Chapter 43: Nathaniel Was Ice-Cold, "I’d Like to See Who Dares!

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Nathaniel Was Ice-Cold, "I’d Like to See Who Dares!

Estelle Lockwood hung up the phone and was about to hail a cab when she suddenly heard Nathaniel Sloan call out to her. "Miss Lockwood."

She turned around. "Is something the matter?"

"Don’t forget we’re going to Rosalind Garden together in two days to select the raw materials, Miss Lockwood."

Estelle furrowed her brows. They had just finalized this itinerary during a meeting half an hour ago. Did he really think she would forget it so soon? Was Nathaniel mocking her for being brainless?

She gave a nonchalant response and headed straight back to Star Studio.

Shortly past two in the afternoon, inside the CEO’s office at Evernight International.

Luke White knocked and entered. "Sir, the partnership details have been arranged, and the personnel going to Rosalind Garden the day after tomorrow have been finalized."

Nathaniel gave a faint hum of acknowledgment. Sensing that Luke had more to say, he asked without even lifting his eyelids, "Anything else?"

Luke swallowed hard, feeling utterly helpless. "Also, Mrs. Sloan called again. She wants you to add Miss Noelle to the entourage..."

"Out of the question," Nathaniel rejected it outright.

Luke nodded and had a secretary relay the response to Mrs. Sloan. He really didn’t understand what Mrs. Sloan saw in Noelle Lockwood. Back when the madam was still around, Mrs. Sloan had always disliked her and constantly tried to push Noelle into his boss’s presence.

BEEP BEEP.

Just then, Nathaniel’s phone suddenly rang. It was an unknown number, yet it was calling his private cell.

"Hello, is this Mia Lockwood’s father?" An anxious young woman’s voice came through the line. "This is Greenbriar Kindergarten. We haven’t been able to reach the child’s mother. Since your number is listed under her father’s contact info, we had no choice but to call you. Mia has gotten into a bit of trouble. Could we trouble you to come over?"

Nathaniel’s expression darkened instantly. "Luke, get the car ready."

Half an hour later, inside the office at Greenbriar Kindergarten.

A heavily made-up woman, clad in luxurious designer clothes and dripping with jewelry, pointed at Mia and hurled abuse. The rolls of fat on her face jiggled with every word.

"If my son wants to touch you, it’s your honor, do you understand?! How dare you have someone hit him! Do you have a death wish?!"

Beside the woman stood a chubby little boy. Looking incredibly smug, he shouted, "Mia Lockwood, you’re just a fatherless little bastard! So what if I touched you! You think you’re so precious?"

Zachery looked furious, and Christian had completely lost his usual sunny smile. The two boys shielded Mia behind them. Zachery gritted his teeth. "Shut up!"

Christian added coldly, "Just because you’re loud doesn’t mean you’re right. I’ve already called the police."

Mrs. King flew into a rage. "Miss Lockwood, look at this! Just look at this! I can’t even say a few words to them! Calling the police? Do you know what kind of status the King family holds in Crestfall?! Miss Lockwood, if this isn’t resolved, we are not done here!"

Noelle acted hypocritically. "Mrs. King, please calm down. My child is in the wrong here..."

The two young kindergarten teachers were beside themselves with anxiety. The principal was away today. During the activity class, the chubby boy, Walter King, had followed Mia around, repeatedly trying to grope her waist and legs, though Mia had managed to dodge him every time. Later, the chubby boy grew bolder. He gathered a few accomplices and dragged Mia into the restroom, attempting to strip off her clothes.

Fortunately, Mia’s two brothers arrived just in time. They each delivered a punch to Walter King. That set off a complete disaster. Walter sat on the floor, wailing at the top of his lungs and demanding they call his parents.

The Kings were powerful and influential in Crestfall, and the vice-principal was a spineless coward who only knew how to pander to the rich. The moment he saw Mrs. King arrive, he demanded that Mia and the boys apologize without even asking what had happened.

The young teacher had originally wanted to advocate for Mia. It clearly wasn’t the little girl’s fault. She had almost been bullied, yet she was the one being forced to apologize? It was completely unreasonable, so the teacher decided to call Mia’s father.

