Chapter 431: This Is Enough, Part 1

Chapter 431: Chapter 404: This Is Enough, Part 1

She had gone to bed early. Dylan Heston helped her call in sick for an extra day so she could rest at home.

She usually loved to sleep in, so it was rare for her to wake up so early.

She could hear Georgia Thorne bustling about outside, and Blue meowing, MEOW, MEOW.

Georgia finished making breakfast and walked to Nancy Hughes’s bedroom door, knocking softly. “Nancy, are you awake?”

“Yeah,” she answered.

“Breakfast is ready on the table, so remember to eat when you get up. Also, I might have to work late tonight and won’t be back for dinner. Don’t forget to eat,” Georgia said from the doorway.

“Got it. You should get to work.”

A little while later, after hearing Georgia leave, Nancy finally sat up in bed.

She remembered the small box Philip Hughes had given her and took it out of her bag.

It was a small, square box. Opening it, she found an envelope, a seal, and a check for five million.

When Nancy Hughes saw the five-million check, she was too stunned to speak.

Her family had never been wealthy. Peter Hughes was just a teacher. ‘Where could he have gotten so much money?’

She tore open the envelope. Inside was a letter from Peter Hughes addressed to her.

After reading the letter, she took out the seal and examined it carefully.

The characters were illegible; she couldn’t make out what was carved on it at all. She found an ink pad and hurriedly stamped it on a blank piece of paper.

The red characters impressed on the white paper sent Nancy into a full-blown panic.

‘This can’t be possible!’

Nancy Hughes changed her clothes and rushed out the door.

As a result, when Dylan Heston came looking for her, he found the apartment empty.

He called Nancy’s phone, but it was still at home.

‘Did she go out?’

He waited for nearly half an hour, but Nancy still didn’t show up. He called her company, but they said she hadn’t come in to work.

‘Where on earth did she go?’

Finding people was Dylan Heston’s specialty, but it still took time.

In a city as big as Portmire, searching for someone without any leads could take days.

His gaze swept the apartment, and he noticed Nancy’s bedroom door was ajar. He walked in without a second thought.

The blankets were a mess. She had clearly left in a hurry.

After a quick search, Dylan found a check on Nancy’s desk.

A check for five million, bearing a flamboyant signature.

His brow furrowed, and he quickly headed out.

Nancy Hughes, holding the letter from Peter Hughes and the seal, hadn’t gone just anywhere—she went to an art museum.

She arrived in a panic, bought a ticket, and went inside.

She found the bamboo painting by Banyan Jenkins, took the paper with the seal impression from her bag, and compared it to the seal on the painting behind the glass. They were identical.

What was more frightening was that the more she looked at the painting, the more she felt it was the work of Peter Hughes.

For a long time, Peter Hughes had enjoyed copying various bamboo paintings, and his copies of Banyan Jenkins’s work were the best.

Besides, Peter’s style was quite similar to Banyan Jenkins’s.

Dylan Heston had told her this painting was a fake. So, was it really…

In disbelief, she stood frozen before the painting. ‘If this painting was really done by my father, why is it hanging here?’

‘And that huge sum of money?’

‘Right, the check!’

She searched all through her bag but couldn’t find the check. She figured she must have accidentally left it at home.

As she was about to leave the museum, a man in black suddenly appeared before her, blocking her path.

She took a step to the side; the man in black also took a step to the side.

She looked up, about to apologize, “I’m sorry, please let me…”

But the man leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Miss Hughes, our Master would like to see you.”

‘Master? Who’s that?’

Nancy Hughes had always considered herself well-behaved and had never offended any important people.

“Sorry, you have the wrong person!”

“Miss Hughes, we’re all civilized people here. Unless it becomes necessary, please don’t make us use force.”

“…” ‘A blatant threat? In broad daylight?’

She tried to leave, but seeing another man in black approaching her, she had nowhere to run. “Wait, I’ll go with you.”

Left with no choice, she was escorted out by the men and into a car.

“Where are you taking me?” Nancy sat up straight, looking at the two men across from her.

A middle-aged man in the front passenger seat, who looked rather imposing and seemed to be the only one with the authority to speak, turned his head. “Miss Hughes, our Master wishes to see you.”

“Who is your Master? I don’t know him. I want to go back!” The car hadn’t started moving yet, and she tried to push the door open to get out.

The two men opposite her grabbed her by the elbows, and the pain made her gasp.

“Be more polite to Miss Hughes. She is the Master’s guest, after all.”

“Yes, sir.”

The two men glanced at each other, released Nancy’s arms, and said in unison, “We’re sorry.”

Nancy rubbed her aching elbows. “I want to get out.”

