The Billionaire Twins Need A New Mommy! - Chapter 362

Chapter 362: Slater’s Bonus
It was general knowledge that Lola had moved out of the Young family’s home to study at her chosen university. The Young family had supported her all the way—emotionally and financially—only for her to rebel and allegedly get pregnant. Although the pregnancy had always been treated as a baseless rumor, everyone, including the Lancaster family—especially the chairman and Derek—knew the story.

But not this version.

Derek had always believed that the Young family supported Lola, and even the chairman secretly helped her. That was why he grew so angry whenever he remembered that Lola supposedly got pregnant while receiving his grandfather’s help.

“Melissa, what are they talking about?” he asked, face blank as he turned to her.

Melissa’s eyes trembled as she shook her head. “I—I don’t know!”

Lola raised her brows, while Atlas merely sighed and shook his head. This was more disappointing than amusing for him. If this was what people meant by fake it till you make it, he finally understood.

“The chairman provided financial assistance to Miss Lola Young when she moved out, given the financial situation the Young family had back then,” Travis spoke up while checking the certifications in the folder. He didn’t bother looking through the rest; what he saw was already enough. “Assistance that was meant to let her live comfortably and focus on her studies. And yet, these certifications—spanning her entire university years—tell a different story.”

Travis tipped his glasses up, a thin layer of frost in his eyes. “Mr. Young, you were the one who received all of that money, promising to hand it over along with your own support. Were you… deceiving the chairman and the entire Lancaster family all along?”

“No!” Lawrence panicked, stepping forward. “That’s not—it’s not true! I tried—I mean, I kept sending Lola everything and told her to use them!”

Lola tilted her head slightly, while Atlas shook his head again.

“True?” he asked, and received a quick, “Nope.”

Lawrence was just digging a deeper grave for himself.

“It’s just that she kept sending them back!” he added quickly, while Jasmine nodded beside him. “Lola is prideful and wouldn’t listen to her parents. Even though we supported her, she wouldn’t touch what we gave and kept sending it back.”

“If that’s true, then you should be able to provide proof,” Celestine interjected, raising her chin as she eyed the couple knowingly. “If Lola returned the money, you can pull up your old transactions. And even if she did reject it, wasn’t it only right to return the chairman’s support since she refused to accept it?”

Despite Celestine’s and Travis’s calm tones, no one dared to speak. All they could do was stare at the couple (Jasmine and Lawrence) in dismay and disappointment. The Youngs opened and closed their mouths, but no words came out.

The chairman huffed, his hands trembling on his cane. Still, he restrained himself; this entire engagement party had become such a ridiculous spectacle that even calling it humiliating would be an understatement.

“I’m not done,” Atlas said suddenly, making Lola, Allen, and everyone else whip their heads toward him.

He wasn’t done yet?!

Lola pinched his side to get his attention. Keeping a polite smile, she leaned in and whispered, “Babe, we’re done.”

“Ah.” Atlas blinked lazily. “I’m done… for tonight. However—”

Again, Lola’s eyes widened, and everyone with them looked at him in dread.

However, what?

“I will not let this humiliation slide,” he continued. “The Youngs and…”

Just as his eyes slid toward the Lancasters, Lola leaned closer to him.

“Darling dear, Grandpa’s good to me. Not the bad guy — take off that scope.”

Atlas arched a brow, gave her a sidelong glance, then turned to the chairman. “I’ll think about it. But remember—you will not leave unscathed. I’ll see you all tomorrow for our meeting about the joint project my wife convinced me to sign.”

With that, Atlas finally looked down at Lola. “Don’t come back here again.”

“But…” she pouted, fluttering her fan-like lashes before shrugging. “We’ll see~”

Having said that, the couple walked away with Lola, still glowing like a firefly, hugging Atlas’s arm as she skipped beside him. Her curly hair bounced with every step while he simply let her shine as bright as she pleased.

As they left, Allen and the rest of the bodyguards stepped aside and bowed their heads. Once the couple passed, they followed in formation.

Meanwhile, the chairman huffed and glared at the Youngs, then at Derek.

“I’ve seen enough tonight,” he said, his eyes settling on Lawrence. “Lawrence Young, I’ll be speaking to you first thing tomorrow. And you, Derek Lancaster, come with me.”

Chairman Lancaster didn’t linger. He left with Travis’s assistance, and Celestine, after a small shrug, wordlessly followed. There were clearly things she and the chairman needed to discuss now; damage control being one of them.

“…” Derek just stared at his grandfather, Travis, and Celestine with blank eyes.

Moments ago, everything had been perfect. Now, silence and humiliation were all that remained—each word that had been spoken hitting like a slap from both sides.

When Melissa’s hand tightened on his sleeve, Derek glanced down. Then, seeing her tear-filled eyes, he looked up again.

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. His chest tightened, his thoughts a blur. In the end, he pulled his arm free and exhaled sharply before walking out of his own engagement party.

“Derek!” Melissa called out, but he didn’t stop. He walked away without looking back or saying a word.

Her attention didn’t stay on him long; instead, she noticed the guests gathering their things and leaving their tables.

“Wait—!” she called, only for the nearest guest to scoff.

“Melissa Young, what do you want us to wait for?” the woman snapped, her eyes dripping with malice. “We’ve seen and heard enough. We’re not waiting for you to fix what you ruined.”

“Goodness. I didn’t think the Youngs could be this shameless,” another muttered as she walked away. “Don’t they have a shred of dignity left?”

“With everything that’s happened, do they really think there’ll still be a wedding after this?”

“The Youngs truly underestimated the Lancasters.”

“The Lancasters won’t be sleeping tonight because they’ll be doing damage control. But the Youngs should worry more. They’ve offended someone even the Lancasters wouldn’t dare cross.”

The guests, especially those tied to NL Group, didn’t spare the Youngs any mercy. They expressed not only their disappointment and dismay but also their quiet anger, knowing this fiasco might hurt them too.

Lawrence, Jasmine, and Melissa could only watch as everyone left. But before they could even attempt to salvage the night, a sudden strum of a guitar filled the air.

Curious, those near the exits turned toward the stage.

There sat Slater on a stool with a guitar, a spotlight on him, and a mic before him.

“My heart bleeds for my sister, who had to waste her time tonight,” he crooned, “but it aches even more to see such a large crowd have their time wasted. So, as my sister’s favorite brother-in-law, should I sing you all one bonus song to make tonight a little more meaningful?”

Everyone: “…”

“Brace yourselves, because this song is a million-dollar performance — here we go!”