Chapter 437: Chapter 437: The Setup
Estelle Lockwood averted her gaze. "N-Nothing."
"Mrs. Sloan, are you feeling unwell?"
"That’s right. If you’re not feeling well, you must speak up."
However, Estelle completely rejected their goodwill. Clenching her phone, she hurried away. "It’s really nothing!"
A few of the wealthy ladies couldn’t help but find it strange. "Why does it feel like Mrs. Sloan is looking for someone?"
"Yeah... She looks very anxious, but she won’t tell us. However, whoever she’s looking for, Mr. Sloan should be able to help her."
"Mrs. Sloan, do you know what’s going on?"
Laura Jennings curled her lips into a smile, feeling increasingly smug. What else could it be? It was because Estelle couldn’t find Nathaniel Sloan. Haha, this was simply wonderful! Laura was so excited that she wanted to announce it to the whole world right then and there. But she couldn’t; she couldn’t rush it.
So, she suppressed her excitement and said, "We’re at Thea’s room. Wait a moment, I’ll knock."
However, after knocking for a long time, no one opened the door.
"That child Thea called me last night for a heart-to-heart chat and even comforted me. She probably went to bed late and hasn’t woken up yet. She tells me absolutely everything; we’re just like sisters."
As soon as Laura finished speaking, the wealthy ladies chimed in to flatter her. "If Miss York was by your side, you’d definitely be happy every day. It’s just a pity..."
"Sigh, if you ask me, disregarding family backgrounds and solely looking at education, Thea is definitely more suited for Mr. Sloan. That Estelle Lockwood..."
Laura continued putting on a show. "Yes, it’s a pity Nathaniel doesn’t like Thea. He turned a blind eye to such a good girl and insists on liking someone who... sigh, I’m too embarrassed to even say it. I’ve spoiled my son since he was little!"
The wealthy ladies were speechless. Although they were sucking up to Laura, it didn’t mean they had no brains. Did she even believe her own words? Her, spoiling Nathaniel Sloan? It was a miracle Nathaniel Sloan was even alive.
Meanwhile, Estelle quietly returned to her room. She gave an "OK" gesture. "I didn’t show a single flaw. Right now, Laura is probably laughing her head off internally as she heads to Thea York’s room to ’catch the cheaters.’"
Nathaniel Sloan chuckled and nodded. "Then what does Mrs. Sloan plan to do next?"
Estelle raised an eyebrow. "That will require Mr. Sloan’s cooperation. Laura will definitely find a way to enter Thea’s suite, but she might not open the bedroom door right away. When the time comes, I need to make her say a few more things."
Nathaniel wasn’t surprised. "How do you plan to do that?"
Estelle gave a half-smile. "As for Ms. Jennings... you could say she’s smart since she has firmly secured her position as Mrs. Sloan and swapped your identity with Theodore Lancaster’s without anyone noticing for so many years. But you could also say she’s stupid, because the way she acts is truly foolish."
Nathaniel understood. "Alright, go ahead and do it." His tone carried a profound meaning. "After all, this is only the beginning."
Upstairs in Thea York’s suite, a large group of people marched in. They saw that the living room was completely empty without a single person in sight, but the bedroom door was tightly shut.
"Could Miss York still be sleeping?"
"That shouldn’t be the case... She knows perfectly well that there’s an annual gala to attend today. How could she oversleep?"
Laura seemed unsure of what to do. "Oh dear, I don’t know where she put that set of pink diamond roses. How about I go in and wake her up..."
"Mnn..."
Suddenly, a soft moan came from inside the room! Everyone froze in their tracks, instinctively shooting sharp glances at Laura. Then, another hoarse, muffled grunt from a man sounded out. Intermittent sobs and pleas from a woman followed, her sickly-sweet voice sending shivers down their spines.
This was... Any idiot would know what they were doing inside! This was Thea York’s room, so the woman was undoubtedly her. But who was the man? Just a moment ago, Laura had been saying how she wanted Thea York to be her daughter-in-law, and now Thea York was sleeping with some unknown man?
Laura could barely suppress the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. As long as she pushed this door open... As long as she pushed it open, everyone would see Thea York and Nathaniel Sloan lying in the same bed. When that happened, Nathaniel would have no choice but to take responsibility! Finally! Finally, she would get to see that woman’s son suffer again...
Feigning ignorance, Laura put on a panicked expression. "This... this... Thea is an adult now. It’s not our place to control who she is with. Oh my goodness, it’s far too embarrassing to walk in on something like this. Let’s leave for now and come back later."
The wealthy ladies snapped out of their daze. While they weren’t exactly blushing red, they still felt extremely awkward. To stumble upon someone doing such a thing and for so many of them to hear it so clearly—who knew how Thea York would react if she found out? So, they better hurry up and leave while they still had the chance.
But just as everyone was heading for the door, they suddenly saw Estelle rushing over. She was heading straight for Thea York’s room, but upon walking in and seeing so many people, she subconsciously took a step back.
"Mrs. Sloan? Are you looking for Miss York?"
"Why isn’t Mr. Sloan with you?"
Laura also feigned surprise. "Estelle, what’s wrong? You’re running all over the place so early in the morning. Is something the matter?"
Estelle pursed her lips. "It’s nothing..."
Right at that moment, her phone suddenly rang. Estelle accidentally tapped to answer, and Luke White’s voice rang out: "Mrs. Sloan, Mr. Sloan should still be at Miss York’s place. You should go look for him there..."
Instantly, the entire room fell dead silent! Three seconds later, all the wealthy ladies snapped their heads back to stare at the bedroom door!
Did Luke White just say that the man in the room was Mr. Sloan?! So that was it! Now everything made sense! No wonder Mrs. Sloan looked so haggard early in the morning, as if she hadn’t slept a wink all night, and seemed to be looking for someone. It was because she was looking for Mr. Sloan! Since Mr. Sloan hadn’t returned to their room all night, of course Mrs. Sloan would be searching for him! And last night, it was Mr. Sloan who escorted Thea York back to her room. Everyone had seen that as clear as day. In that case, wouldn’t the man left in Miss York’s room be Mr. Sloan?
So what was the situation now? Mr. Sloan and Thea York had engaged in that kind of relationship and been caught red-handed by everyone, while Mrs. Sloan was standing right here... On top of that, Thea York was the daughter-in-law that Mrs. Sloan favored. This whole matter was a complete and utter mess.
Laura curled her lips before putting on a look of absolute shock. "What? That’s Nathaniel?!"
Estelle acted as if she had just violently snapped back to reality and hurriedly said, "It’s not Nathaniel! It’s absolutely not Nathaniel!"
"Ah... N-Nathaniel, be gentle..." Thea York’s intermittent voice drifted out from the room once again.
BOOM! Everyone’s minds went blank. It was Nathaniel Sloan! It was really Nathaniel Sloan! Could Thea York possibly get the name wrong? Just look at this—Mrs. Sloan was outside desperately searching for Mr. Sloan, yet Mr. Sloan was in a room with Thea York... Tsk, tsk...
Estelle stumbled, shaking her head helplessly. "Impossible. That’s impossible..."
Laura’s eyes were filled with triumph. She could hardly wait any longer. Still, she couldn’t resist twisting the knife into Estelle’s heart. "Estelle, look at the situation now. It’s no longer appropriate for you and Nathaniel to stay together. Everyone knows the person Nathaniel truly cares about is Thea, and besides..."