"How is it none of my business? For raising such an ill-mannered son, Estelle Lockwood deserves to die—"
"Then how are you any better?"
From the onlookers’ perspective, ’Christian’ was composed and dignified, standing firm under the pressure.
"Mommy said that good manners are for people who have them. When I meet someone like you, who uses their age as an excuse to be disrespectful, why should I treat you with any respect?"
Zachery wasn’t stupid; some things were more effective when said by a child.
So, ’Christian’ continued:
"The first time, you ’invited’ me to the York family’s home as a guest, you threatened me repeatedly, saying that Aunt Thea York would be my father’s new wife, and that I should start sucking up to her now so she might give me a scrap of food to eat later."
"After that, my daddy warned the York family. You said it was all in your head, a mistake, and that it would never happen again. So, a moment ago, Mrs. York, what did you want with us?"
Zachery feigned helplessness. "It was the same old story—Aunt York is going to marry Daddy, and Daddy’s most beloved son will be Aunt York’s child, and we useless burdens should just get lost."
"Mrs. York, are you slow or just forgetful? How can you forget everything you’ve said?"
Mrs. York: "..."
’Last time? How dare this little bastard bring up last time!!’
Christian Sloan had always had the image of a well-behaved and obedient child in everyone’s mind, so someone immediately spoke up.
"What do you mean, slow or forgetful? She’s just plain evil! She was already warned once by Mr. Sloan, and she’s still scheming to put her daughter in Estelle’s place."
"Exactly. She was the mistress, and now she wants her daughter to be one too. Oh, and I heard this beauty salon used to belong to the original Mrs. York. She left it to her own daughter, Stella York, but now this mistress and her illegitimate daughter are the ones showing it off. Tsk, tsk."
Mrs. York was fuming, her mind buzzing. "You... you people... Do any of you know right from wrong?! This little bastard clearly hit me! And you’re siding with him!"
"Yes, my brother did hit you, but like we’ve been saying, he’s only five years old. How much could it possibly hurt?"
The three little ones stood united against a common enemy. Mia asked, "Besides, didn’t my brother hit you because you provoked him?"
Mia could lie without batting an eye. No—this wasn’t really a lie.
After all, Mrs. York really had said those things.
"You figured that we little bastards could never win against you, telling us to watch our backs. You even said that after Aunt York takes over, your ’kind’ self would give us a few tens of thousands for living expenses to make us sever all ties with the Sloan Family."
Everyone looked at Mrs. York with disgust!
’How could she say something like that!’
Mia pressed on, "You said my mommy grew up in the countryside and was abandoned by the Lockwood Family when she was little, so her methods could never compare to yours. You said you already used the same tricks to drive away the original wife, and it wouldn’t be hard to drive away another one. Even though Mia doesn’t really understand what that means, I know it’s definitely not something good."
The onlookers: "..."
Everyone was stunned.
’How could she say that to a child? Is Mrs. York actually proud of being the mistress?!’
’The first original wife was driven away... and who’s the second one she’s going after? It has to be Estelle Lockwood!’
Mrs. York: "???"
’She had said she wanted to kick these three little bastards out of the Sloan Family, but... but when had she ever said that last part!’
’This Mia Lockwood was spouting utter nonsense!’
"Stop your nonsense!!"
A wealthy woman nearby sneered, "She’s only five years old. She probably doesn’t even understand what those words mean. She’s just repeating them. Why are you yelling at a child!"
Mrs. York said, as if it were obvious, "They’re lying!"
But no one believed her.
When Mrs. York was young, she had seduced Chairman York. To win the beauty’s smile, Chairman York had ruthlessly driven out his original wife and their daughter, Stella York.
Not long after the original wife and Stella York returned to the York Family, the original wife died, and Stella was no match for the mother-daughter duo.
So Mrs. York had never really suffered any grievances. In her mind, she had to get whatever she wanted. No matter what she said, others would believe her unconditionally. If she wanted Christian Sloan to die, someone would willingly risk prison to kill him for her.
So Mrs. York truly didn’t understand why no one was helping her anymore!
"Miss York, so this is what you meant by ’I only have brotherly feelings for Nathaniel Sloan and no improper thoughts’?"
Just then, a mocking female voice cut in.
Everyone subconsciously turned to look. Penelope Sullivan finished her sentence with a sneer, and in the next moment, Estelle Lockwood swept the children into her arms. "Christian..."
Then her eyes met Zachery’s.
Zachery: "Ahem, Mommy, I’m sorry. I hit someone just now."
The parents nearby quickly chimed in, "Mrs. Sloan, that’s not it. Your children are wonderful. They were just defending you. Besides, how hard can a child hit? Mrs. York is just making a fuss."
Zachery lowered his head shyly.
Estelle Lockwood: "..."
Others might not know it, but her Zachery’s punches were truly terrifying. Before he was five, he was the undefeated champion of his kindergarten, and now...
"Hehe." Mia quietly put away her silver needles. "Mommy, we were just using the resources at hand."
Zachery nodded quickly. "Right, right, using the resources at hand."
’Hitting people? Sticking people with needles? We don’t know anything about that. We’re just little kids~’
Seeing that her children were unharmed, Estelle Lockwood relaxed.
She calmly raised her head, her gaze meeting Mrs. York’s in mid-air. Mrs. York immediately flinched, bluffing, "What do you want?!"
Nathaniel Sloan bent down to check on him. "Christian, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Mrs. York nearly choked. "Nathaniel, I’m the one who’s hurt—!"
A cold glare from him made Mrs. York swallow her words.
Penelope Sullivan gave a half-smile. "Miss York, what’s going on? Over there, Sophie Foster said you wanted to be the mistress, and over here, your mom is making threats. Don’t tell me your mom is deliberately framing you this time~"
"You can deny what Sophie Foster said, but you can’t deny your own mother, can you?"
Many of the onlookers, who knew what had happened in the luxury bag store earlier, now looked at Thea York with complicated expressions.
’Saying it’s just a brotherly relationship, that she has no other ideas... some people might have believed that before, but now? If you don’t want to be the mistress, why would you have your mom go and threaten the wife’s children?’
’People were even saying that while it was Mrs. York’s fault for being a homewrecker, Thea York was innocent since she couldn’t choose her own family.’
’But this mother-daughter pair is so skilled at threatening the legal wife, you can just imagine how they must have threatened Stella York back then.’
"I, I..." Thea York’s fingertips turned white, and she suddenly felt dizzy.
’I had arranged everything perfectly for today...! First, provoke Estelle Lockwood in the luxury store, make Estelle mistakenly believe that I was the one Nathaniel cared about, and then take advantage of the situation when they started arguing...’
’But now it’s all ruined!’ Thea York shot a vicious glare at Mrs. York. ’Why did this dead-weight mother have to show up today!’