Chapter 285: She Must Escape From Here

Chapter 285: Chapter 285: She Must Escape From Here

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

"Miss Lockwood, long time no see."

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

Theodore maintained a courteous and elegant facade. "There’s no need to be so defensive, Miss Lockwood. I decorated this room for you myself. Are you satisfied?"

Estelle kept her composure, answering his question with one of her own. "The men from earlier... you sent them?"

Theodore still didn’t hide a thing. His expression was gentle and apologetic. "Those fools actually hurt you, Miss Lockwood."

That was an admission.

"Mr. Lancaster, you’re revealing your identity to me so directly. Aren’t you afraid I’ll come after you once I get out of here?"

Theodore shook his head helplessly, looking as though he were indulging her. He answered patiently, "Miss Lockwood, that’s assuming you *can* get out of here.

"Why don’t you take a guess? Why do you think I am bold enough to reveal my identity to you?"

Estelle’s heart skipped a beat.

There was an old saying: "Dead men tell no tales."

Theodore didn’t mind exposing himself to her. He openly admitted to hunting down Nathaniel Sloan and hiring assassins, which meant he didn’t consider her a threat.

Why wouldn’t she be a threat? Because Theodore was absolutely certain she couldn’t escape. Therefore, he had no qualms about sharing his secrets—since Estelle couldn’t escape or contact the outside world, telling her was as good as telling no one.

Realizing this, Estelle scoffed. "You’re awfully confident. Young Mr. Lancaster, I was kidnapped by you, not killed. Do you really think Nathaniel won’t come looking for me? Do you honestly believe you haven’t left a single trace behind?"

"That’s true," Theodore nodded. "But perhaps you don’t realize, Miss Lockwood, that I have made foolproof preparations."

Estelle narrowed her eyes sharply.

Theodore smiled. "Before long, you’ll likely see news of your own ’accidental death,’ Miss Lockwood. By then, Nathaniel will be so consumed by grief that he won’t have the presence of mind to look for any flaws in my plan."

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

Theodore laughed. "You don’t need to worry about that, Miss Lockwood. All you need to know is that from now on, you are mine.

"If you don’t like this villa, I have other properties. I’m sure you’ll find one to your liking. My bodyguards are stationed both inside and out. If you’re thinking of running, I’m afraid that’s impossible."

With that, Theodore left the room, presumably having other matters to attend to.

The room seemed empty, but Estelle knew someone was definitely watching her. A wave of nausea washed over her.

Then, an inexplicable panic bubbled up in her chest. Would Nathaniel be worried sick about her? What if Theodore actually announced her "death"? What would happen to her three little ones? And what about... Nathaniel?

She had to find a way to escape. But getting out of here single-handedly was nothing short of a pipe dream. She needed to contact Nathaniel. But how?

Estelle paced around the villa a few times. Once she had a rough idea of the layout, she headed to the study.

A bodyguard stepped forward. "Miss Lockwood, you cannot leave your room."

Estelle replied nonchalantly, "Theodore said I can’t leave the villa, not the room. Since the entire villa is my designated area, why can’t I come to the study?"

Mr. Lancaster hadn’t explicitly forbidden that. The bodyguard hesitated. However, remembering that Mr. Lancaster had called Miss Lockwood an honored guest, and knowing this villa wasn’t Theodore’s primary residence—meaning there was nothing crucial in the study—he let her in.

The entire villa was equipped with signal jammers. She had lost her phone, and there wasn’t even a computer in the study. Theodore really had her on lockdown.

Estelle glanced around. The study was enormous, with a ceiling nearly three meters high. Reaching the books on the top shelves would require a ladder. It was less of a study and more of a miniature library. Covering almost a hundred square meters and filled with countless bookshelves, the sheer volume of books was unimaginable.

Estelle scanned the spines quickly. She was looking for a specific book—the copy of *Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland* that Miranda Lancaster had given to Nathaniel long ago.

But Miranda had given him that book twenty-four or twenty-five years ago. That particular edition was likely out of print, and finding a discontinued book in Theodore’s study wouldn’t be easy.

Yet, she couldn’t believe it was actually there.

Estelle didn’t let her excitement show. She just wandered around casually and picked out a few books on design.

When she reached the door, she saw the same bodyguard standing guard. She feigned casual praise. "There’s quite a collection here. Even a few rare editions."

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

So, it was the Lancaster family’s collection. In that case, this had to be a villa owned by the Lancasters. She had been secretly calculating the time since she was forced into the car. Even though she had been blindfolded and the route was winding, they definitely hadn’t left Crestfall.

She needed to figure out her exact location and situation. After that, she would use that copy of *Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland* to write a coded message and find a way to get it to Nathaniel.

Estelle took the books back to her room. When Theodore heard about it, he checked which two books she had taken. He narrowed his eyes slightly but couldn’t find anything suspicious about them.

After finishing the two books, Estelle made another trip to the study and picked out two more.

When she ran into Theodore, she mocked him. "Young Mr. Lancaster, you’ve locked me up here with no other entertainment. I have no choice but to read."

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

Estelle replied offhandedly, "I’m naturally gifted. Got a problem with that?"

Theodore watched as she grabbed two more books, taking them in order from the shelf.

Two hours later, Estelle returned to exchange her books, again taking two more in order from the shelf. It seemed she really was just casually killing time.

"That’s good," Theodore said flatly. "But I must remind you, Miss Lockwood, you won’t escape from here."

Estelle sneered. "Alright. Let’s see about that."

If she made a show of trying to escape the villa by any means necessary, Theodore’s attention would likely be focused on her actions, rather than the coded messages she was about to leave.

Meanwhile, at the hospital.

Hearing about Nathaniel’s incident, Zane Grant rushed over, only to find Nathaniel unconscious, suffering from a flare-up of his poison.

Zane’s mind buzzed, the color draining from his face. "Where’s his medicine?!"

Zane wondered why Nathaniel’s poison, which had been suppressed for so long, was suddenly acting up again.

A nurse brought the medication, and Zane immediately injected it into Nathaniel. He asked Luke White in a low voice, "What happened?"

Before Luke could answer, Zane felt something was off. He looked left and right, suddenly realizing someone was missing. "Wait, where’s Estelle?"

Luke’s face instantly turned pale.