Chapter 449: Chapter 449: Doesn’t the Lancaster Family Know Anything?
The entire venue burst into an uproar. Everything they had always believed was completely turned upside down.
Laura Jennings had stolen Miranda Lancaster’s son and passed him off as her own illegitimate child, subjecting the true eldest young master to so much suffering! How vicious could one woman be?!
Laura squeezed her eyes shut and let out a piercing shriek. "AHHH!! AHHHH!!!"
The people around her frowned and covered their ears. Seeing her act like this, it was no wonder she was just a mistress. Even after being in power for over twenty years, she was still hopelessly unpresentable.
Furious beyond measure, Laura pointed an accusatory finger at the young man and hurled a barrage of curses. "You idiot! You little bitch! Your parents were no good either! Are you satisfied now?! Bitches, all of you! You’re all bitches!"
The onlookers sneered. No one doubted the authenticity of the video anymore. Laura’s reaction was all the proof they needed.
The young man gnashed his teeth, his entire body trembling. "My parents were indeed not good people! They were greedy and demanded two million from you, which ultimately cost them their lives! But do you think you’re any better? You threatened them with our relatives. They might have been bad, but do you think you’re some kind of saint?!
"You’re telling me not to speak? My parents are dead! They died in a car crash that was highly suspicious from every angle! Who in this world is most terrified of this being exposed? Laura Jennings, how dare you accuse me of bringing the truth to light?! Am I supposed to just let my parents die in vain?!
"They paid the price for their actions, but what about you?! You’re the main culprit! Why should you get away with it?!
"For switching the babies back then, and for my parents’ deaths—rot in prison!" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
Laura’s mind was in absolute chaos. How was she supposed to know that couple had died? How could she have known? She knew nothing! Regardless, they were all bitches. Every single one of them! They just wanted to ruin her life!
"It’s been so many years! Why did you have to bring it up? Why?!"
Laura didn’t feel the slightest bit of remorse. Her eyes were savage, looking as if she wanted to glare a hole straight through the young man.
But no one paid her any attention. The crowd only felt utterly disgusted by her.
Back when Laura climbed the social ladder, she used the excuse that Nathaniel Sloan was Ethan Sloan’s son to secure her position as Mrs. Sloan. Every time the Lancaster family directed their disgust, mockery, and abuse toward her, she used Nathaniel as a shield.
And yet, the truth was... he was actually Miss Lancaster’s son? He was supposed to be the child raised with infinite love and doting by the Lancaster family?
It was laughable. The true young master had been reduced to an illegitimate child. But how on earth did a fool like Laura manage to hide it so well?
Did Ethan know? Was the Lancaster family aware? What about Old Mr. Sloan?
What was Laura twenty-some years ago? Just a mistress who hadn’t even secured her status yet. Even if she bribed the doctors and nurses, how did she manage to tie up all the loose ends so perfectly? How did she avoid slipping up under the Lancasters’ investigations and keep them in the dark for twenty-seven years?
Were the Lancasters just stupid, or did they simply never care about Miranda and her son in the first place?
The crowd cast suspicious glances toward the Lancasters.
Laura was at fault, sure, but wasn’t the Lancaster family to blame as well?
It was one thing for the Lancasters to turn a blind eye when their own flesh-and-blood daughter was bullied by a mistress, but to even mistake the identity of their own biological grandson?
He should have been the golden child, yet he was ruined by a mistress while the Lancasters supposedly knew nothing... Were they truly clueless?
Rumor had it that Yvonne Lancaster and Miranda didn’t get along, primarily because Yvonne was also an illegitimate daughter. Could it be that she wanted to exact revenge on Miranda for this very reason, and so she allowed Miranda’s son to be raised as an illegitimate child?
It was also said that Chairman Lancaster disliked his daughter Miranda because her outstanding business acumen made him lose face as a father. Was he afraid that Miranda’s son would inherit her talent? Was it out of fear that he let Laura swap the children right under his nose?
Then who was Theodore Lancaster? Was Theodore actually Laura’s son? Did Theodore know that he was just a fraud? That the "illegitimate son" he so heavily despised was the true young master?
In that moment, the way everyone looked at the Lancaster family shifted. Once suspicion took root in their minds, it was hard to erase.
Estelle Lockwood looked at Old Mr. Lancaster with a beaming smile and read in a deadpan tone, "Wow, how fascinating."
The crowd fell silent, wondering if Mrs. Sloan was some sort of NPC trying to trigger a cutscene here.
But Chairman Lancaster also realized he couldn’t stay silent any longer. The Lancaster family had to give an explanation.
"I never imagined... that something like this could happen!" Chairman Lancaster’s tone was filled with shock and sorrow as he glared furiously at Laura. "To think there is such a venomous woman in this world! When she knelt before Miranda’s grave back then, I actually believed she had turned over a new leaf! And you, Ethan Sloan, were you truly completely unaware of this?!"
Ethan’s face flushed crimson. He gritted his teeth hard. "I... I always felt guilty toward Miranda, which is why I disliked Nathaniel. I never really thought deeply about it... I never expected..."
Chairman Lancaster closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "Nathaniel... you’ve truly suffered. What was originally a matter between Laura and Miranda ended up dragging you, an innocent person, into the fray...
"It’s also our Lancaster family’s fault for not supporting Miranda. That’s why she... why even a mistress could step all over her... Child, you’ve suffered so much!"
Although Chairman Lancaster was apologizing, to the outsiders listening, everything felt off. He was apologizing, sure, but why did it sound so strange?
Dragging an innocent person into the fray—the words weren’t wrong. Yet, why did it feel like the "innocent person" Chairman Lancaster was referring to meant "someone completely unrelated to this matter," rather than an innocent child?
Now, this was getting interesting...
"Nathaniel, I am truly sorry. I know you’ve suffered over the years. Laura must have treated you that way because she regarded you as Miranda’s son. The Lancaster family must take responsibility for this. You’re all grown up now, and we can’t compensate you with much other than money, which I’m afraid you probably wouldn’t even care for."
Chairman Lancaster let out another sigh, but the hidden meaning behind his words caused everyone to exchange pointed glances. They wondered why he said Nathaniel was "regarded" as Miranda’s son. If he used the word "regarded" here, didn’t that imply that in reality, Nathaniel wasn’t her son? Otherwise, he wouldn’t have used the word "regarded"—he would have simply said, "because you are."
Nathaniel’s lips curled up. He exchanged a glance with his lawyer and nonchalantly raised an eyebrow.
Estelle wasn’t surprised either. It seemed Nathaniel was right—there was no way the Lancaster family would admit it.
They already had Theodore. If word got out that Theodore was actually Laura’s son, losing face would be the least of the Lancasters’ worries. The most critical issue was that everyone would inevitably start suspecting them. They would wonder why the Lancaster family raised a mistress’s son without noticing anything for so many years. If they truly hadn’t noticed, didn’t that mean they cared far too little about Miranda?
And if they had noticed, then why were they raising the mistress’s son? Were the rumors true? Had the Lancasters wanted Miranda dead all along?
In either scenario, the Lancaster family would have no way to explain themselves. Therefore, it was better to just deny it directly from the source!
The Lancasters would admit that Nathaniel wasn’t Laura’s son. But they would never admit that Nathaniel was Miranda’s son!