Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Make the Scum Dad Face the Wife-Chasing Crematorium
Nathaniel’s voice was hoarse. "Dr. Lockwood, you destroyed her only photo. Tell me, how should I punish you?"
Estelle’s smile grew even more radiant as she raised an eyebrow. "The only photo? Oh... no wonder Mr. Sloan is going crazy in the middle of the night. But you can’t pin this on me. Who would have thought that after two years of marriage, you and your ex-wife would only have one photo together?"
Under the dim light, the faces of Yara and Estelle seemed to overlap.
"How did you crack the safe’s password?" Nathaniel asked hoarsely.
Estelle furrowed her brows slightly. Was he sick in the head? He was actually still trying to test her?
"You set the safe’s password to Noelle’s birthday. I guessed it on the first try."
Nathaniel’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his breathing heavy with deep suppression. Looking at her face, he instinctively explained, "That’s not Noelle’s birthday..."
That was Estelle’s birthday. Estelle was the true daughter of the Lockwood family. That birthday was originally hers.
"Why are you explaining this to me?" Estelle suddenly felt a surge of irritation. Things seemed to be gradually spiraling out of control. She stood up abruptly, leaning in close to Nathaniel. Every word she spoke was like a knife stabbing into his heart.
"Are you trying to say it’s your ex-wife’s birthday? But every year on July 16th, the only person who celebrates a birthday is Noelle."
The day she was born wasn’t her birthday. Did the Lockwood family even remember that it was her birthday too? Had they ever thrown a birthday party for her? When it came to July 16th, everyone would just assume it was Noelle’s birthday. To tell her now that it was her birthday... how ironic was that?
"Mr. Sloan, the password to your safe, your computer, and your phone are all 0716. How misleading. Your ex-wife probably went to her grave thinking your password was her sister’s birthday."
Nathaniel’s heart immediately ached, as if a large pair of hands were gripping it tightly, making it hard to breathe.
Estelle knew exactly how to poke at someone’s wounds. "Too bad she’s dead. You’ll never get the chance to explain it to her. Stop testing me, Mr. Sloan. Estelle Lockwood died five years ago. Understand?"
She was not her. Estelle had died five years ago, and the person standing here now was only Yara.
The dark fog in Nathaniel’s eyes dissipated. He jolted awake and roughly tossed her onto the bed. Then, as if fleeing in panic, he strode out the door.
Estelle slowly sat up on the bed and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. She wasn’t as calm as she appeared. Thankfully, the man hadn’t completely lost his mind. However, why would Nathaniel feel sad when she said those things? He clearly didn’t love her. Why couldn’t he accept the fact that she had been "dead" for five years?
The next morning.
Estelle slept soundly until dawn. She had originally worried that Nathaniel would cause her trouble the next day, but unexpectedly, the man vanished for an entire week.
Where did Nathaniel go?
"Yara, Young Mr. Kingston has returned. He’s now the head of the Kingston family. If we want a partnership, we need to go through his connections." Henry Kendrick took a sip of tea. "However, Young Mr. Kingston is quite difficult to deal with. Besides, the Kingston family was originally planning to collaborate with your ex-husband. I’m afraid it won’t be easy for us to snatch the deal away."
Estelle pulled her thoughts back. It was better if Nathaniel didn’t return. Why was she overthinking this?
"We still have to try. Arrange a time for me to meet Young Mr. Kingston."
"Alright, I’ve scheduled it for tomorrow. Young Mr. Kingston just returned to the country today. Meeting him tomorrow is probably the fastest we can manage. As long as we show enough sincerity, securing the deal shouldn’t be a problem."
Since she had to negotiate with Young Mr. Kingston the next day, Estelle went to bed early. However, at eleven o’clock that night, she was woken up by a call from Penelope Sullivan.
"Guess where I saw your ex-husband?"
Estelle yawned, unable to even open her eyes. "Where?"
Penelope sounded mysterious. "Elysium Entertainment City."
