Chapter 289: Estelle Figures Out a Way to Leave

Chapter 289: Chapter 289: Estelle Figures Out a Way to Leave

Theodore raised an eyebrow. "You don’t seem anxious at all, Miss Lockwood."

"Would being anxious help?" Estelle continued reading, not even lifting her eyelids.

Theodore appreciated her attitude. "You’re right, it wouldn’t help. But don’t you want to know what’s happening in the outside world right now?"

"Would wanting to know help?" Estelle repeated her sentiment. "Is this something I can find out just because I want to? Whether or not I get to know the specifics is entirely up to you, isn’t it, Mr. Lancaster?"

"It’s fine, Miss Lockwood. I can let you know," Theodore said, feeling she suited his tastes perfectly.

Estelle narrowed her eyes.

With a light chuckle, Theodore opened a news article and placed his phone in front of her. "Here, Miss Lockwood. Take a good look."

Estelle’s fingers curled slightly as a bad premonition washed over her. Sure enough, the headline read: "Star’s CEO, Miss Estelle Lockwood, Passes Away in Tragic Accident." He had said he would make her "die in an accident," and he actually did it!

The article detailed how she had been in a car crash. Her vehicle had plunged into the river, and by the time it was salvaged, her body was mangled beyond recognition, her life tragically cut short. The Sloan family, devastated by the loss of their daughter-in-law, had decided to hold a funeral for her.

In the news video, Laura Jennings was weeping as if she were in unbearable agony. No matter what the reporters asked, she simply cried and shook her head. Ethan Sloan looked haggard as he sighed helplessly, "There were many misunderstandings between the Sloan family and Estelle back then. Now that they’ve been cleared up, we thought... sigh, what a pity..."

Laura sat on the ground, wailing to the heavens. "Estelle! Oh, my Estelle!"

"We are organizing Estelle’s funeral because Nathaniel is simply too overcome with grief," Ethan added painfully.

Laura wept with loud sobs but no tears, putting on a full theatrical performance. "Good heavens, why are you doing this to me?!" She acted as if she had lost her own daughter.

[Chairman and Mrs. Sloan are so kind.]

[What wonderful parents-in-law. It’s such a shame Mrs. Sloan died...]

[I heard before that the Sloan family always looked down on Estelle and tried everything to make them divorce. Looks like those were all fake rumors, huh?]

[Yeah, if they really wanted her to divorce, they would be thrilled that she’s dead.]

[But seeing Chairman and Mrs. Sloan running around organizing the funeral and crying their hearts out, it doesn’t look fake at all.]

[Sigh, I heard the funeral is in ten days... Well, whatever the case, the deceased deserve respect.]

The news quickly topped the trending charts. Soon after, under the Sloan family’s direction, media outlets across the country—both large and small—began reporting on the incident. Within three days, almost everyone knew about it.

Theodore smiled brightly. "You see, Miss Lockwood? In the eyes of the public, you are now a dead woman.

"So, even if you run away now, I wouldn’t be worried. After all, even if you manage to escape—perhaps you’d like to try, Miss Lockwood?"

Estelle shifted her gaze away from Laura’s disgusting face in the video, her eyes calm. "Since that’s the case, how do you plan to arrange my future, Mr. Lancaster?" she asked with a pointed implication. "This has blown up so much that everyone knows Estelle Lockwood is ’dead.’ I’ve taken plenty of photos and attended many banquets, so it’s inevitable that someone will recognize me. If I just go out like this, won’t people think I’ve come back from the dead?"

Raising an eyebrow, she added, "If that happens, the public uproar will only get worse. And if someone starts suspecting Mr. Sloan by then, there’s nothing I can do about it."

A hint of ruthlessness flashed in the depths of Theodore’s eyes. Then, he laughed again. Although his heart was rotten to the core, one had to admit that his appearance was exceptionally elegant. His eyes, in particular, were tender and affectionate—the kind of gaze that looked at a stray dog with deep devotion.

"It doesn’t matter, Miss Lockwood. Who will remember in a few years? Besides, the world is so big. Why must you limit yourself to Crestfall?"

He spoke as if he had her best interests at heart. Estelle propped her chin on her hand and gave a lackluster nod. "Yeah, I got it. Get lost."

Theodore narrowed his eyes, studying her closely. His voice suddenly dropped. "You have no reaction at all, Miss Lockwood? You’re not angry?"

"I told you, I don’t do things that are useless. Being angry won’t achieve anything other than upsetting myself," Estelle replied, leaning back against the sofa in the study. She didn’t even lift her eyelids as her gaze returned to her book. "Do as you please, Mr. Lancaster. I’m going to continue reading."

She seemed to be a very practical person. Knowing that she couldn’t escape—and even if she did, she was already a "dead" woman—she simply gave up struggling.

But Theodore had a nagging feeling that she was harboring some ulterior motive. He narrowed his eyes in warning. "That’s good. You should behave yourself, Miss Lockwood. After all, you still have three children."

Estelle’s fingers paused. A surge of intense hatred flashed through her eyes, but when she looked up again, her expression remained calm. "Mr. Lancaster, I advise you as well: going too far is as bad as falling short. Greed is a bottomless pit; a snake that tries to swallow an elephant will only end up choking. You manufactured my ’death,’ and perhaps no one suspects a thing. But if too many people start ’dying,’ you’ll need to weigh the consequences carefully."

Theodore’s footsteps faltered. With a cold sneer, he turned and left the study. Estelle was indeed a smart woman. However, no matter how smart she was, she still couldn’t escape his grasp.

After Theodore left, Estelle remained seated on the sofa, turning a page every minute. However, she wasn’t actually reading. She was thinking. In this situation, given that she couldn’t leave the villa, how could she get a message to Nathaniel?

Whether it was the public opinion online, her "funeral," or the Sloan family’s hypocritical posturing, they were all very easy to resolve—if she showed up alive, everything would be solved instantly. The biggest problem was that she couldn’t leave the villa. Even if she figured out the villa’s location and Nathaniel brought people to rescue her, she feared there might be a trap. Therefore, the best-case scenario would be encountering Nathaniel somewhere else so he could take her away, rather than having him storm the villa to save her.

But obviously, Theodore wasn’t going to let her go, which put her in a vicious cycle.

Wait a minute!

Estelle’s eyes lit up. Who said she couldn’t leave the villa? Ten days from now was her "funeral." With Theodore’s twisted sadism, it was highly likely that he would bring her to attend it!

If she and Nathaniel both appeared at the funeral... then, with proper preparation, her chances of being rescued would increase drastically.

Now, she needed to do two things:

First, make Theodore willingly and unsuspectingly take her to attend her own "funeral."

Second, find a way to send a message out within these ten days.

Estelle placed the book back on the shelf and moved on to browse the others. Soon, her reading progress would reach "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland." She knew the entire study was wired with miniature cameras; someone was watching her at every moment. So what? She was determined to find a way out right from under their heavy surveillance!