Chapter 369: Old Mr. Yeats, Let’s Make a Bet

Chapter 369: Chapter 369: Old Mr. Yeats, Let’s Make a Bet

After having a meal with Nathaniel Sloan, Estelle Lockwood received a call from Old Mr. Yeats.

"Estelle." Old Mr. Yeats sighed. "I already know about what happened with Evan."

Estelle paused. She had completely forgotten about that.

"Estelle, it’s the Yeats family’s fault for not disciplining him properly. We wronged you. If you have any grievances, you can tell me."

Estelle raised an eyebrow, getting the feeling that a ’but’ was coming right after that sentence.

"But... Evan is Zion’s son, after all. Having him go abroad in disgrace is fine, but the child..."

Liam Sloan curled his lips and muttered under his breath, "What he means is: ’Although I know my grandson did wrong, I hope you can be lenient and not hold it against him. We’re a family, after all.’"

Old Mr. Yeats likely heard Liam’s voice. He sighed. "Estelle, I’m not someone who blindly preaches family harmony, but Evan doesn’t deserve to die for his crimes. He stole your father’s belongings, and that is his fault. You can punish him however you see fit..."

"Old Mr. Yeats." Estelle interrupted him indifferently, her form of address for him changing from ’Grandfather’ to ’Old Mr. Yeats’.

She was puzzled. "Who said I wanted Evan dead? How did you come to the conclusion that he ’doesn’t deserve to die’? I don’t recall ever saying... I was going to do anything to him.

"The collaboration with Mr. Lynch has already been signed. The partnering company is the branch of the Yeats Group under Evan’s name. Although I am the one in charge, Evan is the one who benefits from a successful partnership.

"If I wanted to do something to him, why would I have agreed to this collaboration in the first place?" Estelle drawled, "So, who told you that I wanted to fight him to the death?"

Old Mr. Yeats’s voice faltered. "Estelle, that’s not what I meant."

"Old Mrs. Yeats told you that, didn’t she?" Estelle understood and sighed. "Well, you can rest assured. I won’t do anything to Evan."

It was obvious that Old Mr. Yeats had made this call amidst the tearful complaints of Old Mrs. Yeats and Evan. Estelle could clearly hear Old Mrs. Yeats cursing her in the background, yelling, "It’s a stroke of bad luck that the Yeats family ever found you! You really are a jinx!"

Estelle clicked her tongue. "You said it yourself—the Yeats family found me. If the Yeats family hadn’t found me, Claire wouldn’t have framed me, and Evan wouldn’t have mocked and ridiculed me. Don’t you agree?"

Old Mrs. Yeats was furious. "You—"

"Shut up!" Old Mr. Yeats roared, his brows furrowed. He then spoke into the phone again. "Estelle, I am not pleading for Evan. I know that Evan and his grandmother are just acting irrationally out of panic. From now on, I will have them return to Capital City. The branch of the Yeats Group here in Crestfall will be left to you..."

"Old Mr. Yeats, did Evan and Old Mrs. Yeats agree to this decision of yours?"

Old Mr. Yeats frowned. "This is Zion’s and my decision. They don’t need to agree."

Zion Yeats was the current Head of the Yeats family. Indeed, with his approval, Evan wouldn’t be able to resist even if he wanted to.

However, Estelle twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "Old Mr. Yeats, I don’t mean to discourage you, but I can guarantee that Evan won’t let this go.

"And Old Mrs. Yeats is right. My ties with the Yeats family... aren’t that deep. I just want to retrieve my parents’ belongings. If you feel that my appearance has brought disaster to the Yeats family, it’s not too late to cut ties now."

Estelle spoke in an even, composed tone, neither humble nor arrogant, devoid of sadness or joy. This was truly what she thought.

But to Old Mr. Yeats’s ears, it sounded thoroughly heartbreaking. He was indeed in a difficult position. One was his biological grandson whom he had raised since childhood, and the other was Eleanor’s daughter. Everyone told him that Evan was more important, but Evan had genuinely done wrong!

"Old Mr. Yeats." Estelle felt helpless. "You really don’t need to be so anxious and upset."

"No, Estelle... just accept it." Old Mr. Yeats seemed to have made up his mind. "I will arrange for Evan to go abroad."

"Old man!"

"Grandpa!"

Old Mrs. Yeats and Evan instantly collapsed to the floor in tears.

Old Mr. Yeats said firmly, "You’ve made mistake after mistake! If your mother can’t discipline you, I will! Today you steal someone’s belongings and blame it on your mother. Are you going to blame it on me in the future? You’re no longer in charge of things in Crestfall!"

"Grandpa, you can’t, Grandpa..."

Estelle didn’t really want to listen to their screeching, so she simply said, "Old Mr. Yeats, why don’t we make a bet?"

Old Mr. Yeats was taken aback. "Go ahead, Estelle."

"Let’s bet that Mr. Evan will definitely cause trouble for this collaboration. He absolutely won’t let me complete it, even if it harms the Yeats Group’s interests."

Old Mr. Yeats subconsciously denied it. "No..."

"Whether it’s possible or not, you don’t need to jump to conclusions right now. You can just observe the situation. I only need half a month."

Estelle had a high tolerance for this old gentleman who treated her fairly well, and she hoped he could see Evan’s true colors. As for what Old Mr. Yeats would choose to do after seeing the truth, that was none of her business.

She hung up the phone.

Liam looked indignant. "What the hell! Estelle, can you actually tolerate this?!"

Estelle shook her head, remaining quite calm. "It’s not a matter of whether I can tolerate it or not. The truth is, Old Mr. Yeats was always closer to Evan to begin with.

"He’s my mother’s uncle, making him two generations removed from me, whereas Evan is his biological grandson. Anyone with eyes can see how he should choose."

Estelle was very open-minded about it. Sometimes, family ties were just a matter of fate. Her parents were dead, and the people closest to her were no longer around.

Liam curled his lips. He had a lot to say, but for a moment, he didn’t know what words to use. Since the collaboration hadn’t officially started yet, Liam invited Estelle out to relax. "The racecourse in the East Aridia Suburbs has been renovated. Want to go check it out?"

Horseback riding?

Nathaniel suddenly looked over, memories surfacing in his mind as his Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily.

Estelle knew how to ride horses, but in the past, because of Noelle...

Estelle’s eyes lit up. "Let’s bring Christian and the others too."

...

Having suggested a trip to the racecourse to unwind, Liam made the arrangements with incredible speed. The very next day, a car arrived at Imperial Crest. Two hours later, it parked at the racecourse.

"Play to your heart’s content! I’ve booked the entire place! There are other small animals here, and a flock of lambs over there. Since the three little ones can’t ride horses, we can take them to play with the lambs."

Liam was incredibly satisfied with his arrangements and couldn’t help but fish for a compliment. "So, Estelle? Aren’t I awesome?"

Just then, a few staff members walked by. One of the girls said to the person next to her, "Wow, is that Second Young Mr. Sloan? I heard he booked the whole place today just to bring someone here to relax."

"Yeah. At first, when we asked who he was bringing, he refused to say. It must be this lady, right?"

"Mhm. I’ve never heard of Second Young Mr. Sloan having any women around him before. Booking an entire racecourse just for her... he must really like her. It doesn’t seem like a casual fling."

"Exactly... Should we tell the manager to go buy some roses?"

Liam was speechless. "...?"