Estelle racked her brain for a moment to figure out what the entertainment city was. "Oh."
Penelope choked for a second. "Aren’t you surprised?! An entertainment city! Your ex-husband went to an entertainment city!"
Nathaniel’s public image had always been elegant and noble. He never set foot in places like entertainment cities.
Estelle rolled over in bed, wanting to end the conversation. She replied dismissively, "Yeah, surprised. Very surprised. What happened? Did he get arrested by the police for fighting?"
Penelope was speechless. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Forget it. What I wanted to say is that someone hijacked the partnership with the Kingston family tonight."
Estelle’s sleepiness instantly vanished. She sat up straight. "What happened?"
Hijacked? Tonight? She was planning to negotiate tomorrow morning. For someone to choose tonight to intervene, they were clearly targeting her.
Penelope gulped. "You don’t care about your ex-husband anymore?"
Estelle frowned. "It has nothing to do with me even if he dies on top of another woman, but the money we fail to earn won’t come back."
"Uh..." Penelope didn’t know what to say for a moment. "But you really do need to take a trip to the entertainment city to find your ex-husband, because this matter is related to him..."
Five minutes later, Estelle hung up the phone with a dark expression.
Nathaniel didn’t absolutely need this partnership. Beating her to meeting Jasper Kingston was a blatant act of revenge against her. Revenge for what? For destroying that photo?
Heh.
Estelle put on her makeup as quickly as possible. She picked out an elegant yet sexy bodycon dress from her closet and rushed out the door like a whirlwind.
In another room.
Mia puffed her cheeks in anger. "I heard everything. Scumbag Daddy wants to steal Mommy’s partnership. That’s so mean! How can there be such a scummy man? Zachery, you little dummy, do you have a plan?"
That partnership was very important to Mommy, and Mia could only fret anxiously. Maybe she could go act cute in front of Scumbag Daddy?
Zachery racked his brains, his mind spinning rapidly. Suddenly, a novel he had read before popped into his head: "After the Divorce, She Became a Boss Lady and Made Her Scumbag Ex Grovel." Wait, he had an idea!
"Mia, do you know what the ’crematorium of regretful exes’ is?" Zachery’s eyes lit up.
Mia stared at him blankly.
Zachery excitedly explained, "There’s a change of plans! Our goal is to make Scumbag Daddy fall in love with Mommy, and then she dumps him, sending him straight to the crematorium!"
Mia was dumbfounded. "...Huh? A crematorium? Are you going to cremate Scumbag Daddy? You can’t do that, murder is illegal."
Zachery waved his arms frantically. "It’s not a literal crematorium! It’s... well, it’s something you just have to feel to understand! Don’t worry, leave everything to me. I’ve read tons of novels. I know the tropes!"
Mia gasped, speechless. Zachery, what on earth were you reading in your free time?!
Elysium Entertainment City.
This was the largest money-squandering den in Crestfall. Wealthy young heirs could easily drop millions in a single night. As long as you had the money, you could get any kind of man or woman you desired.
At this moment, the largest private room was packed with a group of young men and women of similar age. "Jasper, welcome back."
"Are you satisfied with today’s welcome party? Elysium’s business is booming. We even had to pay extra just to book this room."
The star of the party held a glass of red wine and took a light sip, his gaze landing on a certain corner. "Nathaniel, you’re here, but you’re not going to have a drink?"
Nathaniel’s eyes were cold and distant, and he was the only one without a female companion by his side. Hearing this, he faintly raised his glass. "Welcome back."
KNOCK KNOCK.
Right then, the manager knocked on the door of the private room. "Young Mr. Kingston, your friend has arrived."
The room quieted down. One of the men frowned. "Our group is all here. What friend? Could it be someone who found out Jasper and Nathaniel are here and came knocking on purpose? What’s her name?"
The manager scratched his head, looking puzzled for a moment. "Her name is Yara Lockwood."
Nathaniel abruptly raised his eyes.