Chapter 285: She Must Escape From Here

Chapter 285: Chapter 285: She Must Escape From Here

Estelle Lockwood’s eyes narrowed. "It’s you?"

"Miss Lockwood, long time no see."

Theodore Lancaster made no attempt to hide his intentions. Warily, Estelle Lockwood asked, "What do you want?"

On the surface, Theodore Lancaster was refined and courteous. "Miss Lockwood, there’s no need to be so guarded. I decorated this room for you myself. Are you satisfied with it?"

Estelle Lockwood kept her cool and answered with a question instead. "Those men... you sent them?"

Theodore Lancaster remained completely open, his expression gentle and apologetic. "Those idiots actually managed to hurt you, Miss Lockwood."

That was a confession.

"Mr. Lancaster, you’ve revealed yourself to me so directly. Aren’t you afraid I’ll come after you once I escape?"

Theodore Lancaster shook his head helplessly, as if being exceptionally indulgent, and patiently explained, "But Miss Lockwood, that’s contingent on you actually escaping."

"Why don’t you take a guess, Miss Lockwood, as to why I can be so bold as to reveal myself to you?"

Estelle Lockwood’s heart skipped a beat.

There’s an old saying: ’Dead men tell no tales.’

Theodore Lancaster didn’t mind exposing himself, admitting to hunting down Nathaniel Sloan and hiring killers, which meant he didn’t see Estelle Lockwood as a threat.

’Why wasn’t she a threat? Because Theodore Lancaster was certain she couldn’t escape.’

That was why he unabashedly revealed his secrets. If Estelle Lockwood couldn’t escape or contact the outside world, then they weren’t really secrets at all.

Once she understood, Estelle Lockwood sneered. "You’re certainly confident in yourself. Young Mr. Lancaster, you’ve kidnapped me, not killed me. Do you think Nathaniel Sloan won’t come looking for me? Do you really believe you can pull this off without leaving a single trace?"

"That’s true," Theodore Lancaster conceded with a nod. "But what you may not know, Miss Lockwood, is that I’ve already made thorough preparations."

Estelle Lockwood’s eyes narrowed sharply.

Theodore Lancaster smiled. "Before long, Miss Lockwood, you should see news of your own ’accidental death.’ By then, Nathaniel Sloan will likely be devastated. What state of mind will he be in to find any flaws in my plan?"

Estelle Lockwood’s gaze turned icy. "I’m a living, breathing person! How are you going to prove I’m dead?!"

Theodore Lancaster laughed. "You don’t need to know the details, Miss Lockwood. All you need to know is that from now on, you belong to me."

"If you don’t like this villa, Miss Lockwood, I have other properties. You’re bound to like one of them. My bodyguards are stationed inside and out. If you’re thinking of escaping... you probably can’t."

After he finished speaking, Theodore Lancaster, who apparently had other matters to attend to, stepped out of the room.

The room seemed empty, but Estelle Lockwood knew she was definitely still being watched.

A wave of revulsion washed over her.

Then, a strange panic began to rise in her heart. ’Will Nathaniel Sloan be worried sick about me? If Theodore Lancaster really announces my ’death,’ what will happen to my three little ones? And what about Nathaniel...?’

’I have to find a way to escape.’

’But... for me to escape from here all on my own is a complete fantasy.’

’So, I have to contact Nathaniel Sloan.’

’But how?’

Estelle Lockwood paced around the villa a few times to familiarize herself with the layout, then headed to the study.

A bodyguard stepped forward. "Miss Lockwood, you can’t leave your room."

Estelle Lockwood said lazily, "Theodore Lancaster said I couldn’t leave the villa, not that I couldn’t leave my room. Since the entire villa is my ’activity area,’ are you saying I can’t come to the study?"

’Mr. Lancaster hadn’t said anything about that.’

The bodyguard was momentarily at a loss.

But he recalled Mr. Lancaster saying that Miss Lockwood was an honored guest. Besides, this villa wasn’t Theodore Lancaster’s primary residence, so there shouldn’t be anything important in the study. With that, he let Estelle Lockwood in.

The entire villa was equipped with signal jammers, her phone was gone, and there wasn’t even a computer in the study. Theodore Lancaster’s security was truly airtight.

Estelle Lockwood’s gaze swept around the room. The study was huge, with ceilings nearly ten feet high. You needed a ladder to reach the books on the upper shelves. It was less a study and more a small library.

The study covered nearly a hundred square meters, and filled with so many bookshelves, it must have held an incredible number of books.

Estelle Lockwood quickly scanned the books. She was looking for one in particular—

—the copy of *Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland* that Miranda Lancaster had given to Nathaniel Sloan all those years ago.

However, Miranda Lancaster had given him that book twenty-four or twenty-five years ago. That edition of the storybook was likely long out of print, and finding an out-of-print book in Theodore Lancaster’s study would be no simple task.

’But... it’s actually here?!’

Estelle Lockwood didn’t let her surprise show. She just casually browsed for a moment before picking out a few books on design.

Walking to the study door, she saw the same bodyguard still standing guard. She feigned a casual compliment, "You have quite the collection here. There are even some rare editions."

The bodyguard instinctively replied, "Of course. The Lancaster Family’s collection is naturally extensive."

’So it’s the Lancaster Family’s collection.’

’In that case... this must be a villa owned by the Lancaster Family. I was secretly keeping track of the time after I got in the car. Even though I was blindfolded and the car took a winding route, we definitely didn’t leave Crestfall.’

’I need to figure out my current location and situation, then use that copy of *Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland* to write a coded message and find a way for Nathaniel Sloan to see it.’

Estelle Lockwood returned to her room with the books. When Theodore Lancaster found out, he had the two titles she took checked. He narrowed his eyes slightly but couldn’t find anything unusual about them.

After finishing those two books, Estelle Lockwood returned to the study and picked out two more.

Seeing Theodore Lancaster, she said sarcastically, "Since you’ve locked me up in here with no other amusement, Young Mr. Lancaster, I have no choice but to read."

"You read that fast? You finished two books in just two hours, Miss Lockwood?"

Estelle Lockwood replied nonchalantly, "I’m naturally brilliant. Is that a problem?"

Theodore Lancaster watched as she took two more books, following the order on the shelf.

Two hours later, Estelle Lockwood came back to exchange her books, once again taking the next two in order from the shelf.

It seemed Estelle Lockwood was really just passing the time.

"Good," Theodore Lancaster said coolly. "But I must remind you, Miss Lockwood, you can’t escape from here."

Estelle Lockwood scoffed. "Fine. We’ll see about that."

’If I make a big show of trying to escape the villa, Theodore Lancaster’s attention will be focused on me, not on the coded message I’m planning to leave behind.’

...

「The Hospital」

When Zane Grant heard that Nathaniel Sloan was in trouble, he rushed over, only to find him unconscious from the poison’s relapse.

Zane Grant’s mind went blank, and his face paled. "The antidote?! Where is it?!"

’Nathaniel’s poison was suppressed, wasn’t it? Why has it flared up again?’

A nurse brought the medication, and Zane Grant injected it directly into Nathaniel Sloan. He then turned to Luke White and asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

Before Luke White could answer, Zane Grant felt that something was wrong. He looked left and right, then suddenly realized someone was missing. "Wait, where’s Estelle Lockwood?"

Luke White’s expression changed abruptly.