valuable. I spent over a million to redeem it, but I don’t plan on making you pay me back. I just hope you realize your mistakes."

The crowd was appalled. "Good lord, it’s actually true! Estelle really sold the jade token!"

"Thank goodness Miss Claire bought it back, otherwise how would we ever explain this to Aethel?"

"Millions... It’s utterly ridiculous. That short-sighted Estelle sold the jade token for a few million, while Miss Yeats spent millions to redeem it and isn’t even asking for the money back. The difference in their character is obvious!"

Estelle narrowed her eyes; the lie was certainly well-crafted. But the people from Aethel Group should have arrived by now, shouldn’t they?