Chapter 279: Mm-hmm, Aunt York, What Do You Say?

Chapter 279: Chapter 279: Mm-hmm, Aunt York, What Do You Say?

Mia’s words instantly silenced the room.

Thea’s face turned pale. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and her lips trembled. For a long moment, she couldn’t utter a single word.

The viewers in the live stream chat found it strange, too.

[Could this Thea York be doing this on purpose? Don’t forget, everyone, Scott York is the grandson of the original wife, while Thea is the mistress’s daughter. Their positions are naturally opposed.]

[Exactly, I refuse to believe Thea is that kind. The York Family is run by the mistress and her illegitimate daughter now. With a legitimate grandson from the original wife suddenly appearing, how could Thea, the illegitimate one, not resent him?]

[I heard the York Group’s shareholders are actually really unhappy with Thea and want to groom the son left behind by the eldest young master—that is, Scott. Could it be that Thea wants to ruin Scott’s reputation and raise him to be a failure because of this?]

[Exactly. She won’t even let him eat the nutritious meals at kindergarten. Besides, what does a child know? They believe whatever adults tell them. If Thea tells Scott day in and day out that he’s useless, won’t he grow up thinking he’s useless? The power of words is sometimes stronger than anyone imagines.]

[In that case, Thea’s intentions are downright evil!]

Of course, Thea’s fans also chimed in to defend her.

Back at the inn, now that Scott’s innocence was proven, the looks everyone gave Thea grew even stranger.

Mia pretended not to notice the look on Thea’s face. Tilting her head, she asked, "Aunt York, can’t you think of anything to say?"

"Ahem, Mia." Zachery suddenly spoke up. "Actually, I know why Aunt York did it!"

All eyes turned to Zachery.

A five-year-old couldn’t possibly say something like, ’Thea is deliberately ruining Scott to take over the York Family.’

So, Zachery said, "That’s because Aunt York is a thief, of course!"

...

...

!!

All the parents froze, their eyes widening in shock!

Zachery offered some ’kind’ advice. "Aunt York, you can’t just assume your nephew is a thief because you are one. They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, but Scott isn’t your son. He’s just your nephew, right?"

Thea’s expression stiffened. ’What in the world? What is Zachery talking about!’

But before she could speak, Christian was already musing aloud, "Ah, that’s right. How could I forget? Aunt York stole Aunt Sophie Foster’s bracelet. Since Aunt York has a record... maybe she was projecting and that’s why she misunderstood Scott."

What did he mean by... Thea was projecting?

Mia nodded eagerly. "Christian is right. Aunt York probably thinks that the only way to get something is to steal it, so that’s why she misunderstood Scott."

"Scott, you shouldn’t blame Aunt York. She didn’t frame you on purpose. It’s just who she is, so she assumes you’re the same way. Sob, sob, poor Aunt York."

They say kids have no filter, but this was taking it to another level...

Did anyone still not understand?

What the three children were implying was that since Thea herself was a habitual thief, she assumed Scott was one as well—

But Mia had also recited the saying: ’Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and a rat’s son knows how to dig holes.’

Scott wasn’t Thea’s son. He was the son of Thea’s older brother—the legitimate heir of the York Family, who had died under mysterious circumstances!

Therefore, Scott’s parents were the ’dragons and phoenixes.’

So what did that make Thea?

What did that make the mistress’s family?

They were, of course, the ’rats’ who had stolen someone else’s life.

OOF... The damage this kid Mia could inflict was immense.

But no one would think a child could be that calculating. Kids just say whatever pops into their heads, after all.

Thea’s face was an ugly shade of green, and her whole body trembled. "I... I didn’t mean it like that... I just misunderstood Scott..."

Mia nodded. "Mhm, we didn’t say you meant it. Everyone knows you didn’t do it on purpose."

Thea felt like she had a fishbone stuck in her throat!

’’Unintentional?’ Didn’t that mean admitting she was a ’habitual thief’ who, because she stole so much herself, assumed Scott would do the same?’

’’Intentional?’ Didn’t that mean admitting she was deliberately suppressing the original wife’s grandson—the son of her brother, the heir—and purposely bullying Scott because he was an orphan with no one to protect him, trying to ruin him and abuse him as she pleased?’

There was no way to win!

Thea never imagined that the day she’d planned to frame Mia would end with Mia turning the tables on her!

Estelle’s lips curved into a smile. "Scott, why don’t you stay with us for the next couple of days?"

Scott meekly managed a single syllable: "Okay..."

...

「York Group.」

Chairman York’s expression was rigid as several shareholders spoke in a passive-aggressive tone.

"York, that’s not very honest of you. All we said was that we wanted to groom Scott, so why did your family suddenly get so antsy? Don’t try to tell us you had no idea what Thea was planning."

Inwardly, Chairman York was viciously cursing both Thea and Mrs. York, but his expression was one of complete shock.

"I never thought Thea could be this kind of person! She... how could she do that to Scott? Scott lost his parents, and yet she... SIGH! It’s all my fault. I’ve spoiled her too much!"

"If you know you’ve spoiled her, then perhaps you should stop letting your second daughter meddle in the company’s affairs," one shareholder said coolly.

"I think the eldest daughter is doing an excellent job managing the company. Chairman York, when exactly are you going to hand the company over to Stella?"

"That’s right. Grooming Scott is a long-term plan. He’s just a little kid. Even if we started training him now, it would be at least twenty years before he could take over."

"But right now, Chairman York, under your leadership, the York Group has been on a consistent twenty-year decline. Don’t you think it’s about time you let someone more capable take the reins?"

"When Stella first started at the company, she had no official title or position, yet she managed to turn things around during crises time and time again. If that had been Thea, I bet Chairman York would have been overjoyed to announce her as the new heir."

"But Stella can’t even get a single word of praise from her father. SIGH. I used to think Chairman York wasn’t playing favorites, that he was just trying to toughen Stella up. But now, after seeing what’s happening to Scott... TSK TSK."

Veins throbbed on Chairman York’s forehead.

’These shareholders are getting more and more insolent!’

’Stella, Stella, Stella. She was just a daughter he’d never thought much of, yet her status in the company had actually surpassed his!’

’But now, Thea... So stupid, so incredibly stupid! How could I have such an idiotic daughter?’

...

Back at the inn, the two hosts made an awkward exit. Thea’s expression was dark and stormy. She took several deep breaths before managing to feign composure.

’The Sloan Family are a bunch of useless fools, too. They still haven’t succeeded!’

...

After taking Scott back to their room, Estelle prepared him a glass of milk.

As he drank, he kept glancing cautiously at Nathaniel.

Estelle was a bit curious. "Scott, is there something you want to ask?"

After a long moment of hesitation, Scott asked softly, "Are... are you Mia’s daddy?"

Nathaniel gave a faint nod.

Scott asked again, "Then... is your, your last name Sloan?"