Chapter 437: Miss Hughes, Thank You for Your Cooperation

Chapter 437: Chapter 409: Miss Hughes, Thank You for Your Cooperation

There were always people watching them. If she resisted, they would use Zane Lennox to threaten her.

In the past, Peter Hughes had taught her many techniques for painting bamboo. More often than not, she would paint with him.

However, she could never settle down back then. She was always getting distracted by other things, so she often gave up halfway through.

‘Calm down, Nancy. You can do this.’

She composed herself, gripped the brush, dipped it in ink, and began to paint on the paper.

Nancy Hughes truly had a great talent for this. She could commit the painting to memory after just one look.

In truth, she must have painted this piece thousands of times, but she had never completed a single one.

She stood for the entire afternoon as the bamboo slowly took shape on the paper.

Without drinking a single sip of water, she glanced up at Zane Lennox across from her, then picked up her brush and continued to paint.

After about seven or eight hours, she finally finished the painting.

“I’m done. You can let him go now!” she said, setting down her brush.

“One moment.” The butler walked over to her and glanced at the painting.

He gestured to the men on the other side. “Miss Hughes, thank you for your cooperation.”

She let out a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

She had been standing for so long that her legs were stiff and numb, causing her to walk with a slight limp.

This time, the men in black led her to another room. “Where’s Zane Lennox? You aren’t going to do anything to him, are you!”

Nancy Hughes stood at the doorway, refusing to enter. The man’s only reply was a cold, “Miss Hughes, please go inside!”

“I want to see my friend!”

“Rest assured, Miss Hughes. We will not do anything to Mr. Lennox,” the butler said, suddenly appearing before her.

“What more do you want? I’ve already painted for you, so why won’t you let my friend go?”

“If all goes well, Miss Hughes, you can leave tomorrow. For now, you’ll have to make do here for the night.”

“But…” Before she could finish, she was shoved into the room.

By the time she turned around, the door was already locked.

She pounded on the door. “Hey! Don’t leave! Let my friend go!”

She shouted until her throat was raw, but no one paid her any mind.

Nancy Hughes glanced at the food that had been brought for her, but she had no appetite. She simply sat quietly on the sofa.

She sat there like that all night.

Early the next morning, someone opened the door.

“Miss Hughes, our master is very satisfied with your painting. You may leave now!”

“What about my friend?” she asked, her voice dry and hoarse.

The butler didn’t answer her. Instead, he had someone roughly pull her up and drag her outside.

She hadn’t eaten in a long time and had no strength to struggle. “Let go of me! I’m leaving with my friend.”

Before she could finish speaking, she passed out.

When she woke up and opened her eyes to a familiar ceiling, it took her a long moment to register where she was.

“You’re awake. Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?” A voice, both familiar and anxious, reached her ears, and tears immediately started to fall.

“Don’t cry. I’m here. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

The gentler Dylan Heston’s voice was, the harder Nancy cried.

Dylan Heston soothed her and pulled her into a hug. “Where have you been the last few days? I looked everywhere for you.”

“How many days was I gone?” She couldn’t even remember how long she’d been held captive.

“Four days. From the wedding day until this morning, you were gone for four whole days.”

“…Four days?”

“Yes. Where have you been all this time?”

“I… I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I was locked in a room with no windows.”

“Then let me ask you a different question. Who took you from the wedding?”

“It was your father.” Nancy Hughes looked up at him.

“Him? He kidnapped you? What for?”

“He made me paint a picture for him. He said it was a child paying for a father’s debt,” Nancy Hughes said blankly. “Do you remember the first time we went to the art gallery?”

“I remember. Why?”

“You said the painting displayed in the gallery was a fake. It is. My dad was the one who painted it.”

“And?”

“My father left me a check for five million from your father. He kidnapped me to make me repaint that painting for him.”

“You painted it?”

“I did. He threatened me with Zane Lennox’s life!”

The mention of Zane Lennox made something click in Nancy Hughes’s mind. “That’s right! Zane hasn’t been released yet! He’s still being held captive! I have to go save him!”