Chapter 364: Begging Estelle Lockwood to Come Back

Chapter 364: Chapter 364: Begging Estelle Lockwood to Come Back

Old Mrs. Yeats trembled all over. She didn’t know why, but even though this Mr. Lynch in front of her looked very young, a wave of terror still washed over her when he stared at her with those pale gray eyes. It was as if he could see right through her.

She wondered what she was thinking.

She wanted everyone related to Eleanor Yeats to die. Estelle Lockwood, Silas Lockwood—she wanted them all dead! But she couldn’t bear to let go of Silas’s achievements, so she stole them all to gild her second grandson’s reputation. In fact, she also wanted Estelle dead so she could snatch away everything the girl owned and give it to Evan and Claire. Only then would she have made the most of it. She also wanted...

However, upon meeting Mr. Lynch’s gaze, Old Mrs. Yeats staggered backward and fell heavily to the ground with a loud THUD.

Evan thought, "This is bad." He couldn’t let his grandmother ruin things now. Just as he was about to speak, President Sherman let out a loud scoff.

"No wonder Miss Eleanor Yeats left the Yeats family back then. Makes sense. The Yeats family isn’t even her home anymore. Who wouldn’t run away when faced with someone like you? You don’t need to say anything else, Old Mrs. Yeats. If you refuse to cooperate, Mr. Lynch will file a lawsuit immediately."

Terrified that Old Mrs. Yeats would ruin things again, Evan hastily interjected. "We’ll cooperate, of course! I... I’m willing to apologize!"

Old Mrs. Yeats teetered unsteadily. Mrs. Yeats rushed to support her and whispered something in her ear. After a long while, the old woman opened her bloodshot eyes. "Fine... fine... I agree!"

Nathaniel Sloan curled his lips into a faint smile.

President Sherman understood Nathaniel’s intention. "Since we are cooperating, the Yeats family needs to appoint a representative for the liaison. Since Mr. Silas Lockwood’s daughter happens to be in Crestfall, we’ll have her act as the representative. What do you think, Old Mrs. Yeats?"

Old Mrs. Yeats frantically pinched the spot above her upper lip to keep from fainting. Had it not been for Melody Jenson holding her up, she probably would have passed out already. Waves of dizziness washed over her mind, accompanied by anger, resentment, indignation, and fear.

She wanted to make one last attempt for Evan. "Evan can also..."

"Ah, my apologies. Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear earlier. Although Mr. Lynch doesn’t intend to hold Mr. Yeats accountable, he also can’t comfortably entrust the partnership to a thief, wouldn’t you agree?"

A thief! He actually called her precious Evan a thief! So what if they fancied a few of Silas Lockwood’s ratty paintings? That was Silas’s honor!

"Old Mrs. Yeats, I’m informing you, not asking for your opinion. There is only one designated representative for this partnership. If she doesn’t agree, the deal is still off!"

Then, to everyone’s utter shock, President Sherman uttered a name.

Meanwhile, Estelle Lockwood was eating cake with Penelope Sullivan.

"This place is pretty good," Estelle remarked.

Penelope took a sip of her coffee, far more anxious than her friend. "Will Old Mrs. Yeats really come back to beg you? That seems unlikely... Estelle, how can you still eat! I’m about to die of anger! I thought the Yeats family would be a bit better, that you’d at least have a maiden family to rely on..."

Estelle smiled and swallowed her bite of cake, her expression indifferent. "It doesn’t matter. I don’t really care much about family and kinship anyway."

Penelope pressed her lips together and stayed silent. Didn’t care? She actually felt deep sympathy for Estelle. If Estelle truly didn’t care about family, why was she so reluctant to leave Grandpa Lockwood back then? Why did she return to the Lockwood family full of hope later? And why was she doing everything in her power to retrieve her biological father’s belongings now? Even just a few days ago, when Estelle found out the Yeats family was her real home, she had been genuinely happy.

"It’s all the Yeats family’s fault!" Penelope concluded.

Estelle seemed to think of something. "Maybe I can’t blame it all on the Yeats family... It’s not like there wasn’t anyone there who treated me well. It’s just..."

It was just that Evan was probably closer to them, and Old Mrs. Yeats was a relative they simply couldn’t bear to cut ties with. Whatever. Estelle truly didn’t care about that right now.

She glanced at the time. Half an hour had passed; it was probably about time. Right on cue, her phone rang.

Estelle raised an eyebrow. Seeing the unknown number on the screen, she immediately smiled and waved the phone in front of Penelope. "Look. They’ve come to beg me."

Back at the art exhibition, President Sherman was smiling. "This representative, of course, is Miss Estelle Lockwood.

"Why don’t we invite Miss Lockwood over so we can have a proper discussion?"

However, a moment later, his assistant spoke up. "President Sherman, Miss Lockwood says she isn’t coming. She said Old Mrs. Yeats drove her away, and she has no interest in returning."

Nathaniel Sloan chuckled softly.

President Sherman instantly caught on and feigned a look of surprise. "Oh? Old Mrs. Yeats drove Miss Lockwood away? It seems the old lady has a guilty conscience, otherwise she wouldn’t have done such a thing. Sigh... What should we do then? If Miss Lockwood doesn’t agree, we won’t be moving forward with the partnership. What do you think, Mr. Lynch?"

The bystanders were completely speechless. They all thought, "Who the hell are you kidding! Don’t you know exactly how Estelle left? You know everything, yet you’re pretending to be clueless!"

Old Mrs. Yeats was clearly infuriated as well. Just as she was about to hurl a string of curses, Evan grabbed her arm.

Evan desperately wanted this deal! Why was Old Mrs. Yeats, who was usually so aloof and high-and-mighty, losing her mind and breaking down after just a few words from Mr. Lynch? Dammit! She was never able to help him seize power in the Yeats family on a normal day, and now that he had finally found such a perfect opportunity to turn the tables, she repeatedly offended their business partner!

Old Mrs. Yeats had no idea that her precious grandson had already begun to resent her in his heart. She simply couldn’t bring herself to swallow her pride. But Evan had already dialed the number.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

The call connected quickly.

Estelle’s meaningful voice came through the receiver. "Evan Yeats?"

Evan took a deep breath. He had never fawned over anyone like this in his entire life. "Es... Estelle... Where are you right now? We really need your help with the partnership. Should I send someone to pick you up?"

Estelle’s interest was piqued. Her tone was serene and unhurried. "A partnership? Oh... Mr. Lynch is looking to partner with you, right? But what does that have to do with me?"

Evan choked on his words. "You must be joking. Of course it has to do with you. The partnership... The partnership requires your presence to proceed..."

"Is that so? Why is that?" Estelle asked with a smile. "These paintings belong to Mr. Yeats and Mrs. Yeats, and Old Mrs. Yeats is personally overseeing the deal. What does it have to do with me? Why does Mr. Lynch insist I be present?"

Evan was seething. He thought, "Don’t you know exactly what it has to do with you?! Why are you pretending to be an innocent little flower now?!"

But no matter how furious Evan was, he couldn’t say another word. Everyone present understood exactly what Estelle was doing. Asking what she had to do with these paintings at a critical juncture like this... she just wanted Evan to admit that the artist behind the works was Silas Lockwood, and that he, Evan, was a thief.

That was exactly what Estelle wanted to hear.

If he said it, Estelle might come, and the partnership might succeed. If he didn’t, Estelle would definitely refuse, and all hope would be lost! Just half an hour ago, they were mocking Estelle. But now, Evan felt as though she held his very lifeline in the palm of her hand!