Chapter 122: Chapter 122: It’s on Fire! She Heard Nathaniel Sloan’s Voice in the Fire

Luke White reported, "Mrs. Sloan went to Imperial Crest to find you, but you weren’t there, so she took it out on Chapman. I’m not sure what was said, but now Chapman’s in the hospital, and Mrs. Sloan followed him. She’s not letting him recover in peace."

’Laura Jennings again!’ 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Nathaniel Sloan’s eyes turned icy. "Understood. I’m heading to the hospital now."

...

「Seven in the evening.」

Estelle Lockwood received a call from a client asking for a last-minute meeting at the fabric market.

Estelle Lockwood wound her way through aisles piled high with textiles and finally found the appointed location. But the client was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she found Noelle Lockwood.

Estelle’s expression darkened, and she immediately turned to leave.

"Yara!" Noelle Lockwood trotted over, looking aggrieved. "Yara, I didn’t expect to see you here! I was in the wrong about what happened last time. Please don’t be mad at me, okay?"

Estelle felt a wave of revulsion that turned her stomach.

Before she could speak, a few flamboyantly dressed young people stepped forward. "Noelle, is this the famous Yara?"

"Hey, Noelle’s talking to you! Are you deaf?!"

"Why are you even apologizing? It’s not like you did anything to her. Noelle, you’re just too nice!"

Estelle had heard this routine a thousand times; she was sick to death of it.

’But... who are these people?’

Estelle narrowed her eyes, sizing up the group. It was obvious these weren’t Noelle Lockwood’s usual socialite friends.

Noelle feigned helplessness. "Okay, that’s enough, you guys. Yara, they’re all my fans. They tend to get a little emotional, so please don’t mind them."

’So they’re her fans... How strange. Is Noelle out of her mind? Why would she meet fans in a fabric market?’

Just then, Estelle’s phone buzzed twice. It was a message from the client, saying something had come up and he couldn’t make it.

’What a coincidence.’

Estelle’s gut told her something was off.

’The client schedules a meeting, Noelle shows up instead, and then the client cancels, claiming something came up.’

Estelle’s eyes narrowed. She turned to leave, but the fans swarmed around her, blocking her path.

"Don’t leave. Stay and chat."

"Noelle managed to make time for this. Are you really going to disrespect her like that?"

Estelle’s voice was frigid. "Get out of my way."

Staring at Estelle’s face, Noelle’s own expression contorted with rage for a fleeting moment.

But then she thought about what was coming next, and a feeling of exhilaration washed over her.

"Yara, I’m sorry for misunderstanding you before. But I was only trying to help. Can’t you stop being so prickly?"

Estelle’s voice was steady. "What do you want."

Noelle gave a helpless smile. "Fine, I’ll be direct. Yara, I need you to stay away from Nathaniel."

Estelle narrowed her eyes.

Noelle shook her head. "You know about the rumors online. The Sloan Family was behind them. I mean, Mrs. Sloan and Chairman Sloan despise you. What’s the point of clinging to Nathaniel? Don’t tell me you actually think you can marry into the Sloan family?"

Estelle laughed. "And in what capacity are you saying this to me, Miss Lockwood?"

Noelle didn’t say a word. Her fans shouted for her, "In her capacity as the future Mrs. Sloan, of course!"

"Have you no shame? You’re addicted to being the mistress, aren’t you! Noelle is Mr. Sloan’s rightful fiancée. If it weren’t for you, they would’ve been together long ago!"

"Why don’t you just die!"

"Yeah, hurry up and die!"

People nearby began to stare.

Estelle sneered. Her phone beeped twice as the recording continued. "You want to be Mrs. Sloan so badly, Miss Lockwood, so why are you still just a ’fiancée-in-waiting’ after all these years?"

Noelle choked on her words.

Estelle drawled, "Because Nathaniel likes beautiful women. And well, your looks are just... not up to par, Miss Lockwood. You’re simply not his type. Instead of wasting your time trying to stop me, maybe you should worry about whether there’s any saving that face of yours."

Noelle might be a famous actress, but her "A-list" status was a total sham. It was all bought and paid for by the Lockwood and Sloan Groups. With the sheer amount of money they spent getting her trending, even a pig could’ve become a star, to say nothing of someone like Noelle, who was an expert at playing the innocent victim.

Her own features were plain; forget about comparing her to others in the entertainment industry, she wasn’t even as pretty as your average girl on the street.

’And yet, Noelle resented anyone prettier than her. The reason she set that fire...’

’...was precisely because the original Estelle Lockwood’s beauty was so exceptional. Even as she tried to kill her, Noelle had to ruin her face as well.’

"You—!" Noelle gritted her teeth.

Estelle put her phone away and turned to go.

Suddenly—

"Ah, fire!"

"Oh no, it’s a fire! Everybody run!"

"How did it start? What’s going to happen to all this fabric...?"

Estelle whipped her head around.

The fire was spreading like a wildfire. Her pupils constricted, and it was as if she was back five years ago!

’If a fabric market catches fire, the consequences would be catastrophic...’

Everyone was scrambling for the exits. Estelle instinctively looked for a way out, but someone suddenly shoved her hard—

"Push her back!"

"Don’t let her get out! Let her burn to death!"

"Noelle, let’s get out of here!"

A thrill of glee shot through Noelle. "Yara, I didn’t want it to be like this, but you just wouldn’t listen to reason. Now, you can just die in this fire!"

"Oh, and don’t worry. Everyone will think you started this fire. Tsk, tsk. How pitiful. You’ll be dead, and people will still be cursing your name."

Noelle showed her true, venomous colors. But her fans didn’t try to stop her; instead, they found it cathartic. To them, it was perfectly fine for Noelle to commit murder and arson. To die by her hand should be considered an honor!

The fans escorted Noelle as they ran for the exit. Estelle clutched her chest, coughing. The scorching flames threatened to consume everything, and sweat beaded on her forehead.

The scene before her seemed to merge with the memory from five years ago...

’It wasn’t enough for Noelle to kill her once; she had to come back for a second time!’

’The first time in a hospital, the second in a fabric market.’

’She’d been lucky the first time; no one else was hurt. But now? Noelle had absolutely no regard for human life!’

’But she didn’t have the strength to think about any of that now...’

"Sir, you can’t go in there! It’s too dangerous!"

"Get out of my way!"

Estelle’s mind grew hazy. Suddenly, she heard a man’s voice... ’Am I hallucinating? Why does that sound like... Nathaniel Sloan’s voice?’

...

Nathaniel Sloan had gone to the hospital to find Laura Jennings harassing Chapman, who begged Nathaniel to take his mother away.

But for some reason, Laura Jennings threw a full-blown tantrum, sitting on the hospital floor and screaming that her son was unfilial.

Nathaniel had planned to have his bodyguards escort Laura Jennings back to the Sloan estate, but he was suddenly struck by a sharp, twisting pain in his chest.

It felt as though something terrible was happening, as if he would regret this moment for the rest of his life if he didn’t do something right now.

So for the first time, Nathaniel ignored Laura Jennings’ tantrum. He ignored Chapman’s pleas for him to stay, walked straight out the hospital doors, tracked Estelle Lockwood’s location, and drove there as fast as he possibly could.

He’d barely stepped out of the car when his eyes were met with a raging inferno.