The Triplets My Ex Never Knew About

Chapter 191: Chapter 191: So, Nathaniel Sloan Really Isn’t Laura Jennings’ Biological Son?

Laura Jennings’s face was flushed red with the fury of being exposed. "I... How was I supposed to know Mrs. York would say something like that to Christian? I genuinely thought they liked him!"

"I’m Christian’s grandmother! Would I ever hurt him?!"

She grumbled as she spoke, so furious with Liam Sloan she could have died.

’How could he be so stupid?! Is this something you can just say in front of everyone?’

Liam Sloan’s lips curled into a slight smile. ’This ’stupid’ act of his... wasn’t it exactly what Laura Jennings raised him to be?’

’She had two sons. Laura Jennings targeted the older one at every turn while deliberately raising the younger one to be useless. What was her endgame?’

’What’s more, Ethan Sloan actually let her do it. Could it be that Laura Jennings and Ethan Sloan have their own biological son somewhere else? But is that possible? If they had another child, why wouldn’t they bring him into the Sloan family?’

But in reality... Liam Sloan had an inkling as to why Laura Jennings disliked Nathaniel Sloan.

’He strongly suspected that Nathaniel Sloan wasn’t Laura Jennings’s biological son.’

While Liam Sloan’s thoughts were drifting, Laura Jennings burst out in a flustered rage, "In any case, this can’t be blamed on me! If you have to blame someone, blame Christian for his bad luck in getting targeted by Mrs. York! What does it have to do with me?!"

With that, Laura Jennings stormed off, acting as if she were the one in the right.

The surrounding servants exchanged glances and shook their heads, unable to comprehend what was wrong with Laura Jennings.

Once everyone had dispersed, Liam Sloan sidled up to his brother, looking him up and down. "Bro, I thought you were going to get physical."

Nathaniel Sloan shot him a sidelong glance. "To some extent, I’m quite civilized."

Question marks popped up over Liam Sloan’s head. "?" ’Then who was it that beat me up when we were kids??’

He was suddenly left speechless by Nathaniel Sloan.

Before Liam Sloan could speak, Nathaniel Sloan had already asked, "You’ve been staying at the Sloan residence lately?"

Liam Sloan pouted, perfectly embodying the image of a simple-minded oaf from a wealthy family. "Yeah. Mom said the Sloan Group acquired an island and bought a yacht, and she wants me to take my friends there to have some fun."

Nathaniel Sloan narrowed his eyes. "Which friends?"

Liam Sloan was perfectly frank. "My fellow good-for-nothing trust fund buddies who do nothing but live off their parents. Mom loves it when I hang out with them."

These second-generation heirs were spoiled rotten by their families, ignoring the family business and knowing only how to eat, drink, and be merry.

And Laura Jennings, ever since they were children, had only allowed Liam Sloan to associate with people like that.

There’s truth to the saying that you become like the company you keep. It seemed Laura Jennings and Ethan Sloan were using every method possible to ruin Liam Sloan—spoiling him, killing him with kindness, and trying to shape him into a degenerate heir who bullied others and stopped at nothing to get his way.

Liam Sloan had understood this since he was a teenager. At first, he thought it was because a family only needed one heir, and they were grooming his older brother.

But then his brother founded Evernight International on his own, without taking a single penny from the Sloan Group, leaving the Sloan Group with no discernible heir at all.

At this thought, Liam Sloan glanced around. Seeing no one nearby, he lowered his voice and spoke conspiratorially, as if he were a thief:

"Bro, I suspect Laura Jennings isn’t your real mom at all!"

Nathaniel Sloan gave a faint nod. "Mm."

Liam Sloan’s eyes widened. "You’re not surprised?! Does that mean you’re really not her son? How did you know? What did you find out? Is there proof? Is there evidence in Dad’s study? Or did Mom let it slip herself?"

Liam Sloan fired off a whole barrage of questions, but Nathaniel Sloan was calm. "None of the above."

Liam Sloan’s curiosity instantly peaked, and he waited expectantly for the answer.

Then he watched as Nathaniel Sloan stated, perfectly composed, "I just feel that Ms. Jennings’s intelligence is far too different from my own."

Liam Sloan: "??"