But who could have guessed that right after she made the call, a woman claiming to be Christian’s mother would show up. The teacher reasoned that since Christian and Mia were siblings, Christian’s mother must also be Mia’s mother. Yet, the moment this "mother" walked in, she showed zero concern for her daughter. Instead, she immediately apologized to Mrs. King, dumping all the blame onto her own children!

Noelle was still apologizing earnestly. "I am so sorry, Mrs. King. My Christian doesn’t know any better. I will definitely discipline him properly when we get home. It’s absolutely wrong for a child to hit others.

"Christian, I know you and Mia are good friends, but you can’t just indiscriminately beat up Young Mr. King like this. Mia claims that Young Mr. King tried to assault her, but is that necessarily the truth? Everyone knows she..."

At this point, Noelle deliberately paused, then sighed as if she couldn’t bear to say any more. "Christian, hurry up and apologize to Young Mr. King."

Mrs. King’s expression softened considerably. "Miss Lockwood, you are the reasonable one. Fine, I won’t hold this against Christian Sloan, but these two little bastards must apologize! And be expelled!"

The Kings were nouveau riche. Mrs. King only knew how to eat, drink, and make merry; she was entirely clueless about the intricacies of high society. When Noelle revealed her identity as the heiress of the Lockwood Group, Mrs. King didn’t make the connection between Christian Sloan and Nathaniel Sloan. She merely assumed Christian was some unfavored illegitimate child. As for the other two, she heard they were the children of the Lockwood family’s servants, so they were even less worth her concern.

Noelle smiled gently. "I am only responsible for taking Christian home. The other two children have nothing to do with me. Do as you please, Mrs. King." With that, she acted like a mother wholeheartedly devoted to her son. "Christian, let’s go home first. From now on, you should spend less time with..."

"Get lost!" Christian shoved her coldly.

Noelle’s smile froze. "Christian, what are you doing? Are you upset because Mommy didn’t stand up for Mia? But we have to be reasonable people..."

"Your idea of being reasonable is ignoring the truth, twisting black into white, and shifting the blame onto Mia?! Besides, you’re not my mommy, so stop flattering yourself!"

Noticing the strange looks from the people around her, Noelle feigned helplessness. "Christian, you’re really breaking Mommy’s heart... I know you resent me because I said Mia wasn’t a good child and forbade you from playing with her, so you...

"I am your mommy, so I can indulge your tantrums, but others will only think you lack manners. Do you understand?"

The surrounding onlookers’ gazes gradually returned to normal. So Christian was only saying those things on purpose for Mia’s sake. Sigh. To disown his own mommy over some shady friend—this Mia Lockwood really wasn’t a good kid!

Christian gritted his teeth. For the millionth time, he hated the fact that he was just a child. "I’m not leaving! I didn’t do anything wrong! I want to watch Walter apologize to Mia!"

Noelle looked exasperated, as if Christian were being terribly rebellious.

Hearing this, Mrs. King laughed out of pure fury. She looked down at them from her high horse, utterly contemptuous.

"Apologize? Don’t think I don’t know that Mia’s background is highly questionable! She’s raised by a single mother with no power or influence in Crestfall. She’s just a fatherless little bastard! My son asking her to take off her clothes is doing her a favor! If my son likes her, what’s wrong with a little touching? Why act so high and mighty?!"

She rolled her eyes and said menacingly, "So you want to do things the hard way, huh? Someone, strip her clean!"

Upon hearing this, Zachery and Christian’s faces instantly darkened. The two boys positioned themselves front and back, shielding Mia in the middle. But Mrs. King had brought four bodyguards. As mere children, there was no way the two of them could fight off four grown men.

Walter clapped his hands, his chubby face twisting with a sinister malice that did not belong on a five-year-old. "Hurry up! Strip her clothes off!"

Zachery grew frantic. "Mia, when they come, you run first—"

"I’d like to see who dares!"

BANG!

The office door was kicked open. Over a dozen bodyguards in black suits instantly swarmed in, pinning the Kings firmly to the ground.

Everyone was stunned.

Nathaniel’s expression was freezing cold. His sharp gaze swept over the room as he enunciated every single word. "I’d. Like. To. See. Who. Dares!"