Chapter 436: Miss Hughes, Thank You for Your Cooperation

Chapter 436: Chapter 409: Miss Hughes, Thank You for Your Cooperation

Thanks to the medicine, Zane Lennox’s fever gradually went down, and she could finally rest easy, falling asleep beside him.

She didn’t know how long she’d slept, but she woke up aching all over to the sound of a commotion.

Clutching her throbbing head, she saw that Zane Lennox was no longer on the bed.

She shot to her feet, only to see Zane Lennox emerging from the bathroom.

He had just showered, and droplets of water still clung to his skin. After staring for a moment, she belatedly turned away. “I’m sorry.”

Zane Lennox walked past her, his expression unreadable. “Why did they grab you?”

“They want me to paint something,” she said, her back still to him. “I’m so sorry. I dragged you into this.”

“What do you mean by that?” Zane Lennox asked, confused.

Nancy Hughes turned back, saw he was still unclothed, and quickly covered her eyes with her hands. “Um, maybe you should put some clothes on first.”

His original clothes were torn and filthy—completely unwearable. And there was nothing else for him to change into.

“I’ll go ask them if they can get you some clothes.”

She walked to the door and pounded on it.

The door was guarded around the clock, so any sound they made would be instantly noticed.

“What is it?” The door opened a crack.

“We need two sets of clothes,” she said.

For some reason, she felt the guard who brought the clothes gave the two of them a strange look.

She didn’t think much of it and handed the clothes to him. “Here, put these on.”

She turned her back, making sure not to peek.

A few minutes later, Zane Lennox said, “Okay,” and she turned around.

“Explain what you said earlier.”

“Huh?”

“What did you mean, you dragged me into this?”

“Isn’t that what happened? Wasn’t it because of me that Theo Heston captured you?”

“I can tell you with absolute certainty that’s not it.”

Nancy Hughes was confused. ‘Then what was going on?’

“Then why were you captured?”

“Theo Heston wants something from me.”

“What is it?”

“The less you know, the better.”

“…So Theo Heston had his men beat you that badly just because you wouldn’t give him what he wants?”

“What did you think?”

She had assumed Theo Heston captured Zane Lennox because of her and that he would let them both go as long as she agreed to paint.

Just yesterday, she’d been consumed by guilt, thinking she was the one who had dragged Zane Lennox into this mess.

Locked up together, the two of them could do nothing but look at each other in silence.

After what felt like an eternity, there was a sound at the door. It opened. “Miss Hughes, if you please.”

Nancy Hughes stood up and followed the butler out, not forgetting to glance back at Zane Lennox.

He gave her a reassuring look. She lowered her gaze and followed the butler.

She was led to the same room as yesterday. On the table, brushes and ink were already laid out, waiting for her to begin.

“I want to see Theo Heston!” She stood her ground, her gaze fixed coldly on the butler.

“I’m afraid the master is not so readily available.” The implication was clear: Theo Heston wasn’t here.

“If I don’t see him, I’m not painting!”

Back in the room, Zane Lennox had told her to use any means necessary to get a meeting with Theo Heston.

‘Dylan Heston is a smart man. He’s certainly cast a dragnet over all of Portmire, and he wouldn’t let even his own father slip through.’

‘Theo Heston’s movements must be being tracked. If Dylan Heston can follow his trail, he’ll be able to find us.’

It was, she had to admit, the best plan they could come up with under the circumstances.

By following Zane Lennox’s plan, Nancy Hughes figured they had about an eighty percent chance of success.

However, they were both still too naive.

Theo Heston had been in the game for decades; there was nothing he hadn’t seen or done.

But at the same moment Nancy Hughes was leaving with the butler, Zane Lennox was being dragged back to the room from yesterday.

The butler pressed a button on the wall. “Miss Hughes, I suggest you hurry. You only have two days left.”

A curtain was drawn back, revealing Zane Lennox tied to a chair in the adjacent room. “If you don’t begin soon, Miss Hughes, I’m afraid Mr. Lennox might… lose something.”

“No! You can’t touch him!”

The butler offered a faint smile. “Then I suggest you cooperate, Miss Hughes. The sooner this is over, the better for everyone.”

Biting her lip in anger and frustration, Nancy Hughes walked reluctantly to the desk. “I’ll paint! Just don’t do anything to my friend!”

Nancy Hughes could never turn a blind eye to someone in that situation.

She picked up a brush, her gaze locked on the authentic painting.

But her heart was in turmoil, consumed with worry for Zane Lennox. She couldn’t focus.

She closed her eyes, but her mind was a complete blank. When she picked up the brush again, she felt even more lost, with no idea where to even begin.