“Miss Hughes, once you have met our Master, we will naturally see you home safely.”

“…”

‘I want to get out now.’

Under the watch of the two men, they drove all the way to a villa in the suburbs.

The car pulled into the courtyard, and the middle-aged man in front said, “Miss Hughes, you may get out now!”

Nancy gave them a cold glance, then got out of the car. Her face was tense as she took in the luxurious villa before her.

“Please, this way.” The middle-aged man said a few words to a nearby maid before turning to walk in another direction.

Nancy followed him coolly, her eyes scanning her surroundings as she walked.

They went around the villa to a greenhouse out back.

And the person who wanted to see her was inside that greenhouse.

The middle-aged man stopped and turned to face her. “Miss Hughes, please hand your things over to me.”

“What?” she asked, instinctively clutching her bag.

“Rest assured, we won’t touch your belongings. We’ll just hold onto them for you.”

Nancy was unwilling to hand over her things, and the two of them remained at a standstill by the entrance.

“Miss Hughes, please make a decision quickly.” The man’s gaze flickered to the two men behind her.

‘If I refuse, they’ll definitely get violent.’

Nancy took her phone out of her pocket and handed it to the middle-aged man.

“Miss Hughes, please go in.” The middle-aged man smiled and gestured for her to enter.

She didn’t appreciate the gesture, giving him a cold look as she walked straight past him and inside.

Her curiosity was growing. ‘Who exactly is this man in the greenhouse who wanted to see me?’

Inside the greenhouse, the temperature was pleasant, and it was filled with all sorts of flowers whose names she didn’t know.

She didn’t know much about flowers, but she figured that for someone who could afford a villa like this, the flowers must be expensive varieties.

The man who wanted to see her was holding a watering can, carefully watering a seedling in front of him.

His head was bowed, so Nancy couldn’t see his features clearly, but his salt-and-pepper hair gave away his age.

The man was completely focused on watering his plants, seemingly unaware of Nancy’s arrival.

Gardening was supposed to be a leisurely activity; it didn’t seem right to interrupt him.

She stood to the side, quietly waiting for the man to finish.

When the man finally finished watering, he put down the can.

He picked up a clean towel nearby, wiped his hands, and turned to look at Nancy. “Miss Hughes. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope my men didn’t frighten you.”

Nancy gave a dry laugh. ‘How could I not be frightened?’

“May I ask why you wanted to see me?” Nancy asked directly, not wanting to beat around the bush.

“Oh? Aren’t you curious about who I am?” the man asked in return.

Of course she was curious. He had her brought here for no reason, and she was sure she had never met him before.

“Of course I’m curious. But if you aren’t going to tell me, there’s no point in asking, is there?”

The man burst out laughing. “I am Dylan Heston’s father. I hear you’ve been getting quite close to my son lately?”

“…”

‘Dylan Heston’s father?’

A series of question marks popped into Nancy’s head. Dylan had never once mentioned his father to her; she had even assumed his father was no longer alive.

And yet here he was, standing right in front of her. ‘Dylan’s father must have run a background check on me.’

“Hello, sir,” she greeted him calmly.

Theo Heston was quite impressed with the girl before him. She wasn’t flustered in his presence, which made her much better than most girls. Her courage was commendable.

She had a good idea why Dylan’s father had summoned her. A clichéd melodrama started playing out in her mind.

Dylan’s background was clearly extraordinary. There was no shortage of women in Portmire who wanted to marry him. A man of his status probably needed a wife from a family of equal standing.

However, things didn’t go as she expected. Dylan’s father had called her here only to ask a few questions about Dylan’s recent activities.

She finally understood why Dylan was reluctant to mention his father. To find out what his son was up to, his father had to resort to asking her.

‘He’s powerful enough to investigate me, so why doesn’t he just investigate his own son?’

Theo Heston basically asked only ordinary questions, things he could have easily learned by just calling Dylan.

‘The relationship between father and son must be very tense.’

“It’s getting late. I think I should be going.” Counting the time, she realized she had been here for over an hour.

In that hour, aside from telling Theo Heston about Dylan’s recent life, she had just watched him water his plants.

“It’s noon. If you don’t mind, Miss Hughes, please stay for lunch.”

“…”

Nancy couldn’t refuse, and Theo Heston didn’t give her the chance to.

The greenhouse was beautiful, but the villa’s interior was even more luxurious.

It was a completely different style from Dylan’s apartment.

“It’s just a simple meal. I hope you don’t mind,” Theo Heston said politely.

Nancy chuckled internally. ‘Calling this table laden with delicacies a “simple meal”… Rich people really are different.’

After the meal, Theo Heston had her sent back to her apartment without another word.