Chapter 445: Chapter 445: Why Invite the Lancaster Family?
"Perhaps Mr. Sloan sent an invitation to the Lancaster Family precisely because he’s an illegitimate child."
"After all, his status as an illegitimate son inherently puts him a step below."
The speaker was extremely sarcastic. This was likely because the only thing he could ever use to belittle Nathaniel Sloan in his entire life was this "illegitimate child" label.
"If Miranda Lancaster hadn’t left a child behind, it would be fine. But now that she has a legitimate son who was raised by the Lancaster Family, doesn’t that make Nathaniel’s position as an illegitimate son completely unjustified? Even just for appearances, he had to send an invitation to the Lancasters!"
After this person spoke, the others looked at one another, a bit embarrassed.
Even so...
When had Mr. Sloan ever cared about giving others face? Even if it was the Lancaster Family, there was no need for this, right?
However, since the invitation had been sent and the Lancasters hadn’t shown up, it indeed was a slap in the face to Mr. Sloan.
Elsewhere, Ethan Sloan sighed. "Alas, the Lancaster Family still refuses to send anyone. It seems they still blame me."
The bystanders didn’t know how to respond. Wasn’t that stating the obvious? You married their daughter, cheated on her, and she died in your house—how could they not blame you?
Outsiders didn’t know the exact relationship between the Lancasters and Miranda Lancaster. They just followed normal logic: the daughter died, and you were a cheating scumbag. If it weren’t for Theodore Lancaster, the "legitimate son," who would want to associate with Ethan?
Wasn’t it perfectly normal that they weren’t coming now?
But... everyone was curious. What exactly was Mr. Sloan thinking?
As everyone knew, Evernight International had nothing to do with the Sloan Family. When Nathaniel founded the company, the Sloans hadn’t provided a shred of support.
Evernight International and the Sloan Group were entirely separate entities. Even though Nathaniel’s surname was Sloan, he didn’t need to invite the Sloans to Evernight International’s annual gala, let alone the Lancaster Family.
Such an anomaly...
Everyone harbored their own thoughts.
Estelle Lockwood raised an eyebrow. "The Lancaster Family didn’t come?"
Nathaniel smiled calmly. "It’s normal. The Lancasters pride themselves on their nobility; of course, they want to put on airs."
"Oh..." Estelle understood. "So it’s not that they aren’t coming, but rather, they aren’t coming right now."
"Naturally. The Lancasters want to see me make a fool of myself, but they don’t want to give me face." Nathaniel smiled, clearly understanding the Lancaster Family very well. "But they will definitely come, because today is Theodore’s ’big day.’"
"That makes sense."
Estelle smiled radiantly. "Then let’s just wait for a good show."
After a few rounds of drinks, this year’s Evernight International annual gala was drawing to a close when a sudden commotion erupted outside the doors.
Estelle raised an eyebrow. "Looks like they’re here."
The Lancaster Family’s grand entrance was as extravagant as could be, making them look more like the hosts than Nathaniel himself, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.
For a moment, the entire banquet hall seemed to become the Lancaster Family’s personal runway.
"What a grand entrance."
"As expected of the Lancaster Family..."
"Theodore Lancaster is here too. Isn’t Mr. Sloan embarrassed?"
"We’re in for a good show."
Ethan’s eyes darted around before he stepped forward. He first gazed deeply at Theodore, then sighed heavily. "It’s me, as your father, who has let you down."
Then, feigning guilt, he pretended to wipe away a tear. "What happened with Miranda back then... I was in the wrong. Sigh."
Chairman Lancaster simply nodded and walked over to take his seat, not even giving Nathaniel a single glance.
Normally, since Nathaniel was the host and Chairman Lancaster was the guest, the guest should greet the host upon arrival regardless of the circumstances. Yet, Chairman Lancaster didn’t just ignore him; he did so absolutely.
The guests kept their heads down and minded their own business, none daring to speak a word.
The banquet seemed to fall into a stalemate, yet at the same time, it was as if nothing had happened.
The clinking of glasses resumed. Ethan and Chairman Lancaster exchanged a look, suppressing the calculations in their minds.
Nathaniel, holding his wine glass, met Thea York’s eyes from afar and made a toasting gesture.
Thea gritted her teeth and nodded silently.
By now, she had no other support to rely on; her only option was to cling tightly to Ethan.
Thea stood delicately beside Ethan, pouring his wine and massaging his shoulders. There was absolutely no room for Laura Jennings to intervene at her husband’s side.
The incident from that morning had already reached everyone’s ears, but seeing it with their own eyes felt entirely different from just hearing about it.
Just yesterday, Thea was swearing up and down that the man she loved most was Nathaniel, yet today she had climbed into his father’s bed.
Furthermore, Ethan’s father-in-law and his current wife were both present at the scene.
Laura was so furious that her head spun. She charged forward, violently yanking Thea away, and swung her hand to slap her across the face. "You bitch!"
Thea let out a frail gasp. Her eyes filled with a mist of tears, making her look incredibly pitiful. "Ms. Laura, what are you doing?"
Laura ground her teeth. "Drop the act! You bitch, do you think just because you climbed into my husband’s bed I can’t do anything to you? I—"
Before she could finish, Thea suddenly leaned in. Her expression changed, shedding all traces of her former frailty. "What can you do to me?"
Following Nathaniel’s implicit instructions, Thea said, "You’re old and faded, your beauty and his love for you long gone. How could you possibly compare to me? Ethan already has me; do you really think he’d still spare you a glance?"
Unable to bear these words, Laura squeezed her eyes shut and shrieked. "Shut up! Ethan and I have a son! Even if it’s just for our son’s sake, he won’t abandon me!"
Thinking that the son Laura mentioned was Nathaniel, Thea couldn’t hold back a scoff.
"Ms. Laura, how can you be so naive? Why do you think Ethan and I ended up sleeping together? It was all orchestrated by your good son, of course."
Laura froze abruptly. "What did you say?"
Feigning shyness, Thea said, "Ms. Laura, you really should have some self-awareness. Take me, for example. I knew Nathaniel would never fall in love with me, so I changed my target. But you? You know perfectly well that Ethan finds you repulsive for being an old, faded shrew. Wouldn’t it be better to just step aside early, instead of being an eyesore to everyone?"
"Nathaniel? It was Nathaniel?!"
Unfortunately, Laura couldn’t process anything else right now; her fury was surging uncontrollably.
Now she understood. She finally understood why the man last night had changed from Nathaniel to Ethan.
It was because this bitch, Thea, had conspired with Nathaniel from the very beginning!
It was Nathaniel!
Boiling with rage, Laura stormed over toward Nathaniel.
"Nathaniel Sloan! Nathaniel, get your ass out here!"
The massive banquet hall suddenly fell dead silent. The crowd stared in astonishment at the wide-eyed, furious Laura.
Laura quickly rushed up to Nathaniel and, without a word of explanation, raised her hand to slap her own son.
But Nathaniel nonchalantly blocked her strike.
Laura used all her strength to break free, but Nathaniel remained expressionless while her hand wouldn’t budge an inch. Rendered helplessly frantic, her expression twisted as she screamed in fury:
"Are you even my son?! Huh?! Is this how you treat your mother?! Shoving a woman into your father’s arms—are you even human?!"
The crowd was stunned, thinking they had misheard.
Wait... did Laura just mean that Thea became Ethan’s mistress under Nathaniel’s instruction?