Chapter 421: Chapter 421: Troubling Mrs. Sloan for a Repeat Performance
Ethan Sloan watched the assistant’s enigmatic expression and grew impatient. "Instead of what? If you have something to say, spit it out."
The assistant hesitated and glanced at Laura Jennings. "Well..."
Ethan and Laura had long been in the same boat. As for affection—he had indeed loved her many years ago. But after Miranda Lancaster’s death, the unattainable first love had lost her luster, becoming as mundane as plain rice. Besides, Laura was vulgar and unreasonable; Ethan had grown sick of her a long time ago.
However, their shared son, Theodore Lancaster, was the pride and joy of them both. Nowadays, there was truly nothing Ethan felt the need to hide from Laura.
The assistant nodded. "Chairman Sloan, what I mean is, if Estelle Lockwood is alive, she will severely impact our plans. But what if she..."
He dropped the heavy words with profound implication, "...were dead?"
Ethan’s heart skipped a beat, and Laura’s eyes darted around. Neither of them spoke.
Finally, Ethan feigned composure. "Ahem, that doesn’t seem right. It’s just a small matter; there’s no need to resort to murder."
The assistant sneered inwardly. The two of them were utterly ruthless—would they really care about a single human life? Not to mention Ethan, just look at Laura. Five years ago... no, it had been six years now. To help Noelle Lockwood secure her position, hadn’t Laura conspired with Noelle to burn Estelle and her child to death?
What was the point of pretending to be kind and magnanimous now?
But the assistant couldn’t be bothered with that at the moment. He only needed to complete the task assigned by Mr. Sloan and Miss Lockwood.
"Chairman Sloan, those destined for greatness don’t sweat the small stuff. Furthermore, Estelle has already offended the two of you on multiple occasions. And Young Mr. Lancaster is also... paying close attention to her. This woman absolutely cannot be allowed to stay."
Hearing Theodore’s name, Laura instantly grew anxious and dropped the act entirely. "What? That bitch is trying to seduce Theodore too!"
The assistant chuckled softly. "Chairman Sloan, think about it. The Yeats Family doesn’t care about her, and now Mr. Sloan doesn’t either. Even though she still has the Kendrick Family backing her, I doubt they’d be able to find out anything. Going against us would bring them no benefit.
"No one will stick their neck out to avenge Estelle’s death. It’s best if she dies. If she lives, it will only mean endless trouble.
"Even though we’ve come up with a legitimate excuse, no one can guarantee what the consequences will be if Estelle really crashes the venue and makes a scene.
"What do you say, Chairman Sloan?"
With that, the assistant stopped talking. He only needed to guide the conversation. He knew that given Ethan’s cautious nature, he would agree.
Back then, Ethan had been ruthless enough to act against the woman who shared his bed, sending her to her maker with a bowl of almond milk. Would he really care about Estelle’s life?
Thus, Ethan barely had to think about it. Without the Yeats Family and Nathaniel Sloan, Estelle was just an easy target.
Ethan put on a straight, self-righteous face. "I need you to handle something.
"I’m entrusting this to you and you alone. You absolutely must not tell anyone else."
Imperial Crest.
Estelle cupped her chin in her hands. "Ethan has decided to make a move?"
Nathaniel hummed softly. "Yes."
"Alright." Estelle stood up, ready to go pack her things. "Then tell that assistant of yours to come and ’kidnap’ me. I’m ready."
Nathaniel paused for a moment. Then, he asked helplessly, "We’re just putting on a show for Ethan. Where exactly are you planning to be kidnapped to?"
Estelle froze. "You mean... I just need to stay at Imperial Crest?"
"The servants here have all been given time off, and the perimeter is surrounded by my men. The entire Imperial Crest is as airtight as a fortress. No one will find any trace of you.
"If you don’t show your face in public, who’s to say whether you’re at home or have been kidnapped?"
Nathaniel lowered his eyes, his fingertips gently brushing past Estelle’s eyelashes. "So, where were you planning to go?"
Estelle blinked and spoke honestly. "A kidnapping... I should at least show Ethan my ’miserable state’ so he knows I’ve been abducted and am now ’dead.’ Usually, the locations for kidnappings are abandoned warehouses or garages, right?"
Nathaniel laughed silently. "Watch fewer soap operas."
Estelle was speechless.
"I would never bear to let you suffer in some abandoned warehouse, Mrs. Sloan. Just stay home and be good."
Estelle tilted her head. "Then how are you going to tell Ethan that I’m dead?"
Nathaniel’s eyes held a smile. "Well... would Mrs. Sloan mind putting on one more performance?"
Five minutes later, having learned of the plan, Estelle nodded. "I really should have majored in acting."
The night before the annual gala.
Ethan’s assistant returned and delivered a few simple words: "Chairman Sloan, it’s done."
Ethan felt a sense of unreality. "It’s done?"
"Yes, Chairman Sloan. I fed Estelle the medicine with my own hands. Rest assured, no one will be able to trace it." The assistant added meaningfully, "After all, it’s the medicine that person gave you. Although I don’t know its exact effects, by the time I left, Estelle had indeed fallen unconscious."
Ethan had given the assistant a pill, claiming it was from ’that person.’ The assistant’s continued presence by Ethan’s side was, in fact, an order from Nathaniel to investigate the strange anomalies surrounding Ethan. ’That person’ was the very clue the assistant had uncovered.
However, the assistant had yet to figure out who that person actually was. Ethan was extremely cautious when it came to them.
A day prior, Ethan had brought this pill, saying it was colorless and odorless. A day after ingestion, the victim would be bedridden, eventually appearing to die of sudden cardiac arrest. No one would be able to detect anything amiss.
The assistant had even filmed a video. Sure enough, after he forcefully shoved the pill down Estelle’s throat, she grew dizzy and soon passed out.
Ethan’s mind was instantly put at ease.
The assistant had been with him for many years, and every task he handled was executed flawlessly. This time was no exception. Besides, Estelle’s appearance in the video was truly symptomatic of poisoning. Since she was in a coma, she should never wake up again.
With everything accomplished, Ethan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t expected everything to go so smoothly... Had it been a little too smooth?
Still, there was nothing noticeably strange about the situation, so Ethan brushed off his concerns.
The next day, 11:00 AM.
The annual gala was scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM and wouldn’t end until 10:00 PM.
As a ’dead person,’ Estelle couldn’t appear at the venue, but Nathaniel still had to attend.
"Nathaniel, let’s head inside together later." Thea York couldn’t resist calling him, unable to suppress her desire to show off to the world. "Let’s wait until everyone has arrived before we go in. Nathaniel, okay?"
Once everyone was there, she would make her entrance arm-in-arm with Nathaniel for all to see.
Nathaniel pushed down the impatience in his eyes. He said a few words and hung up the phone. Seeing Estelle munching on an apple, he raised an eyebrow. "Mrs. Sloan certainly seems relaxed."
Estelle rested her chin on her hand. "Ethan bought it, and Thea bought it... Today’s annual gala should be very interesting.
"Alright, you go on ahead!"