Chapter 266: The Past! Stripping Away Austin Lockwood’s Hypocritical Facade

Chapter 266: Chapter 266: The Past! Stripping Away Austin Lockwood’s Hypocritical Facade

Nathaniel Sloan casually asked, "Does Chairman Lockwood remember now?"

Austin Lockwood realized how ghastly he looked and hastily gritted his teeth. "No, no! I don’t! I don’t know this woman!"

Nathaniel Sloan feigned helplessness. "It seems Chairman Lockwood’s memory isn’t the best. In that case, why don’t I jog it for you? Twenty-seven years ago, after you married Rose Lowell, you took a trip to Stratusburg. There, you met a young woman who made a living weaving bamboo."

"Shut up!!" Austin Lockwood roared, his eyes burning with rage. "Nathaniel Sloan, shut your mouth!"

Nathaniel Sloan gripped Austin Lockwood’s hand, instantly immobilizing him. Yet, Nathaniel seemed to do so effortlessly, his expression remaining perfectly composed.

"You hid the fact that you were married, pretending to be single. You made her fall in love with you and then deceived her with a fake marriage and a fraudulent certificate."

"However, that so-called marriage certificate was a fake you had a friend forge. The girl became pregnant, believing she had found her forever home with you. But unfortunately for her, you, Chairman Lockwood, are nothing but a monster in human clothing, and you quickly grew tired of her."

"But she was pregnant, so what was to be done? Her doctor said she had a delicate condition and that an abortion could very well kill them both. Not wanting to cause a scene, you simply packed up and left."

"The girl only had her grandfather to depend on. When he learned what had happened, he was determined to seek justice for her. An old man from a rural village who had never set foot in a city, he borrowed money from his neighbors, and after a week of travel by train, he arrived in Crestfall and found you—the then-chairman of the Lockwood Group."

With every word Nathaniel Sloan spoke, Austin Lockwood’s face grew a shade paler.

"N-Nathaniel Sloan, you’re lying... You’re lying!"

"If I’m lying, then what is Chairman Lockwood so panicked about? Even if I were just telling a story, what of it?"

Nathaniel continued, unhurried. "In Stratusburg, you put on an act, and the girl’s grandfather thought you were a good man. But in Crestfall, you wore a look of arrogance and disgust, telling your subordinate, ’I don’t know where this old man came from trying to run a scam. Tell him to get lost.’"

"The girl’s grandfather stood outside the Lockwood Group, saying you had married his granddaughter and demanding that you take responsibility. And what did you and Rose Lowell do?"

At the mention of her name, all the color drained from Rose Lowell’s face.

Online, some people were starting to recall the incident, and others had even found old newspaper articles about it.

[I remember this, it was about twenty-six years ago... There really was an old man who caused a scene at the Lockwood Group entrance, saying Austin Lockwood had wronged his granddaughter. Rose Lowell was furious at the time and started screaming that the old man’s granddaughter was the mistress, that the mistress deserved to be struck by lightning, and that both of them should just go die.]

[A lot of people back then thought Rose Lowell did the right thing... My mom witnessed it herself, and she said that looking at the old man, she didn’t get the feeling his granddaughter was the mistress.]

[But based on what Mr. Sloan is saying... the girl had no idea Austin Lockwood was married when they were together! He was the one who lied to her! She was the one who was wronged and deceived. How could Austin Lockwood do something like that?!]

[So what happened to the old man in the end?]

Rose Lowell trembled all over. "You, you..."

Nathaniel Sloan said slowly, "In the end, the girl never saw her grandfather again. Because he died in Crestfall."

A chill ran down everyone’s spine.

The disfigured woman’s eyes were ice-cold, like an avenger returned from hell, and she stared death at Rose Lowell.

Rose Lowell shrieked, "AHHHH!"

Austin Lockwood, however, was slightly more composed. "I don’t know! We don’t know anything about this!"

