Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Their Only Photo Together, Torn
Nathaniel Sloan’s gaze was cold. "What are you trying to say?"
Noelle Lockwood bit her lip and called out softly, "Nathaniel."
Nathaniel’s gaze snapped toward her.
Back when Estelle Lockwood was still alive, Noelle had always addressed him with that same familiar intimacy. He was only willing to look out for Noelle because she was Estelle’s younger sister.
Noelle’s breathing hitched nervously as she cautiously brought up Estelle. "Nathaniel, ever since Yara arrived, you’ve paid so much attention to her. What about my sister? Have you forgotten Estelle?
"Yara is obviously a fake, yet she stays by your side using my sister’s face... Mrs. Sloan noticed this too, which is why she doesn’t feel safe leaving Christian with her.
"After all, Christian is my sister’s biological son. Who knows if Dr. Lockwood might use him for her own gain?"
Nathaniel’s eyes were dark and aloof, sending a chill of fear through Noelle’s heart.
After a long while, the man’s hoarse voice finally sounded. "You’re absolutely right."
Joy bloomed in Noelle’s chest. It seemed Nathaniel had listened to her. As long as she could drive Yara away—
"But my mother clearly came targeting Yara today," Nathaniel continued, his tone calm and unruffled. "She had never met Yara before this. How did she know Yara was deliberately imitating Estelle?
"Besides, when Estelle was alive, my mother never liked her. Why would she suddenly start demanding justice for Estelle five years after her death? You know better than I do who she was truly standing up for, Noelle."
The man’s words drained the color from Noelle’s face. "Nathaniel, do you suspect I purposely spoke ill of Dr. Lockwood in front of Mrs. Sloan? I didn’t..."
"Your feud with Yara is your own business. But using my hands to drive away someone you hate... Noelle, you’ve crossed the line."
Nathaniel brushed past her and instructed indifferently, "Mr. Chapman, see our guest out."
Looking as though she had suffered a massive grievance, Noelle burst into tears and ran out.
That night.
Estelle waited until the three little ones were asleep before having Henry Kendrick deliver the paper shredder to her door.
Henry lingered outside Imperial Crest, sneaking around like a thief. "I came all the way here to deliver this to you in the middle of the night. Do I get a reward?"
Estelle rolled her eyes at him. "I told you to have a driver drop it off, but you insisted on coming yourself."
Henry rubbed his nose. "No way. I have to personally take care of your things, otherwise my parents will scold me to death. Hey, don’t you think sneaking around outside Imperial Crest to meet in the dead of night feels a bit like we’re having an aff—Ow!"
Estelle smacked him directly on the back of the head. "If you don’t know how to speak properly, shut up. Give me the shredder."
Henry rubbed his forehead, suddenly looking worried. "Are you really... going to shred that photo?"
When Old Mr. Kendrick first saved Estelle, she had been in terrible shape. If it weren’t for her two children, she likely wouldn’t have survived.
Once, Henry had found a photo on her phone.
That was the first time Henry saw the face of that heartless scumbag, Nathaniel. Estelle had told him it was their only photo together.
Estelle frowned, not understanding what Henry was getting at. "What else? Why would I ask you to buy a paper shredder if I wasn’t going to shred the photo? Do I look like I have too much free time?"
Henry immediately relaxed. That made sense; she definitely had no lingering feelings for her ex-husband!
After saying goodbye to Henry, Estelle carried the shredder upstairs.
Everyone else in the villa was asleep. She made her way to Nathaniel’s study unimpeded and began to search.
She wondered, "That’s strange... where is the photo? It’s just an ordinary photo. Could it be in a locked drawer? That seems unnecessary."
Compelled by some inexplicable instinct, an idea popped into her head. Could the photo be in there? After all, the future matriarch of the Sloan family would be Noelle. Keeping a photo of his ex-wife lying around wouldn’t look good, so locking it in a safe made perfect sense.
But the password... Estelle tried Nathaniel’s birthday, but it was incorrect. In a flash of inspiration, she entered Noelle’s birthday.
CLICK. The safe opened, and sure enough, the photo lay inside.
She thought, "How deeply devoted. He even uses Noelle’s birthday for his safe."
Estelle turned on the paper shredder and expressionlessly fed the photo into it. Two seconds later, it was reduced to a pile of paper dust.
From then on, the very last photo left in the world belonging to the Estelle from five years ago completely ceased to exist.
In an excellent mood, Estelle left the shredder at the scene of the crime. Not caring at all what expression Nathaniel would make when he saw it, she turned and went upstairs.
At midnight.
Nathaniel jolted awake from a nightmare, the heavy weight of the terror leaving him breathless.
He subconsciously reached out to touch the space beside him on the bed. It was empty.
In truth, during the two years he had been married to Estelle, he hadn’t come home very often. But even when she was the only one in the house, she would only sleep on the left side of the bed, leaving the right side for him.
Over the past five years, Nathaniel had also exclusively slept on the right side, hoping that the moment he woke up, he would see Estelle sleeping peacefully beside him.
But his hopes were always dashed.
An immense sense of loss overwhelmed his heart. Nathaniel abruptly got up to look for that photo.
However, their one and only photo together was currently lying in the paper shredder, shredded into dust.
BANG! Estelle was startled awake by a loud crash. She sat up in bed, barely having time to react. "Who—Urgh! Nathaniel! Go see a doctor if you’re sick! What kind of crazy stunt are you pulling in the middle of the night?"
The man’s tall frame rigidly pinned her down. His strong, powerful fingers clamped around her throat, cutting off her oxygen.
"Yara, where is the photo?"
Estelle met the man’s bloodshot eyes, her sleepiness instantly dissipating.
She immediately understood. Oh... Nathaniel had found out.
Estelle tilted her head back slightly, entirely unafraid. "In the shredder... Ugh! Let go!"
Nathaniel tightened his grip, suppressing his fury. "You destroyed the photo?"
Estelle couldn’t understand what Nathaniel was so angry about. Wasn’t he hiding that photo just so Noelle wouldn’t find it? Wasn’t it better now that she had destroyed it?
Estelle raised her hand and shoved Nathaniel away. Turning the tables, she tapped her fingertips against the man’s Adam’s apple.
"That’s right, I did it. What’s wrong? Are you going to settle the score with me, Mr. Sloan?" Estelle let out a soft sigh. "You can’t blame me for this. You were the one who favored Mrs. Sloan and allowed Mia to suffer such a massive grievance. Since you couldn’t bear to make your mother apologize, you have to sacrifice something else, don’t you?
"It’s just a destroyed photo. Why do you look like you want to eat me alive, Mr. Sloan?"
To her, it was just a destroyed photo... Nathaniel abruptly closed his eyes.
For the past five years, Estelle had never visited his dreams. Aside from Christian, she had left absolutely nothing behind.
Imperial Crest was the only place that held traces of her life, so he had carefully preserved it.
She hadn’t liked taking pictures in the past. Whether it was group shots or solo portraits, that was the only photo left of her...
But now it was gone.
Nathaniel suddenly realized that he had truly lost Estelle.