Chapter 291: Estelle Left a Code

Chapter 291: Chapter 291: Estelle Left a Code

Nathaniel Sloan received the invitation. Just as he expected, Theodore Lancaster was inviting him to a certain villa for a "little get-together."

"Do you have any impression of this villa?" Nathaniel asked Luke White in a calm voice.

Luke pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "This should be one of the villas under Theodore’s name. It doesn’t stand out, so I haven’t kept an eye on it before."

Nathaniel nodded. "Estelle is being held here," he said with absolute certainty.

Both Luke and Zane Grant were taken aback. They wondered how he could tell.

Nathaniel scoffed. "Because he can’t wait."

Can’t wait for what? To show off to him.

Estelle Lockwood had been reading for several days, and she finally came across the copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. When she picked it up, no one suspected a thing.

In the beginning, whenever she read, there would be people hovering around to keep an eye on her, likely afraid that she was looking for hidden messages. However, after observing her for three or four days, they realized she was purely reading for leisure. She didn’t even take notes. She would spend more time on the books she liked and simply skim through the ones she disliked before putting them back.

As for picking up this particular fairy tale and staring at it for a long time, it raised no suspicions because she had previously shown a strong interest in fairy tales. Therefore, even though she spent a long time in the study, no one bothered her.

The message Estelle wanted to pass to Nathaniel was for him to find a chance to take her away during the funeral in ten days, and that he should have all his preparations and deployments ready.

Leaving a clue via a cipher meant the message couldn’t be too long. Estelle also didn’t know how much time she would have to leave it, so she chose the simplest word: Funeral.

After figuring out the few numbers for the cipher, Estelle memorized them firmly. Then, acting as if nothing had happened, she put the book back, grabbed another one, and continued reading.

The people watching her from the surveillance room didn’t notice anything unusual.

A few hours later, Theodore returned to the villa. Seeing that Estelle was still in the study, he offered a faint, unreadable smile. "Miss Lockwood, you certainly can keep your composure. The outside world is already in an absolute uproar over the news of your ’death.’"

Estelle looked completely unruffled. "Yes. So what? As I said, it’s useless even if I care."

A trace of displeasure flickered in Theodore’s heart. It felt as though something had slipped out of his control.

He had obviously abducted Estelle, and she was imprisoned here. So why was she so calm from beginning to end? She hadn’t even begged him once.

Theodore loved seeing people cry bitter tears and enjoyed holding the power of life and death over others. Yet, when faced with someone like Estelle...

He let out a light chuckle. "Miss Lockwood, let me share some good news with you. I invited Nathaniel to visit the villa tomorrow, and he agreed."

Sure enough, Estelle’s calm facade shattered. "What did you say?!"

"But don’t celebrate too early, Miss Lockwood." Yes, this was exactly what he wanted. He wanted her to react to his every word, whether with joy or anger.

Theodore relished the thrill of manipulating someone else’s emotions. His smile deepened. "Nathaniel’s arrival won’t change anything. After all, Miss Lockwood, do you really think I’d just let you go?"

Estelle’s face darkened. "You asked Nathaniel to come to this villa?"

"That’s right," Theodore drawled slowly.

Estelle sneered. "Your purpose for inviting him couldn’t possibly be just to let him know I’m still alive, could it? He’ll know I’m alive but won’t be able to take me away. Theodore, you just want to show off in front of him."

Theodore’s intentions had been laid bare in an instant, and she had phrased them in such a disgraceful way. Surprisingly, he wasn’t angry. "So what if I do?"

"You’re shameless!" Estelle snapped sharply.

"Miss Lockwood, people who care about their pride usually don’t end up well, wouldn’t you agree?" Theodore said absentmindedly. "Alright, get some good rest. Tomorrow, you will see Nathaniel."

Estelle was so furious that she laughed. She turned and headed straight back to her room.

Theodore was in an excellent mood.

This villa was as heavily fortified as an iron fortress. Even if Nathaniel found Estelle, he wouldn’t be able to take her away.

Wouldn’t that make Nathaniel suffer even more? That was exactly what he wanted—Nathaniel’s pain! Who told Nathaniel to steal his life?

As soon as Estelle returned to her room, her expression instantly cooled into absolute calmness.

She paced around for a moment to ensure no one was watching her before walking over to the vanity table.

The room Theodore had provided was undeniably nice. It came fully equipped with a walk-in closet, a bathroom, and a vanity.

Not having pen or paper didn’t matter; Estelle naturally had her own ways of communicating.

She pulled out an eyebrow pencil and then carefully peeled a small sticker label off an eyeshadow palette. Next, she wrote down six numbers on the tiny label: 45-11-20 and 16-18-03.

Estelle lay on the bed, deep in thought for a moment, when a sudden realization struck her. Since Theodore’s invitation to this villa was such an uncharacteristically bizarre move, Nathaniel had definitely noticed. Then, would he guess that she was being kept here? He probably had.

Therefore, Nathaniel wouldn’t be walking in completely blind tomorrow, which gave her even more confidence in passing along the message!

The following evening.

Theodore’s condition was that Nathaniel had to come alone—not even a driver was allowed.

When Luke expressed his concerns about potential danger, Nathaniel curled his lips into a light smirk. "Even if there’s danger, it won’t happen inside his villa."

Many people knew about Theodore’s invitation, and several within the company were aware that Nathaniel was visiting Theodore tonight. If anything happened to him now, Theodore wouldn’t be able to escape the fallout. Therefore, Theodore wouldn’t make a move against him. His safety was guaranteed.

But why couldn’t he bring anyone along? Nathaniel understood in an instant. It was because Estelle was there.

Theodore was worried that if he brought backup, he could simply use overwhelming force to take Estelle away. Theodore would never let that happen. Furthermore, after this visit, Theodore would definitely move Estelle to another location.

Thus, his only opportunity lay within the villa to exchange messages with her. He had to find a way to get Estelle out of the villa for a chance to rescue her. The best opportunity for that would be the funeral.

In nine days, the Sloan family would hold a "funeral" for Estelle. Theodore would undoubtedly attend, and if Estelle could also be present, Nathaniel was confident he could get her out.

But the prerequisite was that Estelle had to convince Theodore to bring her along.

With this in mind, Nathaniel stepped out of the car and walked straight up to knock on the villa’s door.

At eight o’clock in the evening.

Only a few lights illuminated the surroundings of the remote mountain villa.

Built for convalescence, the villa was situated too far from the city center and lacked any nearby shopping areas, making it highly inconvenient. However, such inconveniences were trivial for wealthy families who had drivers, nannies, and private chefs handling their meals, clothing, housing, and transportation.

As a result, many people would spend a month or two out of the year staying in wellness villas like this.

It was abundantly clear that this was one such place. It was far from the city, incredibly quiet, and any arriving visitors would be spotted immediately.

It didn’t take long for Theodore to open the door. He cast a meaningful look. "Nathaniel, you truly kept your word. You didn’t bring a single person with you."