Chapter 34: Chapter 34: "Mommy, Daddy’s Here to See You!
But Austin Lockwood’s expression only darkened for a split second before quickly returning to its usual refined demeanor. "You must be joking, Miss Yara. The daughter I’m referring to is, of course, Noelle. Estelle has already passed away."
Estelle nodded. "Oh, then President Lockwood treats Noelle quite well. After all, you didn’t go around warning others for Estelle’s sake back then."
Austin sighed. "There’s something you don’t know, Miss Lockwood. Having Noelle marry Nathaniel was actually entirely Estelle’s idea."
Estelle thought with a sneer, "My idea? Even in death, I’m being thoroughly exploited by the Lockwood family."
"Estelle’s idea?" she said aloud. "If you put it that way, President Lockwood must have cared about her quite a bit."
Austin chuckled and nodded. "Of course."
Estelle gave him a meaningful look. "But why did I hear that Estelle was actually President Lockwood’s biological daughter? Since you cared so much, why is Noelle the only Lockwood family heiress now?"
Outside the door, the nurses also glanced over in curiosity.
Austin showed not a hint of embarrassment at being exposed, remaining as suave and polite as ever. "Estelle was indeed our biological daughter. However, after coming back from the countryside, she suffered from an inferiority complex and acted timidly. She didn’t want to go public, so we could only respect her wishes."
Estelle’s eyes gradually grew cold.
She knew Rose Lowell looked down on her, so when Rose wanted her dead, she hadn’t felt much emotional turbulence. But Austin had always maintained the image of a loving father, and she had once genuinely respected and loved him.
It was only later that she realized they were just playing good cop, bad cop, finding every possible way to suppress her. In their hearts, there was only Noelle. They had even single-handedly orchestrated the death of their own biological daughter.
Looking entirely sanctimonious, Austin continued, "Miss Lockwood, please understand the painstaking efforts of a father, and stay away from my daughter’s husband.
"Otherwise, with so many people in the hospital today, if everyone finds out that Miss Lockwood is seducing a married man, it won’t look good for you, will it?"
Estelle scoffed. "Are you threatening me?"
"How can you call it a threat? I’m merely reminding Miss Lockwood to have some shame and not spend all day pestering—"
"Mommy, Daddy is here to see you!" Mia suddenly called out in a sweet voice, cutting Austin off.
Daddy?
Everyone froze in surprise.
Just moments ago, President Lockwood was claiming that Yara was a mistress. Yet now, Yara’s daughter had brought her "Daddy" over. What was going on?
Estelle instinctively looked up. When she saw the person approaching, she raised an eyebrow.
Jasper Kingston was holding a child in each hand, wearing a helpless smile.
Mia ran over. "Mommy, who is this gentleman? What was he just saying to you? Is he bullying you?"
Before Austin could even react, Mia began to sniffle. "WAAAH! Daddy, I told you to come earlier! Look, Mommy is being bullied!"
Jasper smiled and shook his head at Estelle, making a "shh" gesture. He then stepped forward and asked gently, "Yara, has your fever gone down? Are you still feeling unwell?"
Estelle blinked, immediately catching on.
Her two darlings must have seen Austin giving her a hard time, insisting on pinning the label of "mistress" on her. So, they simply dragged Jasper into putting on a show to humiliate Austin.
Estelle’s cheeks turned deathly pale, making her look incredibly fragile. "I wasn’t feeling unwell a moment ago, but then President Lockwood barged in out of nowhere and accused me of stealing his daughter’s husband. Now I’m feeling a bit sick."
Hearing this, Jasper frowned. "President Lockwood, I must ask you to leave."
Austin furrowed his brows, utterly confused about the current situation. His face darkened as he spoke coldly. "Miss Lockwood, I’m just warning you to stay away from Nathaniel—"
"WAAAH, you’re going too far! We already have a daddy, so why are you slandering Mommy? Just because you’re old, unreasonable, and throwing your weight around, does that mean you can slander people however you please?" Mia’s eyes welled with tears.
Zachery also nodded. "Our daddy is tall, handsome, dashing, and the absolute epitome of elegance! How could Mommy possibly be interested in anyone else? Sir, even if you want to slander someone, could you at least come up with a better excuse?"
The surrounding bystanders quickly extracted the key information from the two children’s words.
"So she already has a family with kids! Then what is President Lockwood going crazy about? He sounded so righteous just now, I actually thought Yara was someone’s mistress..."
"It’s probably because Nathaniel Sloan hasn’t shown any interest in Noelle for all these years, so President Lockwood is getting desperate."
"Even if he’s desperate, he can’t just go around slandering people! Miss Yara is still sick. Isn’t this just causing trouble?"
"Have you guys seen the news? On one side, Noelle Lockwood publicly abused Young Mr. Sloan, and over here, President Lockwood is threatening the family doctor. Damn, this Lockwood family is rotten to the core."
Soon, the medical staff arrived. "President Lockwood, if you don’t leave right now, we’re calling the police."
"This is a hospital, not a place for you to throw your weight around!"
It was Austin’s first time being pointed at and scolded like this. His expression shifted rapidly as he shot a venomous glare at Estelle.
Very well. He would remember this woman!
After Austin left in disgrace, the crowd of onlookers also dispersed.
Only then did Jasper offer a gentle apology. "Miss Lockwood, we were acting in a moment of desperation just now. I hope we didn’t offend you."
Right at that moment, Zachery’s phone went BEEP BEEP. It was a message from Christian.
His eyes lit up. The scumbag daddy was coming?!
Perfect. He was going to teach the scumbag daddy a good lesson and show him what it meant to grovel to win his wife back!
Zachery cleared his throat. "AHEM. Mommy, you can’t blame Uncle Kingston. I was the one who begged him for help. Uncle Kingston is gentle and kind; you can tell at a glance that he’s a good person. I really want a daddy like him."
Mia thought, "You little idiot, your acting is too fake!"
Pinching his throat to sound perfectly innocent, Zachery said, "Uncle Kingston, I like you so much. Can you be my godfather?"
Jasper had originally come to visit Estelle today. He hadn’t expected to be dragged away by these two children the moment he stepped upstairs to pose as their "Daddy."
And their mommy just happened to be Estelle...
Jasper smiled warmly. "I certainly don’t mind, but that would depend on what your mommy thinks."
Zachery immediately cheered. "Uncle Kingston, you’re so nice! You’re just like our real dad. The grass on our biological dad’s grave is already taller than Mia, so I’ll just call you Daddy from now on!"
As Nathaniel Sloan walked up to the outside of the ward, this was the exact sentence he heard.
It was the exact same thing Zachery Lockwood had said to him just a few days ago. Even his tone hadn’t changed.
Nathaniel scoffed inwardly. Was this little brat going around claiming everyone as his father?
Mia felt the air suddenly turn quiet. Something seemed off, but Zachery was already continuing his speech.
"Uncle Kingston, you’re the most reliable one. Sigh, if only Mommy had met you sooner. With you around, who would even spare a glance at Uncle Sloan, that cheating, womanizing, two-timing scum—"
Before he could finish, the ward door was pushed open.
Zachery’s words came to a grinding halt as if he were being choked.
Nathaniel’s already sour mood darkened even further.
His gaze swept over Estelle’s porcelain-white face, and the corners of his lips suddenly curled into a smile.
"It seems I’ve come at a bad time?"