Chapter 435: She Felt Very Awkward

Chapter 435: Chapter 408: She Felt Very Awkward

The only thing she knew was that Theo Heston had captured her. As for his purpose, that remained a mystery.

Nancy untied the ropes on his hands. “How did you get captured?”

“I don’t know. I had just left my house when a group of people rushed me and tied me up. When I struggled, they knocked me out!”

‘No wonder he was so late to the wedding today. I actually thought he’d had a change of heart and decided to call it off!’

“Do you know Theo Heston?”

“Who?” Zane Lennox was clearly unfamiliar with the name that came out of her mouth.

Nancy sighed. “I think I know what’s going on.”

‘Since Theo Heston looked into my background, he must know that I had a crush on Zane Lennox back in college.’

‘Now he’s locked me in the same room with Zane. The next step must be to lure Dylan Heston out.’

However, Theo Heston had kidnapped them and done nothing else.

She observed Zane Lennox for several hours and noticed nothing unusual about him.

‘It’s not that I’m being dramatic,’ she thought, ‘but this isn’t how the plot usually unfolds. Something’s not right.’

The two of them sat staring at each other, one on the bed and the other on a chair. After what felt like an eternity, there was finally a noise from outside.

The door to the room was suddenly thrown open. “Miss Hughes, Mr. Lennox, I do apologize for our actions.”

The butler appeared at the doorway. “If you two had come with me quietly, we wouldn’t have had to resort to force.”

“Let me go, now! Or I’m calling the police!” she said, jumping to her feet nervously.

“Miss Hughes, I am rather curious. How do you plan to call the police without any communication devices?”

‘Damn, I forgot.’ All her belongings had been confiscated.

“Who are you? What do you want?” As a man, Zane Lennox was much calmer than Nancy.

“If you would both please follow me, you will find out.”

Zane and Nancy exchanged a look. Right now, the only way to leave this place was to first leave this room.

Zane took the lead, stepping forward, and Nancy followed hesitantly.

After passing through a corridor, they reached a door where the butler suddenly stopped. “Miss Hughes, please enter.”

He blocked Zane, who was about to continue forward, his gaze shifting to Nancy behind him. “Mr. Lennox, I said for Miss Hughes to enter.”

“If you have a problem, take it up with me! Don’t involve an innocent girl…”

“Rest assured, we have absolutely no intention of harming Miss Hughes.” The butler looked at Nancy again. “Miss Hughes, please go in.”

Although she was terrified, the current situation left her no choice but to enter.

The room was brightly lit, its walls covered with numerous ink wash paintings, creating a refined and artistic atmosphere.

She glanced around and saw Theo Heston standing at a desk, brush in hand, painting.

‘This isn’t what I imagined.’

Theo Heston was painting intently. Nancy glanced over and saw that he was copying a painting of peonies.

He painted, and Nancy watched in silence until Theo quietly finished the piece.

“What do you think of my painting?” Theo Heston put down his brush and finally spoke to her.

“Old Mr. Heston, you paint very well,” she said truthfully.

“A pity it’s ultimately not as good as Peter Hughes’s work, isn’t it?”

“…”

Nancy was speechless. She recognized the painting Theo Heston was copying. It was a work by her father; it even had his signature in the bottom right corner.

She was now beginning to believe that Theo Heston and Peter Hughes knew each other, but they were certainly not good friends.

Peter Hughes was a master in this field. The copy Theo Heston had painted only captured the form, but none of the spirit.

“Old Mr. Heston, when will you let my friend and me go home?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Miss Hughes, I am treating you as my guest of honor. You are free to leave whenever you wish.” Theo Heston smoothed out a new sheet of Xuan paper. “Of course, that does not include your friend.”

“Then what exactly do you want from me to let my friend go?” She frowned. She knew Theo Heston wasn’t that simple.

Theo Heston took a seal from the drawer. “You are Peter Hughes’s only daughter. I’m sure he taught you a thing or two. As long as you paint one of these for me, I will let your friend leave here safely.”

That seal was the very one Peter Hughes had left her.

Nancy Hughes was still quite useful, as long as she could be properly exploited.

“You want me to paint?” Nancy looked at him in disbelief. “Sorry, I don’t know how.”

“It’s very simple. I believe someone of your skill level can certainly do it. Why not give it a try, Miss Hughes?” Theo Heston unrolled a painting.

The painting on the table was the same one exhibited in the art gallery. However, the piece in the gallery was painted by Peter Hughes, while the one before her now was likely the original.

“I’m sorry, Old Mr. Heston, you can find someone else to paint it.” She gave the same answer.

