Chapter 92: Acquiring Lockwood Group for His Wife

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Acquiring Lockwood Group for His Wife

The caller was his younger brother, Laura Jennings’s other son. The two were neither close nor distant. He was currently in charge of acquiring shares in the Lockwood Group.

"Was he calling because the acquisition of the Lockwood Group isn’t going smoothly?" Nathaniel wondered.

Nathaniel Sloan answered the call and heard Liam Sloan say, "Hey, I have a friend who’s also interested in the Lockwood Group. Do you have time to drop by?"

Nathaniel frowned upon hearing this.

"Someone else has their eyes on the Lockwood Group?" he mused. "Who would even want a company like that? What terrible taste."

On the other side, Liam hung up the phone and turned back to Estelle Lockwood. "I’m sorry, Miss Lockwood. My brother set his sights on the Lockwood Group a long time ago. Why don’t you two discuss it once he gets here?"

Estelle was curious. Who else would want to buy shares in the Lockwood Group?

The company had been on a steady decline for years and was practically run into the ground. Her only reason for acquiring it was to make life miserable for the Lockwoods. Yet, someone else had beaten her to the punch.

It wasn’t that she was looking down on anyone, but for someone to actually be interested in a hollow shell of a company like the Lockwood Group... that person either had a screw loose or completely terrible taste.

After Nathaniel hung up, Zane Grant asked, "You’re acquiring the Lockwood Group?"

"Yes."

"Why? The Lockwood Group isn’t worth it."

Nathaniel paused as he got into the car. "The Lockwood Group originally belonged to Estelle," he said flatly.

Just because it originally belonged to Estelle, he was buying it.

Zane choked on his words. He supposed that made sense... It was intolerable for his wife’s belongings to fall into Noelle Lockwood’s hands. Even if Nathaniel bought the company just to let it collect dust, he couldn’t let anyone else have it.

But what was going through the head of the woman on the other end of the line who also wanted to buy it?

"By the way, are you just going to let this paternity test issue slide?" Zane asked, feeling a knot in his chest when he recalled the Sloans’ attitude earlier. A biological grandmother doubting her own grandson and cursing her deceased daughter-in-law? What kind of nonsense was that?

Nathaniel’s expression was calm, but his eyes were piercingly cold. "Of course I won’t just let it slide."

Zane opened his mouth, wanting to ask what Nathaniel planned to do next. But on second thought, Christian was the person Nathaniel cared about the most. Now that Christian’s identity had been questioned, Laura Jennings—the biological mother he already had little affection for—probably wouldn’t fare well.

Ignoring the mess left in the villa, Nathaniel drove toward his destination.

Azure River Law Firm.

Estelle had returned to the country specifically to take revenge on the Lockwood Group, and acquiring its shares had long been part of her plan. She just hadn’t expected to hit a roadblock at the final step.

The young man in front of her was Liam Sloan. He seemed a bit unreliable on the outside, but he was actually a lawyer. Back when Estelle was still abroad, she had crossed paths with him over an infringement case and lent him a hand. She never expected to run into him here after returning to the country.

Liam still owed her a favor and felt quite embarrassed. "Don’t worry, Yara. When my brother gets here, I’ll do my best to mediate. I won’t let you get the short end of the stick!"

Estelle’s lips twitched uncontrollably. "If you don’t mind me asking... why does your brother want to acquire the Lockwood Group?"

Liam also knew that while the Lockwood Group looked glamorous on the surface, it had rotted to the core a long time ago. Even if someone took over, they’d just be inheriting a massive mess. He rubbed his nose. "You wouldn’t know this, but my brother is buying it for my sister-in-law."

Estelle was taken aback. "Your sister-in-law?"

Liam really didn’t want to admit that his brother was hopelessly lovesick, so he put it tactfully. "Yeah. It was actually my sister-in-law who set her sights on the Lockwood Group, so my brother decided to buy it without a second word. Nobody could talk him out of it!"

So that was it... That made things complicated.

A deeply devoted man would naturally do anything to satisfy his wife’s wishes. Not to mention, based on what Mia had said, Estelle figured this CEO certainly wasn’t short on cash. Under these circumstances, how was she supposed to get her hands on the Lockwood Group?

While Estelle was deep in thought, Liam seemed to have become addicted to the topic, practically itching to share every detail of his brother and sister-in-law’s epic romance.

"I’ve actually never met my sister-in-law, but since my brother is so deeply devoted to her, she must be a real beauty! I heard that back when he wanted to marry her, he went against everyone’s objections and even had a huge falling-out with his mother!"

Estelle’s mind was racing as she tried to figure out how to negotiate later, paying almost no attention to what Liam was saying. "How touching," she replied perfunctorily.

"Right? You think it’s touching too, don’t you! I heard my sister-in-law came from a poor background, and back then, aside from my grandfather and aunt, nobody else approved. But my brother said she was the only woman he would ever marry in this lifetime!"

Estelle chimed in, humoring him, "Mhm. An epic romance."

Right then, footsteps approached from outside the door. Immersed in their own worlds, neither of them heard a thing.

Liam had talked until his mouth was dry. Suddenly, he remembered that when he first met Yara, she had two little kids with her. A business partner had told him that although Yara was married, her husband was total scum, and it was very hard on her to raise the children all by herself.

At this thought, Liam felt he was being far too insensitive! Miss Lockwood was trapped in an unhappy marriage, yet here he was, endlessly praising his brother and sister-in-law’s epic romance. He couldn’t do this; he needed to be considerate of Yara’s feelings.

So, Liam asked, "Miss Lockwood, how are things with your husband? Have you divorced him yet?"

Estelle’s train of thought derailed. Seemingly confused, she asked, "Hmm?"

"I know you married the wrong man, Miss Lockwood, and that your scumbag husband abandoned his wife and children. If you ever need help, you can come to me. I’m an expert at divorce lawsuits!

"Men these days are terrible. We absolutely cannot let that scumbag gain a single advantage!"

Estelle paused in peeling her orange. "You’re an expert at divorce lawsuits?"

"That’s right!" Liam’s eyes lit up. "I’ve fought all kinds of divorce cases! Don’t be afraid, Miss Lockwood. When facing a scumbag, you have to bravely say ’no’ and bravely get a divorce!"

Liam shifted into work mode in a split second, pulling out a pen and paper. He even started using formal honorifics. "You can explain the situation in detail: the date of your marriage, and the man’s contributions toward your pregnancy, childbirth, and raising the children. I need to keep a detailed record on my end."

Estelle was stunned.

Seeing her stay silent, anger surged in Liam’s heart. "Were there no contributions at all? Miss Lockwood, your husband is truly a monster! He ignored you while you were pregnant, showed zero interest after the children were born, and hasn’t even paid basic child support! I really want to ruin a scumbag like that and destroy his reputa—"

CLICK.

Right at that moment, someone grabbed the door handle.

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow. The amusement in his eyes vanished completely as he cast a meaningful glance at the law firm’s nameplate.

"Liam, you’ve really outdone yourself," he thought.

Nathaniel pushed the door open.

Liam was just getting fired up when he suddenly heard a click. He turned his head and immediately said, "Miss Lockwood, my brother is here. Nathaniel! I’m advising Miss Lockwood to get a divorce. Her husband is practically dead weight. Don’t you think she should divorce him—"

Before he could finish speaking, Estelle had already looked up, coming face-to-face with Nathaniel as he walked through the door.

The air seemed to freeze, and Estelle’s expression instantly stiffened.

"Wait... the ’brother’ Liam was talking about is actually Nathaniel?!" she realized.