Chapter 489: Miss Yeats, Do These People Look Familiar?

The three members of the Yeats Family froze, their expressions stiffening.

Evan Yeats’ face flushed red with anger. Before Zion Yeats could even speak, Claire Yeats stood up and bowed at a full ninety-degree angle. “I’m sorry, Estelle. We didn’t mean it that way… It’s just that my brother and Uncle Yeats were too worried about my health. I’ve caused you trouble, and I am truly sorry…”

“Don’t,” Estelle Lockwood said flatly. “If you bow to me now, your dear brother and uncle will just come after me to settle the score later.”

Claire choked on her words. “I…”

“Estelle, let’s just sit down and eat first,” Zion said. He didn’t know what to say for a moment. His heart ached for Claire, but with so many people present, he couldn’t just leave an injured Estelle standing there.

Estelle’s lips curled into a smirk. She cast a meaningful look into Claire’s eyes before nodding and taking a seat. She then asked curiously, “Is Miss Yeats staying to eat with us? Don’t you need to go see a doctor first? If anything bad were to happen to you, who would be responsible? Health comes first, after all.”

Claire gritted her teeth. “Don’t worry, Estelle. I’m feeling much better.”

“Mhm.” Estelle smiled and changed the subject. “I actually could have arrived a bit earlier, but it took some time to call the police.”

Seeing her change the topic instead of continuing to pick fights, Zion couldn’t help but smile. He thought she knew her place after all. “You called the police? Were the people who smashed your car caught?”

Claire’s entire body went rigid. She wondered why Estelle had suddenly brought this up and what she was trying to do.

“Yes, they were caught. They’re at the police station right now,” Estelle replied. “They’ll be responsible for the compensation for the car.”

Zion frowned deeply. “Not just compensation. There’s also the threat they posed to your personal safety. All of this needs to be accounted for. Who exactly would smash a car in broad daylight?”

Evan grew impatient. “What else could it be? I already told you, Estelle is too high-profile. She offended someone, and her enemies came knocking.”

The onlookers cast disdainful glances at Evan when they heard this.

Surprisingly, Estelle only laughed. “Yes, Mr. Yeats is right. It was indeed someone seeking revenge.”

The crowd was stunned.

Estelle spoke bluntly, not holding anything back. “It was over a dozen minors. They claimed that because they were underage, they wouldn’t have to bear any legal responsibility. Not only did they smash my car, but they also wanted me dead.”

“Outrageous!” Zion’s anger flared. “How lawless! Are all these people at the police station? Do you need me to lend you a lawyer?”

Estelle stared at Zion, that strange feeling welling up inside her once again. She didn’t dwell on it, though, and merely cast a nonchalant glance at Claire and Evan.

“There’s no need for a lawyer… I’m really sorry to say this, but I don’t trust the Yeats Family’s lawyers.”

“What do you mean by that, Estelle?!” Evan roared. “The reason the Yeats hate you is because you’re as prickly as a hedgehog! My father kindly offered to lend you a lawyer, and this is your attitude?!”

“How can you say that, Mr. Yeats?” Estelle asked. “You stole my late father’s artwork and passed it off as your own. That matter was ultimately handed over to the Yeats Family’s lawyers, but did anything ever come of it? Aren’t you, the thief, still yelling at me right now?”

The guests at the other tables chuckled, their faces filled with contempt.

“I… You…” Evan’s face turned beetroot, a lump forming in his throat. Eventually, he could only force out, “That’s different! The Yeats Family’s lawyers, of course… of course…”

“Is Mr. Yeats trying to say that the Yeats Family’s lawyers prioritize helping the Yeats, but if I were in a conflict with outsiders, they would naturally help me too? Is that what you mean?”

“Exactly!”

Estelle smiled; that was exactly what she wanted to hear. “Oh… in that case, I definitely don’t want a lawyer from the Yeats Family.” She sighed, then raised an eyebrow and said with a bright smile, “Who’s to say the people who smashed my car this time weren’t ordered to do so by someone in the Yeats Family?”

The surroundings fell dead silent.

Evan suddenly bellowed, “Estelle! Are you done? You offended someone yourself, yet you insist on blaming it on the Yeats Family! Why are you so despicable?!”

Estelle tilted her head. “Why are you so anxious, Mr. Yeats? Were you involved in this too?”

“You…”

“Estelle,” Zion said, knitting his brows sternly. “You can’t just say things like that. I know you have grievances against the Yeats Family, but such baseless accusations are truly beneath you.”

“Old Mr. Yeats labeled it a baseless accusation without even asking a single question. You and Evan truly are father and son,” she retorted.

“Estelle!”

Unfazed, Estelle continued, “Aren’t you curious about who it is, Old Mr. Yeats?”

“It’s an unfounded accusation to begin with. Why would I need to be curious…”

“Miss Yeats, do these people look familiar?” Estelle suddenly slapped a photograph down in front of Claire.

This directly cut off Zion’s words and drew everyone’s gaze sharply toward her.

Zion frowned. “Estelle, what are you doing?”

Claire’s face paled slightly, but she quickly feigned confusion. “Estelle, I don’t understand what you mean…”

“So, Miss Yeats, you mean you don’t know them?”

Putting on an innocent front, Claire shook her head. “Of course I don’t know them. What’s wrong with these people? Were they the ones who smashed your car?”

“Yes, they are,” Estelle said, picking up the photo with a light and breezy tone. “These people are at the police station. Since they’re all minors, their parents came as well. Faced with a massive compensation fee, their parents forced them to confess who put them up to it. And coincidentally enough…

“Over a dozen minors were interrogated separately, yet their conclusions were surprisingly consistent—”

Estelle paused, looking at her coolly. “Want to take a guess, Miss Yeats?”

Claire’s expression stiffened, a flicker of panic flashing through her eyes. “Estelle, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Evan was furious. “Enough, Estelle! Are you trying to drive Claire to her death?!”

Zion also looked at her with clear disapproval.

Estelle continued speaking at her own pace. Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but it was clear enough for everyone present to hear every single word. “They said a man named Charles Carter contacted them. This Charles Carter received a sum of money from Miss Yeats. He also happens to be Miss Yeats’ assistant… Miss Yeats, where is that assistant who’s always by your side?”

Right on cue, Liam Sloan brought forth the evidence, which included the surveillance footage of those minors smashing the car.

“Smash her car! That’s what she gets for bullying Claire!”

“Wouldn’t it be better if she just died outside? Why did she have to come back to the Yeats Family! What will happen to our Claire now?!”

“I don’t care! Claire is the true eldest daughter of the Yeats Family! Anyone who dares to return to the Yeats Family has to die!”

“Let’s smash the car and send her to her grave while we’re at it!”

“Damn it, she got away! I told you we should have used acid! How are we going to explain this to Claire now?”

…

The entire hall fell into a deathly silence!

The guests, who had originally just been watching the drama and listening to the gossip, grew solemn. They were both shocked and bewildered.

What was this?! Did they actually want to kill her? Was there any need for these minors to put on an act? It couldn’t possibly be that someone bribed them into saying Claire’s name while they were committing the crime and during their interrogation at the police station, right?