Chapter 500: Estelle Beats Someone Up

Chapter 500: Chapter 500: Estelle Beats Someone Up

"I’d like to see what you use to compete with me!" she thought. "The championship will be mine, the Yeats family will be mine... and Nathaniel Sloan will definitely be mine too! Everything I want in this world belongs to me!"

Suddenly thinking of something else, Claire furrowed her brows slightly.

Back then, after finding Ember’s design drafts, she had looked into the matter and discovered that Ember was a fake identity. Going deeper, she hit a dead end, and rumors later surfaced that Ember had died after winning the championship.

When she first started impersonating Ember, she had indeed been worried. But after realizing no one was exposing her, she felt relieved. It seemed the real Ember really was dead. So what if she claimed to be Ember? Who could prove she was a fake?

The only problem was that when Claire found Ember’s drafts, there were only three designs included... Using one for this competition, what would she do later? How could just three drafts be enough?

She still had to collaborate with Aethel and Midnight Studio later. She wanted to make everyone envy her, but she only had three drafts...

Claire gritted her teeth.

Meanwhile, Estelle Lockwood returned to her room after receiving the competition prompt.

Her room was 1008, a mid-range suite of about sixty square meters, divided into an outer room and an inner bedroom. The inner room was for resting, while the outer room served as an office space.

Estelle first entered the bedroom to unpack her clothes for the next seven days. Just as she sat down to review the prompt, a rustling sound echoed outside her door.

She narrowed her eyes. The hotel rooms were spacious, with doors spaced seven or eight meters apart. Even if the designer next door had returned, they wouldn’t linger outside her door for so long...

BEEP.

Suddenly, the door was unlocked with a keycard.

Estelle’s heart skipped a beat. Her keycard was in her hand, which meant the person outside must have used a spare! However, the hotel wouldn’t hand out spare cards to just anyone, so...

"E-Estelle?" Benjamin Carter gulped.

Estelle narrowed her eyes.

Greed immediately surfaced in Benjamin’s gaze. He shut the door and spoke with a suggestive look on his face.

"So Miss Lockwood has been secretly admiring me. You should have said so earlier! If you had just told me directly instead of asking Miss Yeats to pass on the message, I would have come straight to you. Why go through all this trouble, hehe..."

Rubbing his hands together, Benjamin slowly approached, his tone vulgar. "Miss Lockwood, time is tight. Why don’t we do it right now..."

Estelle let out a cold chuckle. "Claire Yeats told you that I admire you?"

Benjamin’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he grew impatient. "There’s no need to be shy, Miss Lockwood. Miss Yeats already told me everything, hehe... It’s fine, don’t be embarrassed. I understand you.

"I know you don’t have a family background like Miss Yeats, so you could only admire me from afar. Don’t worry. If you get together with me, I guarantee you’ll advance to the next round..."

Estelle let out a genuine laugh.

"Claire merely said a few words, and you barged into my room without permission. Mr. Carter, you really don’t take the competition rules seriously, do you?"

Benjamin was already eager. "Estelle, I’m already here, so why are you still playing hard to get! Would Miss Yeats lie to me? Besides, she was doing this for your own good. Otherwise, an insignificant little designer like you could get eliminated at any moment. If you stay by my side, I guarantee you a life of luxury..."

"Did you hear that?" Estelle spoke to her phone. "Isn’t it hilarious?"

"Mhm..." A crisp, sophisticated male voice replied from the other end of the line, commenting, "A pathetic clown putting on a show."

"You..."

Benjamin suddenly realized what was happening, his expression changing drastically. "Estelle, you’re on the phone with someone?!"

Estelle nodded and said slowly, "That’s right. The competition rules don’t state that we can’t communicate with the outside world, do they?"

"Y-You..." Benjamin gnashed his teeth. "You clearly admire me, yet you dare insult me?!"

Estelle looked at Benjamin with a bright smile, her tone softening a fraction.

"Oh... I admire you, and then what? What exactly did you plan to do after listening to Claire’s words, Mr. Carter?"

Assuming Estelle was only on the phone with an unimportant friend, Benjamin noted her softened tone and couldn’t help but act high and mighty. "To give you a chance to serve me, of course!"

"Serve you, huh..." Estelle tilted her head and chuckled softly. "Alright, then could you please come over here, Mr. Carter?"

Back in her room, Claire received the surveillance footage of Benjamin entering Estelle’s room, making her tremble with excitement.

"This is perfect!" she thought. "With this video, I can manipulate public opinion into claiming that Estelle is seducing the judges!

"When should I release it?

"Not right now.

"I’ll wait until Estelle advances to the next round, and then use this video to completely destroy her. I’ll make her experience the feeling of plummeting from heaven straight to hell! Who asked her to compete with me anyway?!"

Meanwhile, in room 1008.

Estelle placed her phone face down on the edge of the bed. Smiling sweetly at Benjamin, she repeated, "Could you please come over here, Mr. Carter?"

Benjamin instantly assumed Estelle had compromised. He knew it—women like her couldn’t keep up the act after just a few words. Look at her now; she was practically begging to serve him.

With a smile, Estelle tilted her head and asked, "This hotel is owned by Chairman Carter, right? Then you must be very familiar with the hotel, Mr. Carter?"

"Of course," Benjamin boasted proudly.

"Oh..." Estelle nodded, her tone meaningful. "Then the soundproofing must be excellent, right?"

Feigning curiosity, she added, "After all, it’s a five-star hotel, quite famous in Crestfall. If we make too much noise in this room, it shouldn’t disturb the neighbors, right?"

Benjamin perked up immediately, his face lighting up with delight. "Of course not!"

He hadn’t expected Estelle to be so uninhibited. She really knew how to play!

"Estelle, as long as you serve me well and make me comfortable, I won’t treat you poorly... AARGH!"

A fist smashed heavily into his eye socket. Stumbling back a step, Benjamin crashed to the floor with a THUD, completely dazed. "You... ARGH!"

Before he could get past the first word, another fist slammed into him!

Estelle nodded with a smile, looking thoroughly pleased with Benjamin’s reaction. "It’s great that the soundproofing is good. I was worried poor soundproofing might affect my performance.

"To be honest, Mr. Carter... an overweight slob like you is simply no match for me."

"Y-You..." Benjamin was absolutely furious. He had actually been mocked by a woman! And a woman he fancied and thought he could toy with at will, no less!

"If you dare treat me like this, I’ll have you eliminated immediately!!!"

"Go right ahead." Estelle slowly pulled back her fist. Then, she raised her leg and delivered a vicious kick to his knee.

"But you’ll need to be alive to do that, Mr. Carter. Why don’t you focus on how you’re going to get out of here first?" Estelle continued in a leisurely tone. "Are you going to call someone to save you? Or are you going to beg me?

"If you call for help, how will you explain why you’re in my room? Tell them I seduced you? Well... I was just on the phone with someone, and pulling up the call recording won’t be difficult.

"You don’t want to lose face, do you, Mr. Carter? And you certainly don’t want to give up Claire’s name and let everyone know that she was the one who sent you here to bully me. That would be quite bad for Miss Yeats’ reputation."

Mr. Carter stiffened all over.

He realized she was right. If Estelle didn’t actually have feelings for him, then... then why did Claire say that?