“You’re so quick to refuse. It’s a bit of a shame.” Theo Heston seemed to have anticipated her response, so he wasn’t too surprised by her answer.

CLAP. CLAP. A curtain on the wall suddenly pulled open, and a bright light shone in from the side.

She looked over and saw Zane Lennox in the room on the other side of a massive glass wall.

He was tied to a chair, his body already covered in wounds.

‘He’s been next door this whole time?’

Theo Heston smiled. “Miss Hughes, if you still can’t bring yourself to paint, I can’t guarantee that Mr. Lennox won’t receive a few more lash marks.”

“What do you want?!” she demanded furiously.

“It’s simple. Paint for me!”

“I already told you I don’t know how! Find someone else!”

“Is it that you don’t know how, or that you don’t dare?” A fierce glint flashed in Theo Heston’s eyes. “Your father took my money but failed to complete the task he was supposed to. A child must pay a father’s debt. Now that he’s dead, you should be the one to pay it back, don’t you think?”

“What money?” she asked subconsciously, the five-million-dollar check suddenly flashing through her mind.

‘Thinking about it now, the signature on it did seem to be Theo Heston’s.’

Her trembling eyes looked at him. “You…”

“Your friend’s life is in your hands. I trust you know what to do.”

Her terrified pupils dilated and then constricted. Theo Heston was very pleased with Nancy’s panicked expression and smiled in satisfaction. “I’ll give you just three days to finish this painting!”

Three days. For some, it would pass in the blink of an eye. But for her, every single second had become an agony.

Nancy and Zane were locked back in their original room. Looking at the unconscious Zane, she slapped his cheeks forcefully. “Zane, wake up! Don’t fall asleep.”

“Hey, Zane, look at me!” No matter how she shouted his name, Zane didn’t respond.

If not for the faint sound of his breathing, she would have thought he was already…

Zane’s body was covered in injuries. While she had been talking to Theo Heston, they had been so brutal to him.

There were many lash marks on Zane’s body, and many of them were bleeding.

She quickly fetched a basin of hot water from the bathroom and used a towel to clean his wounds.

The later it got, the more worried she became, because Zane’s body temperature was gradually rising. His forehead was getting hotter and hotter.

She quickly placed a damp towel on Zane’s forehead. “Zane, don’t sleep. Open your eyes and look at me.”

Zane furrowed his brows, seeming to react slightly to her voice.

He lifted his eyelids, his unfocused eyes glancing at her before he said irritably, “Stop bothering me!”

A wave of relief washed over her when she saw he was finally awake.

She muttered under her breath, “I know you’re annoyed to see me. Just don’t fall asleep, and I promise I’ll never see you again after we get out of here!”

She truly had no romantic feelings for Zane anymore. It was just that they knew each other, and she was terrified.

Zane gave a barely audible grunt. “Stop it. I’m a little tired.”

“Hey, don’t go to sleep!” Nancy called out to him again, and he reacted once more.

‘Oh well,’ she thought. ‘At least he’s awake. That’s better than nothing.’

Zane slept soundly, taking up almost the entire large bed. Nancy sat on the chair in a daze.

In the pitch-black, windowless room, there were no clocks. She had no idea what time it was.

‘It must be late. I’ve been gone for so long. I wonder how Dylan is doing?’

She hugged her knees, burying her face in them. ‘I miss him so much.’

‘He must be so worried now that he knows I’m missing. He’s probably looking for me right now.’

‘He’s so capable. He’ll definitely find me.’

She kept cheering herself on, putting her faith in Dylan and in herself.

Every so often, Nancy would check Zane’s temperature and replace the towel on his forehead.

Zane was running a fever. His forehead was burning up, and this time, no matter how much she called to him, she couldn’t wake him.

“Zane, wake up! I’ll go get a doctor for you!” On the verge of tears from worry, she ran to the door and pounded on it. “Hello? Is anyone out there?!”

After banging on the door and yelling for five or six minutes, someone finally came to open it.

“I need a doctor! My friend is dying!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

The person who opened the door was just a security guard, who clearly couldn’t make any decisions. “I want to see Theo Heston!” she demanded. “Tell him that if my friend dies, I won’t do a single thing he asks!”

The man hesitated, then exchanged a look with another person beside him. “I’ll go report it,” he said.

Theo Heston needed Nancy to do something for him. Until then, they would agree to any of her requests that weren’t too excessive.

A doctor came to examine Zane and put him on an IV drip.

Nancy hurriedly grabbed him. “He won’t get a fever again, right?”

“It’s hard to say. If his fever comes back, have the butler notify me again.”

“Okay, thank you!”

She let go of the doctor, disappointed. It was clear he also worked for Theo Heston, so asking him to pass a message was out of the question.