’Oh. So he was saying his mom was too stupid.’

For a moment, Liam Sloan found himself unable to refute that, and he even felt it was quite reasonable.

He suddenly looked a little hopeful, a little sheepish, a little embarrassed. "Ahem, Nathaniel Sloan, if we’re going by intelligence... do you think I’m Mom’s biological son?"

Nathaniel Sloan responded with silence.

Liam Sloan: "..."

Liam Sloan shattered a little inside once again.

...

Meanwhile, Laura Jennings hurried off to find Ethan Sloan, complaining the moment she opened her mouth, "That precious son of yours! Does he even see me as his mother anymore?!"

Ethan Sloan’s brow furrowed in irritation. "I told you to lay low lately, but you didn’t listen at all! What good does it do to offend Nathaniel now? Do you still want him to come home or not?"

At the mention of "him," Laura Jennings pursed her lips and said awkwardly, "So, uh, when is the Lancaster family coming back?"

Ethan Sloan snapped, "Soon. This month. So you had better behave yourself!"

"I know, I know," Laura Jennings said.

Liam Sloan happened to be passing the study and overheard them from outside the door. ’The Lancaster family?’ he thought, finding it strange.

’His scumbag dad’s first wife was a Lancaster. But after she died, the Lancaster family never sent anyone to demand justice. The Sloans and the Lancasters haven’t had any contact for over twenty years. So why are Ethan Sloan and Laura Jennings so worked up about the Lancasters returning to Crestfall? What are they up to?’

’Something’s not right. He could feel it. The more he thought about it with his not-so-brilliant brain, the more wrong it all seemed.’

...

When Nathaniel Sloan returned to Imperial Crest, he heard Estelle Lockwood on the phone before he even stepped inside.

"I understand, Uncle Kendrick. I’ll definitely be there tomorrow."

She had just said this, the call not yet ended, when she turned and saw Nathaniel Sloan. She raised an eyebrow, perfectly composed. "What did Ms. Jennings have to say?"

It was self-evident why Laura Jennings had deliberately sent Christian to the York family.

So, it was also within Estelle Lockwood’s expectations that Nathaniel Sloan would go to settle the score with Laura Jennings.

Nathaniel Sloan nodded slightly. "Ms. Jennings said I was heartless and ungrateful."

Estelle Lockwood raised an eyebrow. "And?"

Nathaniel Sloan was perfectly calm, as if stating the obvious. "I said that no matter how heartless and ungrateful I am, she’s still the one who gave birth to me. Can’t be helped. It’s in the genes."

Estelle Lockwood found herself amused by Nathaniel Sloan’s sense of humor.

Just then, the person on the other end of the line said something else, and Estelle Lockwood replied, "An auction, right? Don’t worry, I’ll definitely figure something out."

After hanging up, Estelle Lockwood couldn’t help but think about the news she had just heard—an auction was going to be held in Crestfall, and the organizer’s surname was Lynch.

There were no prominent families in Crestfall with the surname Lynch, but when he held an auction, the city’s rich and powerful were all eager to attend, making tickets incredibly hard to come by.

Estelle Lockwood had been asked to get a ticket... She pondered for a moment. ’Could the Mr. Lynch hosting the auction be the same Mr. Lynch she knew?’

She asked someone to inquire about this "Mr. Lynch’s" characteristics, and Henry Kendrick replied: "Scholarly, gentle, and low-key in his dealings. He seems quite old, and many who have met him say that talking to Mr. Lynch feels like talking to your head teacher."

Estelle Lockwood nodded. ’That’s right, it’s him. The Mr. Lynch who had helped her so many times over the past five years.’

’But... would it be too rude to ask him directly for an invitation?’ Estelle Lockwood hesitated.

Nathaniel Sloan, however, raised an eyebrow. "An auction?"

Estelle Lockwood snapped out of her thoughts, resting her chin on one hand. "Yes, an auction a week from now."

Nathaniel Sloan nodded lightly. "If you want to go, I can have someone arrange a seat for you."

In reality, the reason he hadn’t told Estelle Lockwood about it was because this auction was set up as a trap.

In one week, the Sloan family’s in-laws—the Lancaster family—were set to return.