Chapter 283: "Mr. Lynch" Is Miranda Lancaster

Chapter 283: Chapter 283: "Mr. Lynch" Is Miranda Lancaster

Nathaniel Sloan hummed in agreement. "She asked Mr. Lynch from the charity foundation to deliver it to me."

"She also left a portion of Sloan Group shares with Mr. Lynch, specifying that they were to be left to Estelle."

’Mr. Lynch...’

Old Mrs. Sloan was aware that "Mr. Lynch" was just a code name, but she didn’t know who the woman behind the original Mr. Lynch was.

Hearing Nathaniel Sloan’s words, Old Mrs. Sloan was slightly surprised. ’To be entrusted with secrets and shares, this Mr. Lynch must have been Miranda Lancaster’s most trusted and best friend.’

But Old Mrs. Sloan was the person in the Sloan family who cared most about Miranda Lancaster, yet she had never seen Miranda get close to anyone, man or woman. ’So when did this Mr. Lynch befriend her?’

’Such a secret, and such a large block of shares... one couldn’t possibly entrust that to just anyone...’

And this Mr. Lynch was clearly a person of great integrity, delivering the secret to Nathaniel Sloan and leaving the shares to Estelle Lockwood.

Estelle Lockwood paused. "I have an idea."

Old Mrs. Sloan looked at her.

Estelle Lockwood said calmly, "In the diary my grandfather left behind, he mentioned a Mr. Lynch. They were friends. The Mr. Lynch he befriended wasn’t Nathaniel Sloan, so it must have been the original Mr. Lynch."

"That’s true, and easy enough to understand." Old Mrs. Sloan frowned slightly. "And then?"

Estelle said, "Then there’s the fact that Ms. Miranda Lancaster left Sloan Group shares to me. I’ve never met Ms. Lancaster, and neither had my grandfather. Why would she leave her shares to me?"

"Additionally, Ms. Lancaster trusted Mr. Lynch so deeply, and the original Mr. Lynch passed away twenty years ago... Ms. Miranda Lancaster also died twenty years ago."

Estelle stated her conclusion. "Could they, in fact, be the same person?"

Nathaniel Sloan’s head snapped up.

Old Mrs. Sloan mulled it over for a long moment before accepting the speculation.

"Yes, if Mr. Lynch was Miranda, then everything would make sense... The Sloan and Lancaster families were wary of her; they burned her belongings. She must have known they would!"

"That’s why she had to use the identity of Mr. Lynch to send a message to Nathaniel, reaching across time."

"Her not telling Nathaniel that she was Mr. Lynch is also understandable. We only just managed to connect the two now, so there’s no way the Lancaster and Sloan families ever would."

"Miranda... she did it to keep the secret safe."

A wave of sadness washed over Old Mrs. Sloan.

’That child... growing up in the cold Lancaster family, oppressed by the mistress and her illegitimate daughter, with a cold, heartless father who used her as a bargaining chip, and a selfish husband.’

’She didn’t trust anyone, right up to the day she died.’

’That was why she hadn’t asked Old Mrs. Sloan to pass on the message. Perhaps it was to protect her, or perhaps it was because she had lost all faith in people.’

Either possibility made Old Mrs. Sloan’s heart ache for her.

Old Mrs. Sloan had the two of them stay for dinner, then said she needed to rest.

Clearly, the news had been a great shock to her.

The thought that Miranda couldn’t find a single person to confide in before she died was like a knife twisting in her heart.

Nathaniel Sloan didn’t press her to stay and left the manor with Estelle Lockwood.

The man stood at the entrance, gazing at the manor.

Estelle looked up as well. "Old Mrs. Sloan said Ms. Lancaster left this behind. Even twenty or thirty years ago, a manor like this wouldn’t have been cheap. Ms. Lancaster... where did she get that kind of money?"

"And she founded a charity foundation."

’How could a poor, pitiful woman, abandoned by her family and husband, establish a charity foundation and keep it secret for so many years?’

Estelle didn’t understand.

Night had fallen, and Nathaniel Sloan drove them home.

The manor was in a somewhat remote location, and the way back to Imperial Crest required a drive through a stretch of mountain road.

As darkness fell, the mountain road was only sparsely illuminated by streetlights.

Estelle felt the surrounding silence was almost unnatural. She didn’t know if it was just her intuition, but her heart started pounding, beating faster and faster.

Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of the rearview mirror out of the corner of her eye. At some point, another car had started following them.

The car wasn’t fast, nor was it slow, but it stuck close behind Nathaniel Sloan’s vehicle. The sense of foreboding in Estelle’s heart grew stronger.

"Nathaniel, someone’s following us!"

Nathaniel’s eyes remained calm, his gaze fixed on the road ahead. "I know. This is a mountain road; it’ll be tricky to lose them."

Estelle was confused. ’The car behind them clearly has hostile intentions, but we didn’t tell anyone where we were going today. How did our pursuers know we would be at the manor and prepare an ambush in advance?’

WHOOSH—

Suddenly, the car behind them surged forward!

Nathaniel Sloan slammed on the accelerator, narrowly avoiding the collision. The car fishtailed before speeding down another path.

"Estelle, get down!"

Nathaniel’s cold, sharp voice rang out, and Estelle’s body reacted faster than her mind—she immediately dropped her head.

BANG—

A bullet pierced the windshield.

Estelle’s pupils contracted violently. ’A gun! They actually have guns!’

"Don’t be afraid," Nathaniel said as he maneuvered the car, evading.

It was obvious the gunmen were after Estelle; every bullet was aimed at the passenger seat.

Estelle realized it too. ’It’s strange. These people are trying to kill us, but they don’t seem to want Nathaniel dead. Every shot is aimed at me.’

’Is it someone I’ve offended?’

CRASH!

This time, it wasn’t a gunshot, but a collision!

On the narrow road, a car appeared head-on, ramming straight into Nathaniel’s vehicle!

Their car was sent flying from the impact. Nathaniel’s pupils constricted. "Get out!"

Estelle felt herself being shoved forcefully from the car by Nathaniel. Then the man was shielding her with his body. With a BANG, sparks erupted behind them.

The gunmen wanted to kill Estelle, but she was shielded so completely by Nathaniel that they couldn’t find a clear shot.

And at that moment, the driver of the car in front of them tried to ram Nathaniel!

Nathaniel drew a pistol. Using the wreckage for cover, he fired off two quick shots before ducking down again to hold Estelle. "Don’t be afraid."

Estelle was enveloped by his presence—clean, gentle, with his own unique masculine scent.

CRUNCH—The vehicle struck again, and the cover behind them began to crumble!

A trickle of blood escaped from the corner of Nathaniel’s mouth, but he held firm, keeping Estelle protected behind him.

They were surrounded. The attackers seemed to be split into two groups—one trying to kill her, and the other trying to kill Nathaniel.

They were without a car, trapped between a rock and a hard place. Estelle suddenly felt the arms holding her weaken, and she cried out in alarm, "Nathaniel!"

’I’ve already secretly texted Luke White,’ she thought. ’He’ll be here with backup soon. Nathaniel just has to hold on a little longer—’

Suddenly, Nathaniel’s vision went completely black. It was as if he’d gone blind; he couldn’t see a thing.

Then, his hearing began to fade as well.

He was familiar with this feeling. Years ago, the Lancaster family had poisoned him. As he was fleeing for his life, a girl had saved him. His investigation back then had pointed to Noelle Lockwood as his savior. For many years after that, the poison had never flared up again.