Chapter 517: Leaving a Sliver of Breathing Room

Chapter 517: Chapter 517: Leaving a Sliver of Breathing Room

Old Mrs. Yeats immediately roared, "Exactly! Zion, you cannot be soft-hearted! Yes, Estelle suffered a bit of grievance, but it wasn’t Claire’s fault. Why must she target Claire instead of Liza Shelby or Benjamin Carter?

"Claire is carrying the Yeats Group’s partnerships, an investment of a full six billion! If something happens to Claire, what will happen to the Yeats Group’s partnerships?! I think that little bitch did it on purpose!"

Claire hastily said, "Estelle didn’t know about the Yeats Group’s partnerships before, which is why she was so willful. Uncle Yeats, if you tell Estelle the severity of the matter, I believe she will also consider the big picture."

Zion’s expression constantly changed.

He also felt bad for Estelle, but Claire was right. They couldn’t ruin Claire’s reputation now...

Although it was a live broadcast and public opinion was very unfavorable to the Yeats family, partners only cared about keeping up appearances.

As long as the ultimate blame for this incident didn’t fall on Claire, her name could always be cleared later on. That was what the partners were looking at.

Then, as long as... as long as Estelle could forgive her... As long as Estelle said she had made a mistake and it was all just a joke between sisters...

Zion finally made up his mind. "Have Estelle come over."

In another lounge.

Nathaniel Sloan took off his mask. "I never knew the Yeats family was this shameless."

Estelle remained calm. "Well, now you know."

Nathaniel’s eyes held a smile. "It’s just that it seems to me Mrs. Sloan doesn’t intend to finish Claire off in one blow. You’re leaving her a little room to breathe?"

Estelle looked over and blinked. "Yes. Struggling prey is much more fun. What’s the point if they die all at once?"

Nathaniel’s fingertips paused. "You mean?"

Estelle smiled brightly. "Claire is... carrying a lot of partnerships, isn’t she?

"Zion probably thinks I don’t know about the existence of those partnerships. So, in a little while, he’ll definitely come looking for me. He’ll use the ’big picture’ as an excuse to make me forgive Claire, and what I want is also for the Yeats family’s partnerships to continue."

Nathaniel nodded. "I will help you. The Aethel Group will continue to cooperate with Claire for Ember’s sake, but if Claire fails to win the championship this time, Aethel will withdraw its investment."

Estelle shook her head. "Simply withdrawing the investment won’t shake the Yeats Group’s foundation. I want them to increase their investment."

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow.

Estelle said, "I want the Yeats Group to increase their investment and for Claire to win the championship—no matter who the real champion is, the final champion will be Claire, because the Yeats family cannot accept the outcome of her not winning. Therefore, they will definitely do everything in their power.

"When the Yeats family is at their happiest, at their most glorious moment, what if it’s exposed that... not only is Claire not the champion, but she’s not even Ember?

"How much will they have to pay in compensation then? Once the Yeats family has no money and no capital, the resistance to the things I want to investigate will naturally lessen. Old Mr. Yeats, who has been staying in Capital City, will also likely return to Crestfall to meet with me." Her eyes held a smile as she spoke.

Nathaniel chuckled softly. "Alright."

Sure enough, an assistant knocked on the door. "Miss Lockwood, Old Mr. Yeats would like you to come over."

Estelle replied carelessly, "I’m discussing matters with Mr. Lynch and don’t have the time. If Old Mr. Yeats insists on seeing me, have them come here."

Two minutes later, in the Yeats family’s lounge, Old Mrs. Yeats flew into a rage. "What does she mean by that?! That little bitch! She dares to refuse when told to come over?! We are all her elders, yet she expects us to go to her? Why doesn’t she just drop dead!"

Zion knitted his brows. "Mom, Estelle has suffered a grievance too. Please don’t say such things. If I have to go over, I’ll go over."

"No!" Old Mrs. Yeats stood up abruptly, ready to accompany him. "We’ll all go! You have a soft ear; who knows, you might believe whatever that little bitch says! What will happen to our Claire then?!"

The group hurried toward Estelle’s lounge.

As they walked, Old Mrs. Yeats continued to curse. "That little bitch! If I had known, I would have killed her back then! Then she wouldn’t be here to bring disaster to the Yeats family now! Our Claire has been covered in dirty water, and she actually has the nerve to put on airs—"

"I thought Old Mr. Yeats had a guilty conscience and couldn’t wait to see me, but it turns out you’re here to scold me," Estelle interrupted with a smile.

The lounge door was pushed open. Estelle and Mr. Lynch were sitting across from each other at the tea table. Upon hearing the commotion, Mr. Lynch also turned to look.

Old Mrs. Yeats choked on her words. The color drained from her face, leaving her expression extremely twisted.

Right now, Claire’s reputation was tarnished, and the Yeats Group’s biggest partner was Mr. Lynch. She couldn’t say anything to cause a misunderstanding with him at a time like this.

"Estelle, Mom didn’t mean that. She’s just a little agitated..." Zion explained, at a loss for what to do.

"Oh? And so?" Estelle raised an eyebrow. "Is there something you need?"

Zion was dissatisfied with Estelle’s attitude. They were her elders; how could she act like this? Even if the Yeats family had caused her some grievance, they were family after all. Whatever issues she had should be discussed back home. How could she give them attitude in front of an outsider?

"Estelle..." Zion subconsciously glanced at Mr. Lynch. "Could we ask Mr. Lynch to leave for a few minutes?"

Nathaniel stood up unhurriedly. "I can."

Zion breathed a sigh of relief. "That would be gr—"

"I’ll be right outside. Call me if you need anything," Nathaniel interrupted, looking at Estelle. "There are also bodyguards at the door. You are my partner and a contestant; we won’t let you get hurt."

Estelle curled her lips into a smile. "Alright. I’ll make sure to shout loudly if anything happens."

Zion’s expression froze before indignation surged in his heart.

Estelle and Mr. Lynch... What did they take him for?!

How could he possibly hit Estelle? Did they really need bodyguards?!

After Nathaniel left, Zion pursed his lips. Urged on by Evan and Old Mrs. Yeats, he took a step forward, but the words were stuck in his throat, seemingly impossible to voice.

After hesitating for a long moment and meeting Claire’s reddened eyes, Zion finally hardened his heart.

"Estelle, Claire is at fault for this incident, but she didn’t mean to harm you! She was truly deceived by Benjamin Carter’s facade! She just trusted Benjamin too much, which is why she believed his words and thought you two were friends...

"She insisted on eliminating you because she was afraid you had gone down the wrong path. In short, her original intentions were for your own good. Yet now, because of you, she has become the main culprit and is being condemned by everyone..."

Zion swallowed hard. Looking at Estelle’s half-smiling, mocking face, he only felt a chill in his heart. He couldn’t help but lower his voice, his gaze shifting guiltily.

"So, so we were thinking... when the time comes, let’s just have Claire apologize to you and leave it at that. Please don’t pursue the matter any further. Then, you can post on Weibo saying that this was just a little joke between sisters, that she didn’t do it on purpose... and that everything is Benjamin Carter’s fault..."