Chapter 422: Chapter 422: The Three Little Ones Frustrate Mrs. York
Nathaniel nodded and gently pressed a kiss to her forehead.
Meanwhile, upstairs.
The three little ones had gathered for another meeting.
Master Mia looked grave. "The young master has the floor. Tell us what you discovered."
Christian cleared his throat. "I found out that Daddy’s date for the annual gala today is Thea, not Mommy."
Zachery, the cool kid, slammed a hand on the table. "Outrageous!"
Mia curled her lip, utterly speechless. "I told you to stop watching so many soap operas. Are you being dramatic again?"
Christian pursed his lips. "Thea bullied Mommy, and she bullied Scott York, too. I hate her. I don’t want her attending with Daddy. And... I heard Grandpa wants Daddy to marry her."
Zachery frowned. "But bigamy is a crime."
Mia stared at him. "Is it possible that Bad Grandpa wants Mommy and Daddy to get a divorce? Then it wouldn’t be bigamy."
Christian pursed his lips. He wondered if a divorce was really that simple. No, based on what he knew about Grandpa... Bad Grandpa, the man probably wanted Mommy dead. Even though Daddy would protect Mommy, Christian still felt terrible.
The three little ones huddled closer, like secret agents exchanging intel. "What do we do now?"
Mia propped up her chin. "I have a plan."
The other two looked at her.
"We’re going to the gala, too. Our status is special. Even if Bad Grandpa wants to go after Mommy, he can’t do anything to us right under everyone’s noses. As long as we stay in the public eye, he can’t hurt us.
"If we go, we can stand up for Mommy. I asked Mr. White and found out some insider information. Right now, Bad Grandpa probably thinks Mommy is dead. He’s going to make up a story about Mommy abandoning Daddy so that bad woman, Thea, can become our new mommy."
Zachery looked thoroughly disgusted. "No way. BLEGH!"
"Exactly, which is why we have to firmly oppose it!" Mia declared. "Come on, let’s discuss the plan!"
That afternoon, the gala began.
Almost all the shareholders, employees, and partners of Evernight International had arrived. Given the massive turnout, the event was split across several banquet halls, featuring both indoor and outdoor venues.
Employees from various departments alone occupied ten of the halls. Meanwhile, the exclusive banquet hall where Nathaniel Sloan was stationed only admitted shareholders, top executives, major partners, and the female relatives of prominent, wealthy families. Even with such strict screening, the sheer number of attendees was staggering. The hall was packed with hundreds of people.
Thea York had already received the news of Estelle’s "death." She hadn’t expected the obnoxious woman to die so easily and so quickly, but it was for the best. With Estelle dead, she had at least managed to leave with some dignity.
"Why isn’t Mr. Sloan here yet?"
"I’m not sure. But with his status, he’s bound to arrive a little late."
"By the way, do you know who his date is tonight?"
"Huh? It has to be Mrs. Sloan, obviously."
"But I heard some inside information that his date isn’t his wife this time... Miss York, do you happen to know?"
The gala hadn’t officially started yet, and chatter buzzed through the crowd.
Thea’s throat tightened, and she gritted her teeth, thinking, "Who says it’s Estelle? It’s clearly me!"
She had wanted to show off and spread the word much earlier, hoping Nathaniel would announce to everyone in advance that she was his date. However, Ethan Sloan had stopped her. He had insisted that, according to the plan, she needed to be given a legitimate status first. Right now, in everyone’s eyes, Estelle Lockwood was still Nathaniel’s wife. Thea needed to act innocent to garner sympathy so that she wouldn’t end up labeled as "the mistress" like her mother.
Forcing a stiff smile, Thea replied, "I’m not sure... It should be Estelle."
The guests didn’t push the issue. "I figured as much. For a gala like this, who else would Mr. Sloan bring if not Mrs. Sloan?"
"Exactly. They’re such a loving couple."
"I heard Mr. Sloan’s three little ones are here, too. I caught a glimpse of them from afar just now. They’re adorable."
And what were those three little ones doing at that very moment? They were innocently charming the adult guests.
"Thank you both! I love it." Christian held up a small shell, beaming with joy. The little master of innocence truly lived up to his reputation; within five minutes, he had captured the hearts of everyone around him.
"Mommy used to buy me a lot of these, too!"
"And Daddy hugs me every day!"
"Daddy even bought Mommy a gown and a necklace. Mommy said she’s going to wear them today!"
"That’s right, my daddy and mommy are so in love. Yep! I hope your son and daughter-in-law will love each other just as much as my daddy and mommy do, sir!"
His sweet talk had everyone bursting into laughter.
A few of Evernight’s shareholders couldn’t resist pinching Christian’s chubby cheeks. "Young master, where are your daddy and mommy? Why did they let you come over all by yourself?"
Christian blinked innocently. Before he could even reply, Mrs. York, unable to hold back any longer, interjected, "Isn’t this Christian? Oh my, are you waiting for Estelle? She isn’t coming. How about Grandma York takes you to find Thea?" She let out a heavy sigh. "Christian, I don’t mean to scold you, but today is the annual gala. What’s a little kid like you doing here? Estelle is really something else. Alright, alright, come on. Thea won’t make things difficult for you kids."
Mrs. York had been listening to Christian show off Nathaniel and Estelle’s "deep love" for the past few minutes, and she was so furious she could have exploded. She scoffed inwardly at the mention of their deep love; the only person Nathaniel loved now was her daughter! She was itching to let the whole world know that her daughter was the real Mrs. Sloan and that her daughter’s future children would be the true heirs. These three brats would soon be absolute nobodies.
The shareholders were speechless. They wondered what on earth Mrs. York meant by that.
Mia curled her lip. No wonder the young master had chosen this exact spot to act cute. He knew Mrs. York was here. It turned out she really was just as stupid as he had claimed.
Half an hour ago, Christian had said, "Since Bad Grandpa and that bad lady’s plan is to drag Mommy’s name through the mud so she can take Mommy’s place, we can drag her name through the mud, too! We’re children, Mia. When kids say things, people just write it off as childish innocence."
And that led to the current scene. Sure enough, after hearing Christian boast about his parents’ love, Mrs. York couldn’t hold back.
Christian feigned a look of utter confusion. "Grandma York, what are you talking about? My mommy is already on her way. Why wouldn’t she be able to come?"
Zachery puffed out his cheeks angrily. "Yeah! Mommy prepared so much especially for this gala. Just because you say she can’t come, that means she can’t? Are you her mother?"
Mrs. York choked on her words.
Before she could even swallow her anger, Mia bit her lip, looking incredibly pitiful. "Grandma York, why are you scolding us? Daddy brought us here. He said it’s our own company’s gala, so we should come play and broaden our horizons. Is... is that not allowed either?"
As the only girl among the three little ones, Mia had been heavily influenced by Christian’s masterful innocent act. She played the helpless victim naturally and effortlessly. Tears welled up in her eyes, and her rosy little face instantly turned deathly pale. She twisted her fingers together, looking so pathetic that the shareholders couldn’t help but glare sideways at Mrs. York.
One of them spoke up sharply, "Mrs. York, you have no right to say such things."