Chapter 253: Director Carson Is Willing to Tell the Truth

Chapter 253: Chapter 253: Director Carson Is Willing to Tell the Truth

"Remember now, Director Carson?" Estelle Lockwood asked with a smile.

Director Carson did more than just remember. Her face filled with terror as she stumbled backward, finally letting out a scream before whipping around to flee.

Estelle Lockwood gave a slight raise of her hand, and Luke White, who was guarding the door, blocked Director Carson’s path.

Estelle Lockwood beamed. "Director Carson, why are you running? I am, after all, a child you helped raise. I just came back to visit. What is there to be afraid of?"

The corners of Director Carson’s mouth trembled. "Estelle, Estelle, I don’t know! I really don’t know who your birth parents are! Back then... back when Chairman Lockwood brought you here, he warned me not to say anything. I didn’t dare cross him!"

Estelle Lockwood: "..."

’Did my simple probe just bait out her biggest secret?’

She hadn’t even said anything yet. She had only come to ask if Austin Lockwood had deliberately abandoned her at the orphanage.

She never expected Director Carson to blurt everything out, even revealing the most crucial point—

She was not Austin Lockwood’s daughter, and Director Carson didn’t know who her biological parents were.

Estelle Lockwood raised an eyebrow. "It seems you know quite a lot, Director Carson."

Director Carson suddenly realized what had happened, and her expression darkened. "You were tricking me—"

Estelle Lockwood shook her head. "It’s you who’s too nervous, Director Carson. I only suspected that Austin Lockwood abandoned me out of malice. I never expected you to be the one to tell me I’m not a biological daughter of the Lockwood Family."

Estelle Lockwood tilted her head. "Now this is very interesting. If I’m not Austin Lockwood’s biological daughter, why was I brought to this orphanage by him and Rose Lowell? Oh... don’t tell me they’re child traffickers?"

Director Carson was exasperated. "That’s not what I meant! Don’t talk nonsense!"

Estelle Lockwood gave a light smile. "Then what did you mean, Director Carson?"

The words caught in Director Carson’s throat. "I... What I mean is, you and Chairman Lockwood aren’t father and daughter. He brought you to the orphanage just because... because..."

Director Carson trailed off, unable to continue.

She stared at Estelle Lockwood with a mixture of terror and resentment, then suddenly seemed to find her courage. "I opened this orphanage and have saved thousands of children. I do good work! You have no right to interrogate me!"

Estelle Lockwood nodded calmly. "Yes, Director Carson, I don’t deny that you have indeed done good things. That’s why I’d rather not make a scene. I just want to know the truth about my birth, how I ended up with Austin Lockwood, and why he left me at this orphanage and swapped my identity with Noelle Lockwood."

"I... I..." Director Carson had taken money from Austin Lockwood and been threatened by him. Of course she didn’t dare to speak up. As the director of a small orphanage, how could she possibly contend with the chairman of the Lockwood Group?

Inside the orphanage, some of the older children were peering out curiously. When they saw Estelle Lockwood, they couldn’t help but stare.

One of the girls said in surprise, "Wow, it’s Estelle!"

Director Carson’s expression stiffened.

Estelle Lockwood was a little surprised. "You know me?"

The girl was about ten years old but very small for her age, a result of malnutrition. Even with donations from kind-hearted people, life at the orphanage couldn’t compare to having parents.

"Yeah! Didn’t Estelle donate a lot of our things? I saw you once, in secret."

Estelle Lockwood was taken aback. She had indeed donated supplies to this orphanage, but she preferred to remain anonymous, so she always sent her assistant. Only once had she come to visit in person. She never thought a child would have seen her.

Estelle Lockwood patted the girl’s head and said to Luke White, "Go ahead and bring the supplies in."

Only then did Director Carson notice that Estelle Lockwood had brought several truckloads of supplies with her.

A lawyer accompanying Luke White stepped forward. "Hello, Director Carson. Miss Estelle Lockwood wishes to donate twenty million to the orphanage. Do you have financial staff and legal counsel available to coordinate with me?"

Director Carson was stunned.

Estelle Lockwood had come to the orphanage with a black card and several truckloads of supplies.

Even the children were saying that Estelle had visited several times before and donated many things.

’That’s right,’ she thought. ’For years, the orphanage has had a mysterious benefactor. I always wanted to thank this mysterious woman, but I was told she was abroad, so I eventually gave up.’

Now, Estelle Lockwood...

’And wasn’t Estelle Lockwood abroad for the past few years?’

More and more children crowded around Estelle Lockwood, calling out "Sister! Sister!" without stopping. Estelle patted each of their heads in turn.

The supplies consisted mostly of items for girls, as there were far more girls than boys in the orphanage. Most of these girls had been deliberately abandoned—their families had wanted a son, and when a daughter was born, their only recourse was to secretly leave her at the orphanage gates one night.

Director Carson herself had been abandoned as a child. Her family had too many daughters and couldn’t afford to raise her, so they left her. She had vowed then that when she grew up, she would do everything in her power to give abandoned children like her a home.

’And Estelle... she wasn’t technically "abandoned," but what happened to her was far worse. Estelle was right—Austin Lockwood really had stolen someone else’s child!’

’She wanted to give every abandoned girl a home, but did that have to be built on the suffering of another?’

’Estelle didn’t even know who her parents were. She had only lived in the orphanage for six months, yet she had been donating consistently for years. She... she...’

For a moment, Director Carson was at a loss.

"Director Carson, the money Chairman Lockwood gave you back then... you didn’t spend it on yourself, did you?"

After the children had left, Estelle Lockwood said, "Over twenty years ago, Austin Lockwood gave you a substantial sum of money. Yet you’ve continued to live simply, while the orphanage buildings were renovated. You took that money for the orphanage."

Estelle Lockwood knew that any director who could care for so many orphans couldn’t be a bad person at heart. She said,

"I only want the truth from you. No matter how things escalate between me and Austin Lockwood after this, I promise I will not mention your name or this orphanage."

Director Carson sensed that something was wrong. "Estelle, what do you mean? What’s going on with Chairman Lockwood?"

Estelle Lockwood explained simply, "As Chairman Lockwood’s ’biological daughter,’ he wants to marry me off to the eldest son of Prince Avery from Britain."

Director Carson was stunned. "But... aren’t you already married?"

Estelle Lockwood said calmly, "I am. But Chairman Lockwood says that a child’s marriage is for the parents to decide. So what if I’m already married? I’m his daughter, so I have to obey him."

Director Carson was speechless. ’What kind of twisted situation is this!’

’She knew the secret. She knew Austin and Estelle weren’t father and daughter—that he had stolen this child from someone else. And now he was trying to force Estelle to marry the son of some prince?’

The more Director Carson thought about it, the more her conscience gnawed at her. "Estelle... Why don’t... why don’t you two come inside and sit for a while? I have something to show you."