Chapter 286: Nathaniel Sloan’s Dream, The Savior from Back Then

Chapter 286: Chapter 286: Nathaniel Sloan’s Dream, The Savior from Back Then

Zane Grant’s unease grew. "What in the world happened?!"

Luke White hung his head. "Mr. Grant, when we arrived, Mr. Sloan was on the ground next to a wrecked car. The vehicle had bullet holes, and Madam... she was gone!"

"Judging by the scene, there were a lot of people involved. But there was no blood, so we believe Madam was taken..."

Zane Grant’s heart lurched.

’The lack of blood only means Estelle Lockwood wasn’t injured *at the scene*.’

’But now Estelle Lockwood is missing. She was taken? Where could they have taken her? Were they after Nathaniel, or were they after Estelle?’

’And...’

’Nathaniel’s in a coma and Estelle is missing. What about their three children at home?’

Zane Grant narrowed his eyes. "Luke White, put a lid on this. Don’t let any of it get out. With Nathaniel in a coma from the poison and Estelle missing, I’m sure plenty of people will be itching to cause trouble."

Luke White, of course, understood this.

"Focus on finding Estelle. And notify the Kendrick family."

The Kendricks were Estelle Lockwood’s family. They needed to know. With their help, the chances of finding Estelle would be that much greater.

...

Nathaniel Sloan felt like he was in a dream.

In the dream, he had returned to ten years ago. He was eighteen.

He had just inherited the charitable foundation, received the letter from the former Mr. Lynch, and learned that Miranda Lancaster was his mother.

Then, he had suddenly fallen into a coma.

When he woke up again, he was no longer in Crestfall, but in the mountains of the Sunkenlands. It seemed whoever was behind this wanted him to die on his own.

Nathaniel Sloan sneered. ’Why leave me to die on my own? If they wanted me dead, why not just kill me directly?’ It was only later, when he discovered that Old Mr. Lancaster was the one who had poisoned him, that he understood. It wasn’t that the old man didn’t want him dead immediately. It was that Old Mr. Lancaster prized his reputation far too much. If he were caught doing the deed himself, the consequences would be endless.

By then, he knew for certain that he had been poisoned.

First, he became sensitive to both cold and heat, and then he lost the ability to feel temperature altogether.

Next went his sense of smell. The mountains of the Sunkenlands were a tapestry of overlapping peaks, filled with countless rare flowers and plants. How could there be no fragrance at all?

Then his sense of pain vanished. He cut his calf on a sharp blade of grass, and though he could see the blood flowing, Nathaniel Sloan felt nothing at all.

And then, his sight...

Nathaniel Sloan realized he had gone blind.

He couldn’t see a thing. He wandered the mountains like a lost soul.

’Perhaps Old Mr. Lancaster leaving me to die on my own really is the greatest revenge he could take.’

But Nathaniel Sloan couldn’t understand. What had he done wrong? What had his own mother, Miranda Lancaster, done wrong?!

As a father and a grandfather, Old Mr. Lancaster had instead harmed his own daughter and grandson, not even hesitating to make a killing blow. He didn’t just want them dead; he wanted them to die in agony!

Before she died, Miranda Lancaster knew Nathaniel Sloan was her son, but she couldn’t acknowledge him. In her final moments, could she truly not have imagined the life he was living at the hands of Laura Jennings?

But she was dying. The official story—that she had "died of depression"—was just an excuse. Everyone knew perfectly well who was really responsible for Miranda Lancaster’s death.

Miranda Lancaster died unable to let go of her son, filled with hatred and regret.

And now... Old Mr. Lancaster wanted Nathaniel Sloan to die just as unwillingly, just as tormented by pain.

Why?! What had they ever done to him?!

But alas, Nathaniel Sloan could no longer see. He might have been a prodigy, but he was helpless in the face of such sickness and pain. He figured he would probably never make it out of this forest.

So Nathaniel Sloan did everything he could to leave behind clues, though he had no idea if anyone would ever find his body.

Just as his hearing began to fade, he heard a girl’s voice from not far away.

The voice was clear and carried a touch of innocent, child-like charm. He could tell at once that she was a young girl who had been well-protected and cherished by her family.

The girl shouted something to someone behind her.

Nathaniel Sloan strained to listen, and finally made out the words—

"Grandpa, someone’s collapsed over here!"

...

Nathaniel Sloan felt his body was no longer under his control, as if he were floating in midair.

’Right,’ he thought, ’I’m still dreaming.’

He knew perfectly well that he was dreaming, watching events from his past unfold.

He saw himself being rescued. He couldn’t make out the faces of the old man and his granddaughter, because back then, the poison had already rendered him completely blind.

He could only rely on his fading hearing.

"Grandpa, I don’t think he’s injured. It looks like he was poisoned. The poison is potent—not only is he blind, but his skin is starting to fester."

The floating Nathaniel Sloan thought, ’So I wasn’t just blind then, I was disfigured too... Tsk, I must have been hideous.’

Judging from her voice, the girl was only about fifteen or sixteen. "The poison is so bad... should we take him to a hospital? But we’re in the middle of nowhere, an ambulance can’t get in here. You don’t think his enemies dumped him here, do you?"

The grandfather beside her, however, was much more composed. "We can’t take this person to a hospital."

"We came for a trip to the mountains and ended up saving someone. Since fate brought him to us, let’s see it through to the end."

The girl didn’t seem to understand. "What do you mean, see it through to the end?"

The grandfather didn’t answer.

After a long moment, he finally said, "You said it yourself, he was poisoned by his enemies. If we take him to a hospital—setting aside whether they could even treat this poison by the time he got there—"

"His clothes are incredibly expensive, and the watch on his wrist is priceless. He looks like the young master of some wealthy family. He was most likely poisoned because of some family feud. Taking him to a hospital with a big fuss would probably get him killed."

The girl nodded. "You have a point, Grandpa."

She went to brew some medicinal herbs. When she returned with the bowl of medicine, she saw her grandfather looking at the young man on the bed, his eyes filled with a mix of familiarity and guilt. "Grandpa, what is it?" she asked.

The grandfather turned his head abruptly. "It’s nothing. It’s just that seeing him reminded me of an old acquaintance. I thought of that child as a daughter, but sadly, she passed away far too young. This young man... he resembles her a bit."

The girl was speechless.

’So how could Grandpa look at a disfigured face and say he ’resembles’ someone? How could he possibly tell??’

Nathaniel Sloan had returned to ten years ago in this dream.

He suddenly realized that things he hadn’t understood back then were now becoming clear. He had a theory.

’Does this old man know me? But I have no memory of him. And yet he says I ’resemble’ an old acquaintance...’

’The old man said he thought of that person as a daughter.’

’This old man is the girl’s grandfather, and the girl looks to be only about two years younger than me.’

’So it stands to reason that the "old acquaintance" would be around the same age as my parents.’

What had seemed baffling before now sparked a theory in Nathaniel Sloan’s mind—

Why go to such lengths to save him? Why look at him with such sorrow? Why say he resembled an old acquaintance?

The old man probably didn’t know Nathaniel Sloan. He knew Nathaniel Sloan’s mother, Miranda Lancaster!

When Miranda Lancaster was using the alias Mr. Lynch, she did indeed have a friend from a much older generation—Estelle Lockwood’s grandfather!