Nathaniel Sloan scoffed. "The old man died in Crestfall from a ’sudden heart attack.’ But the girl said her grandfather was in excellent health and had no history of heart disease. So how could he have a ’sudden heart attack’? And if his body was never found, why was the cause of death determined to be a ’sudden heart attack’?"

Nathaniel enunciated each word. "I’m very curious, Chairman Lockwood. Tell me."

Austin Lockwood staggered back half a step. "Shut up, shut up! Bodyguards?! Nathaniel Sloan, for the sake of the many years you and Noelle were childhood sweethearts, I—"

However, not a single bodyguard appeared.

Austin Lockwood’s voice caught in his throat. A vague sense of foreboding washed over him.

Nathaniel Sloan ignored him. "After the old man’s death, you happened to learn that the girl, overcome with grief, had prematurely given birth to a daughter. Around that same time, Rose Lowell delivered a stillborn baby. You—"

A ghost of a smile played on Nathaniel’s lips. "Under arrangements made by Old Mr. Lockwood, you brought the girl’s daughter back. After all, in your and Old Mr. Lockwood’s eyes, whether the girl and her grandfather lived or died was irrelevant. But this daughter, she was of the Lockwood bloodline. She had to be brought back and raised."

"But if the truth were to ever come out, it would be difficult to explain things to Rose Lowell, and you’d be saddled with the reputation of an adulterer. So, you brought this girl home under the guise of an adopted daughter."

Nathaniel Sloan spun around abruptly. "Am I right, Noelle Lockwood?"

Noelle Lockwood’s entire body went rigid.

She forced a strained smile. "Nathaniel... I don’t understand..."

"You don’t understand?" Nathaniel Sloan slowly raised an eyebrow, then turned to the disfigured woman. "Ms. Hale, why don’t you tell her?"

The woman bowed slightly to Nathaniel Sloan, then looked at Noelle Lockwood.

The sight of that ugly face, disfigured by fire, made Noelle Lockwood scream uncontrollably.

The woman watched Noelle Lockwood with a placid expression.

Her name was Phoebe Hale—a decidedly common and plain name. She had been born in a place that prized sons over daughters and was abandoned by her birth parents, only to be found by her grandfather. She had a loving grandfather, and so she grew up safe and happy until she was twenty.

When she was twenty, she met Austin Lockwood. The man was full of lies, but she didn’t see it. She ’married’ him, became pregnant, and was about to give birth when she learned the truth—

Austin Lockwood was not some down-on-his-luck young man; he was the Chairman of the Lockwood Group and already had a wife. His mouth was full of lies, and every sweet word he’d spoken had been a deception. Phoebe Hale wanted to just leave, but her doctor informed her that her weak constitution made childbirth dangerous.

By then, the baby was too far along. If she induced labor to terminate the pregnancy, she would certainly die. If she carried the baby to term, she might have a slim chance of survival.

But the medical costs were astronomical. Her health was failing, and she grew weaker by the day. Her grandfather, wanting to seek justice for her, went to Crestfall but never returned.

She barely survived giving birth. Then, Austin Lockwood appeared. He took the child and told Phoebe Hale to keep her mouth shut.

Twenty years later, Phoebe Hale learned that her child was Noelle Lockwood.

The memory of her grandfather’s fate fueled her desire for revenge. She investigated on her own, tracking down leads and witnesses, and after much difficulty, she finally gathered evidence. That was when Noelle Lockwood appeared.

Noelle Lockwood pretended to have just learned the truth. She showered Phoebe with concern, called her "Mom," and won her trust.

Then, she set a fire and burned all the evidence. Phoebe rushed into the flames to save it, but the blaze was too intense, and the proof was lost.

When she tried to escape the inferno, she found that Noelle Lockwood had locked the door.

Noelle Lockwood’s mocking, cold voice rang out from beyond the door.

"What kind of trash thinks she can be my mother? You want revenge? It’s not the first time I’ve set a fire, anyway. Just die in there! It’s what you get for being clueless enough to interfere with my life!"