Chapter 169: Taking Estelle Lockwood’s Seat
Chapter 169: Chapter 169: Taking Estelle Lockwood’s Seat
Thea York spoke up, her tone as casual as if she were making small talk. "Those people who stage accidents to scam others are just awful. They really need to be punished severely!"
"But thankfully, the man didn’t succeed with his scam. A silver lining, I suppose."
Estelle Lockwood’s eyebrow twitched. She had a feeling she knew what Thea York was about to say.
Sure enough, Thea York brought up the staged accident in front of Nathaniel Sloan. "Back then, everyone around was blaming Miss Lockwood. I mean, honestly, couldn’t they see she was the one being scammed?"
Nathaniel Sloan asked Estelle Lockwood, "Are you alright?"
Estelle Lockwood shook her head, but Thea York had already jumped in with a smile. "Of course she’s fine! I just happened to be filming a video and caught the old man’s whole act on camera. Otherwise, even if he didn’t manage to extort any money from Miss Lockwood, she’d probably be mired in trouble."
Nathaniel Sloan paused, his voice laced with meaning. "Is that so."
Thea York laughed sweetly. "Those kinds of scammers are the worst. Once they latch onto you, you can’t shake them off. And if someone had posted it online, it would have turned into a whole media circus. It’s a good thing I was passing by right then."
Estelle Lockwood propped her chin on her hand, her eyes glinting thoughtfully.
’Why does it feel like Thea York is deliberately making the ’scam’ sound so serious,’ Estelle thought, ’just to highlight her own contribution in ’helping’ me?’
Estelle Lockwood smiled. "Miss York is right. The way he pulled off that scam, he was so smooth... I’m afraid it wasn’t his first time. We should call the police. After all, Miss York has the video on her phone, and there were surveillance cameras in that area. It shouldn’t be hard to find this old scammer."
Thea York’s smile stiffened, but she quickly recovered, biting her lip slightly. "But these things are hard to prove. Even if we call the police, it probably won’t do much good."
Estelle Lockwood feigned surprise. "How could that be? Miss York, perhaps you’ve been abroad too long and aren’t familiar with how things are here now? When someone tries to scam you, you call the police. As for determining guilt or pressing charges, that’s the police’s job."
"For regular people like us, when we run into trouble, calling the police is the right thing to do. Liam, you’re a lawyer. What do you think?"
Liam Sloan sensed something was off about what Thea York had said.
But he didn’t want to think the worst of Thea York, so he just told the truth. "Yeah, Thea, you should definitely report this to the police. If it goes to court, I’ll for sure help out."
Thea York’s grip on her chopsticks tightened.
She feigned hesitation. "But... Miss Lockwood didn’t actually lose anything, after all. If we call the police and file a lawsuit over something like this, wouldn’t it seem a bit... a bit merciless?"
"How could it be?"
Estelle Lockwood’s lips curled into a slow smile. "Miss York, you said it yourself. That man was so practiced at his scam, he must be a pro. Which means I’m definitely not his only victim."
"I may not have suffered any losses, but there’s no guarantee others haven’t. Calling the police is the right thing to do. It’s a public service, getting rid of a menace. Don’t you agree?"
"It seems Miss York is a bit reluctant to call the police..." Estelle Lockwood’s smile widened. "Why is that, I wonder? Could it be that the old scammer has some connection to you, Miss York?"
Thea York’s throat tightened.
She quickly blinked in feigned surprise. "Of course not! I’m just worried people might think Miss Lockwood isn’t very forgiving."
Estelle Lockwood withdrew her gaze. "Then you don’t need to worry about that. Nathaniel, call the police."
Thea York clenched her fists out of sight, but kept a smile on her face. "Alright. At least this will keep them from hurting anyone else."
The topic was dropped like a brief interlude, and Thea York went back to smiling and reminiscing with everyone.
Just then, there was another knock on the villa door, and a man’s voice drifted in. "Nathaniel, is Thea with you?"
Zane Grant recognized the voice. It was a good friend from their old circle. "It’s Julian Jacobs. Didn’t expect him to show up. He’s certainly well-informed."
Nathaniel Sloan raised a slight eyebrow, letting Ms. Riddle get the door.
Estelle Lockwood sensed there was more to this and wracked her brain, trying to remember who Julian Jacobs was. After a moment, she dredged up the information from some forgotten corner of her memory.
Around the time she and Nathaniel Sloan got married, Julian Jacobs had already seemed to fall out of touch with Nathaniel. But he had never been willing to give up the benefits that came with the title of ’Nathaniel Sloan’s friend.’
Julian Jacobs strode in, making himself right at home. "Thea, you’re finally back! Nathaniel, long time no see. Don’t mind if I crash dinner, do you?"
Imperial Crest was exceptionally lively tonight, like a reunion of old friends.
Nathaniel Sloan didn’t answer. Julian Jacobs had already rushed inside and scurried over to Thea York’s side.
With an extra person, there was now a shortage of seats. Estelle Lockwood stood up to take a phone call, leaving her chair vacant.
However, no sooner had she returned than Julian Jacobs plopped himself down in her seat and waved a hand dismissively. "Let’s eat! Hey, you, the maid, come serve us. What are you standing there gawking for?"
The dinner table fell silent.
Nathaniel Sloan said calmly, "Ms. Riddle, please add another chair next to Miss York."
"Yes, of course, sir."
Ms. Riddle quickly brought over an empty chair. Nathaniel Sloan looked at Julian Jacobs. "That’s not your seat."
Julian Jacobs didn’t move. He frowned, looking completely unconcerned. "Who else is coming? Is someone else supposed to be here? So what if I sit here? Whoever comes late can just sit somewhere else."
Nathaniel Sloan’s eyes darkened, but Estelle Lockwood was already smiling. "Young Mr. Jacobs, have you ever been to an eye doctor?"
She continued leisurely, "I’m standing right here, yet Young Mr. Jacobs can’t see me. If that isn’t a problem with your eyes, what is?"
From the moment he walked in, this Julian Jacobs had been pointedly ignoring her. It wasn’t as if Estelle Lockwood couldn’t see the blatant antagonism in his eyes.
Only then did Julian Jacobs turn his head, scowling. "I’m talking to Nathaniel. What’s a little maid like you interrupting for?"
Estelle Lockwood arched an eyebrow and looked at Nathaniel Sloan with a grin. "I’m a maid?"
Nathaniel Sloan coolly lifted his gaze. "If I’m not mistaken, you’ve met Estelle before. If your memory is really that bad, you should see a doctor."
Julian Jacobs choked, about to roar in fury.
Thea York bit her lip, her expression still the picture of innocence. "Julian, you must be mistaken. This is Nathaniel’s wife."
Julian Jacobs showed no remorse on his face. "Is that right? Oh. Well, just find another seat, then. Everyone’s already settled. It makes no sense for all of us to get up and rearrange ourselves just for you."
"Besides, we’re the guests. Since you’re the hostess, shouldn’t you be taking care of us? What’s wrong with me sitting here?"
After speaking, Julian Jacobs shot a playful wink at Thea York. "Thea, let’s just eat. Don’t worry about it. Today is all about you!"
"Ms. Riddle, see our guest out," Nathaniel Sloan suddenly set down his chopsticks and spoke calmly.
Thea York’s expression froze. "Nathaniel, don’t be like that. I know it was wrong of Julian to take Miss Lockwood’s seat. How about this? I’ll give my seat to Miss Lockwood, and I’ll go sit somewhere else."
She said this with a look of someone being wronged but willing to compromise, making to stand up, but Julian Jacobs grabbed her and pulled her back down.