Chapter 280: Nathaniel Sloan Knew All Along

Chapter 280: Chapter 280: Nathaniel Sloan Knew All Along

Of course, Nathaniel Sloan’s surname was Sloan. What else could it be?

He had nothing to hide, so Nathaniel Sloan nodded again.

The color instantly drained from Scott York’s face, and his eyes welled up with tears of grievance.

Estelle Lockwood: "...?"

She instinctively glanced at Nathaniel Sloan, her eyes clearly asking, ’You didn’t bully him, did you?’

Nathaniel Sloan: "..."

Mr. Sloan felt terribly wronged. This was, in all honesty, the first time he had ever met Scott York.

The three children immediately rushed over to comfort him, and Scott York told his friends the truth.

"My nanny said... my daddy and mommy got into a car accident because they offended someone named Sloan."

’Offended someone named Sloan?’

Young Mr. York and his wife had died five years ago, passing away in a car accident not long after Scott York was born.

And the nanny said it was because they had offended someone named Sloan.

In Crestfall, the surname Sloan, combined with the word ’offended’... no matter how one thought about it, it had to be the Sloan family.

But when had Young Mr. York ever offended the Sloan family? And why would offending them lead to death?

Who in the Sloan family had he offended?

Suddenly, Nathaniel Sloan’s eyes narrowed as someone abruptly came to mind.

「The two-day autumn trip passed quickly, and on Sunday afternoon, they began the journey home.」

After dropping the three children off at home, Estelle Lockwood sensed that Nathaniel Sloan was deep in thought and asked, "What’s on your mind?"

"I’m thinking about the person Scott York mentioned."

Nathaniel Sloan traced a pattern on the tabletop with his finger. His eyes narrowed, and a cold glint flashed from behind his gold-rimmed glasses.

Estelle rested her chin on her hand. "Named Sloan... Was it your father, or Old Mr. Sloan?"

Nathaniel Sloan raised an eyebrow. "Who uses their real name when they’re up to no good? When Young Mr. York died, Stella York and the original Mrs. York refused to believe it was an accident. They hired countless lawyers and had the police investigate over and over, but they never found anything conclusive."

"The original Mrs. York later died, unable to move past her grief, but Stella York never stopped investigating. Still, she found nothing."

Estelle Lockwood understood. "Even Scott York knows his father offended someone named Sloan. If the nanny said it, Stella York must know as well. It’s just that—no one fits the description."

Nathaniel Sloan’s tone was full of meaning. "Correct. Publicly, no one in the Sloan family had any dealings with Young Mr. York."

Because of Laura Jennings and Ethan Sloan’s relationship, the Sloan family had always been close to Mrs. York and Thea York, so they naturally had no contact with the branch of the family from the first wife.

But Young Mr. York wasn’t completely powerless. How could it be that he would die just for offending someone? Therefore, the person he offended must have been powerful and influential... Named Sloan. Who could it be?

"Theodore Lancaster."

Nathaniel Sloan suddenly uttered a name.

Estelle Lockwood froze for two seconds, then her eyes shot wide open.

’That’s right. Who ever said Theodore Lancaster’s surname wasn’t Sloan?!’

The Sloan family claimed Theodore Lancaster was the son of Ethan Sloan and Miranda Lancaster, which meant he was a Sloan too!

But why would Young Mr. York die for offending Theodore Lancaster? Could it be that his status got in Theodore’s way? Yet Theodore was the Sloan family’s "legitimate son," his situation practically a mirror image of Young Mr. York’s.

Both of their fathers had remarried the mistress, both had an "illegitimate son" at home, and both of them, the "legitimate sons," had to fight tooth and nail to secure power.

Logically, Young Mr. York should have been the one person Theodore could relate to the most. So why would he be offended?

Unless...

Estelle Lockwood stared intently at Nathaniel Sloan. "Unless Theodore Lancaster isn’t Miranda Lancaster’s son at all."

She paused, then uttered two words that would stun anyone: "You are."

It was as if time and space had frozen.

In that moment, the world fell silent. It was as if Estelle had revealed such an earth-shattering secret that the very air stilled in shock.

After a long moment, Nathaniel Sloan turned, a smile in his eyes.

His tone was calm, as if discussing something no more significant than whether one had eaten. "Yes. Mrs. Sloan is very perceptive."

Just like that, he admitted it with utter calm.

There was no dramatic outburst of emotion, no talk of the years of silent endurance, and no shock at how Estelle had guessed.

Nathaniel Sloan simply smiled and shook his head. "I hadn’t planned on telling you so soon."

Estelle pursed her lips. "...How long have you known?"

Nathaniel Sloan adjusted his glasses. "I became suspicious at ten, started looking for evidence at thirteen, and confirmed it at eighteen."

In other words, ten years ago.

’Why was he certain ten years ago? Did something big happen?’

A spark of insight suddenly flashed in Estelle’s mind. "Ten years ago, you inherited the charity foundation and the codename ’Mr. Lynch.’"

Nathaniel Sloan’s lips curled. "Yes. The previous Mr. Lynch left me a letter. It was a rather special letter, one whose contents probably only I could decipher."

Estelle was surprised, then a thought struck her. "A code?"

"Yes, the letter contained a code. To be precise, it wasn’t a letter. It was the charity foundation’s financial records from twenty years ago."

"It detailed the financials for the five-year period between twenty and twenty-five years ago. Mr. Lynch specified that it must be delivered to me, the new Mr. Lynch. It passed through countless hands during that time, but no one ever discovered the secret hidden within."

Estelle blinked. "So... what was it?"

Nathaniel Sloan nodded. "When I was a child, I had a certain book."

Estelle blinked. "What kind of book? A picture book? A bedtime story? The Sloan family actually bought you books?"

’If Nathaniel’s identity and Theodore’s were swapped, then Laura Jennings would be Theodore’s biological mother, and Nathaniel would be the son of the first wife.’

’Would a mistress like Laura Jennings have taken good care of the first wife’s son? If Nathaniel hadn’t seized control of the Sloan Group with an iron fist, he probably would’ve been... long ago.’

’So how did Nathaniel have books back then? With Laura Jennings’s personality, she would have wished to raise him into a useless failure. Would she really have given him books to read?’

Nathaniel Sloan: "..."

Nathaniel Sloan formed a loose fist and coughed into it, steering away from the topic. "Anyway, there was this book. I suddenly remembered that many years ago, when I was a child, someone taught me a type of code..."

Estelle paused, one eyebrow raised in amusement. Her interest was piqued. "Mr. Sloan, don’t change the subject. What book was it? Tell me."

Nathaniel Sloan knew he couldn’t hide it from Estelle. He pressed his temples in weary resignation.

"That person left the book for me. When I was a child, Miranda Lancaster hadn’t passed away yet. She had been abandoned by the Lancaster family and had nowhere else to go, so she had to remain at the Sloan residence. She could only watch as Ethan Sloan and that mistress of his, Laura Jennings, were sickeningly affectionate with each other, while she herself was confined to her sickbed."

Nathaniel Sloan skipped over the book’s title. "Back then, Laura Jennings would lock me in my room. Occasionally, someone would talk to me through the door. I had seen that person before. It was Miranda Lancaster."

"One day, it was storming—raining and thundering. I was..." Nathaniel paused. "I was only four or five, and I suppose I was scared. So, she came to me."