Chapter 491: The Head of the Judging Panel Has Arrived

Chapter 491: Chapter 491: The Head of the Judging Panel Has Arrived

As Estelle’s words faded, a heavy silence fell over the surroundings. Zion Yeats held his breath.

He raised his voice, almost instinctively. "Estelle, what nonsense are you talking about?! We were completely devastated when Eleanor left the family. We sent people to look for her for a long time, but she never returned. Is that the Yeats family’s fault?!"

Estelle looked at him and chuckled softly before slowly shaking her head.

"I simply meant that I don’t want to return to the Yeats family. I have no desire to fight Miss Claire for the title of the ’Eldest Miss of the Yeats Family’, so being targeted by her assistant for absolutely no reason makes me quite innocent in all this. After all, this was nothing more than an unprovoked disaster for me.

"On that note, I naturally thought of my mother. After all, she was all alone in the Yeats family, too... Ah, by ’all alone’, I mean that both her biological parents had passed away. I’m not saying that the Yeats didn’t care about her.

"So there’s really no need for you to be so agitated. You see, your agitation might actually cause others to misunderstand. Don’t you agree, Old Mr. Yeats?" Estelle said sincerely, tilting her head.

Only then did Zion notice the expressions on the faces of those around them, and he choked on his words.

For years, a large part of the Yeats family’s stellar reputation stemmed from the fact that they had raised Eleanor. Eleanor was not Old Mr. Yeats’s biological daughter; she was the daughter of his younger brother. Old Mr. Yeats had declared that since his brother had passed away, his niece could not be left without someone to raise her. Therefore, he had brought Eleanor up as his very own.

At the time, many praised the Yeats family for their conscience and moral integrity. But what if Eleanor hadn’t actually been treated like a "biological daughter"? Where would the family’s dignity be then?

Zion let out two awkward chuckles and then shook his head. "Estelle, you’ve misunderstood. The way we treated Eleanor..."

"What are you talking about? I didn’t overthink anything, so how could there be a misunderstanding? Ah, so even you think I should misunderstand the situation! In that case, it seems I really should let myself misunderstand for a bit," Estelle said, feigning sudden realization.

Zion choked again.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "Estelle, the matter regarding Eleanor can’t be explained clearly in a few words. I know the Yeats family has disappointed you. Rest assured, I will severely punish that assistant for what happened today and give you justice! You are a child of our Yeats family, so please don’t say such things anymore!"

Nathaniel asked calmly, "Does that mean Old Mr. Yeats is acknowledging Estelle’s identity?"

"Naturally..."

Nathaniel nodded. "And what about Claire?"

Zion furrowed his brows. "Of course, she is also a part of our Yeats family..."

"But between two young ladies of the Yeats family, there must be a distinction in hierarchy. It’s not as if Estelle wanted to return to the Yeats family. The family begged her repeatedly and even brought up her late mother before she finally agreed to acknowledge her relatives. Yet, after returning to the Yeats family, incidents have happened again and again, all of which are tied to this Miss Claire, who was merely fostered by the family.

"Old Mr. Yeats, what do you have to say to that?" Nathaniel said methodically, letting out a light scoff.

Claire gritted her teeth fiercely.

Zion’s face burned with embarrassment. "These are all family matters. Why must we discuss them in front of outsiders..."

"Hmm? Is there something here that can’t be said? They say dirty laundry shouldn’t be aired in public, but this isn’t dirty laundry, so why can’t we talk about it? Old Mr. Yeats, aren’t you happy to have found your niece, your sister’s daughter?" Liam asked, feigning confusion.

"I..."

"Since it’s not dirty laundry, what’s wrong with airing it? Or do you think that even if Estelle returns to the Yeats family, she still has to walk on eggshells around Claire, bowing and scraping to her? Does she have to endure being framed, scapegoated, and even having hitmen hired to kill her?

"Wow, if that’s the case, Brother, it’s not like you can’t afford to provide for Estelle. Let’s just forget about it. She’s better off without these so-called relatives," Liam continued.

Nathaniel chuckled softly.

Zion’s face turned completely purple with suppressed rage.

Claire clenched her fists. She knew that Old Mr. Yeats and Evan would definitely choose her over Estelle. However, she absolutely couldn’t say that here!

Desperate to change the subject, Claire interjected, "Estelle, I know my place..."

"Forget it," Estelle said leisurely, cutting her off. "Nathaniel, Liam, let’s not make things difficult for Old Mr. Yeats. It doesn’t matter much to me anyway. After all, I grew up without my parents, so I’ve long been used to it."

Claire was rendered speechless.

Zion also felt a breath lodge in his throat, unable to go up or down. He wanted to speak, but anything he said would sound purely hypocritical. People would just point out that the Yeats family was bullying Estelle precisely because she was an orphan.

If they couldn’t bear to let go of Claire, they shouldn’t have sought out Estelle in the first place. Retrieving Estelle was merely a pretext to bring up Eleanor’s name again, proving to the world how kind the Yeats family was for raising her with such deep affection. Finding Estelle was supposed to showcase how much the Yeats family valued blood ties.

Yet, after bringing her back, they turned a blind eye to this fake heiress... Even if Claire wasn’t technically a fake heiress, she had barely any blood ties to the Yeats family and was only fostered by them. It was one thing for her to parade around as the true heiress, but she was going out of her way to target Estelle at every turn. Didn’t the Yeats family bring Estelle back just for the sake of a good reputation?

If they wanted a good reputation, why would they allow the fake heiress to constantly harm the real one? Estelle had almost lost her life today!

Zion remained silent, his face twisted in a contorted grimace.

Estelle’s lips curled up in a slow smile. She took a light sip of her tea and tilted her head. "Old Mr. Yeats, please, let’s eat."

"Right, right, right, hurry up and eat," Liam chimed in. "Otherwise, Miss Yeats might suffer from a stomachache again."

Claire and Zion were both left utterly speechless. It truly seemed that anything they said would be wrong! They had no choice but to suffer through the meal in stifling silence.

Liam continuously shot Estelle meaningful glances, silently asking why she wasn’t bringing up the design competition like she had planned.

Estelle’s lips curled into a faint smile. She knew she didn’t need to speak up, as Claire would say it herself.

Sure enough, Claire put down her chopsticks and spoke in a gentle, soft tone. "Uncle Yeats, Evan, Ms. Foster from the XM Design Competition is in the area. I’d like to arrange a meeting with her, so why don’t I take my leave first? You all can stay and catch up with Estelle."

A design competition?

Evan’s eyes darted around thoughtfully. "Why don’t we invite Ms. Foster over here? I know of her. She is a very renowned senior designer."

Claire replied shyly, "Yes, Ms. Foster is on the international judging panel. She’s been building her career overseas all these years. She mentioned that she discovered a highly talented designer back here, which is why she returned to the country. After that, she reached out to meet with me..."

Zion exclaimed in sheer excitement, "Claire, that highly talented designer Ms. Foster was talking about must be you!"

Claire feigned ignorance. "Oh? Really?"

Evan was equally thrilled. "Of course! You were the champion of the previous design competition, after all! If Ms. Foster didn’t come back for you, who else could it be?" he added, heavily emphasizing the word ’champion’.

A moment later, Claire checked her phone and said, "Ms. Foster agreed. Shall we invite her here to Veridian Retreat to meet?"

She had lost face here today and allowed these guests to treat her like a joke. Now, she was going to make sure they got a good look at her true status and prestige!