The Triplets My Ex Never Knew About novel Chapter 293

Chapter 293: Chapter 293: Found: Nathaniel’s Plan

The villa was huge. A careful search would yield nothing in just an hour.

And Theodore Lancaster had surely hidden Estelle by now, so she couldn’t give him any clues herself.

’So,’ Nathaniel Sloan thought, ’where is a place that both Estelle and I would think of?’

Nathaniel Sloan suddenly noticed a huge study.

Estelle Lockwood had been very curious about the letter Miranda Lancaster left for him lately, so she’d been carrying around a copy of *Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland*. And in this study...

Nathaniel Sloan’s breath hitched.

’The book is here!’

’Since the book is here, Estelle must have left me a clue in the form of a code.’

Nathaniel Sloan’s expression hardened. He turned and walked to Estelle Lockwood’s room.

Back when Estelle Lockwood was studying that letter, she liked to sprawl on the bay window.

So Nathaniel Sloan walked straight toward the bay window in her room.

Outside the villa, Theodore Lancaster frowned as he watched Nathaniel Sloan’s seemingly purposeful movements. "You’ve checked everywhere?"

"Yes, sir," his subordinate replied. "We’ve checked everywhere. Miss Lockwood didn’t leave any marks."

Theodore Lancaster’s brow furrowed. "Estelle Lockwood is clever and cunning. What if she left a mark you didn’t find?"

The subordinate shook his head. "Impossible, sir. We checked thoroughly. There aren’t any unusual marks anywhere. Besides, Miss Lockwood doesn’t have a pen, paper, or a carving knife, so she couldn’t have written anything."

With a pen and paper, she could write something. With a knife, she could carve into the walls or floor. But Estelle Lockwood had nothing. Even if she wanted to leave a clue, she could only do so by arranging objects—and even if she and Nathaniel Sloan had some secret that could be conveyed with a few items...

...his men had already put Estelle Lockwood’s room back to its original state before leaving.

So the subordinate could guarantee that Estelle Lockwood hadn’t left any clues.

Theodore Lancaster didn’t ask any more questions.

Sure enough, Nathaniel Sloan merely looked around the room, found no clues, and walked out.

Theodore Lancaster relaxed.

...

When Nathaniel Sloan saw the tidied room, he understood immediately—of course Theodore Lancaster wouldn’t leave any clues behind.

’But whatever Estelle left behind wouldn’t be so easily erased.’

Nathaniel knew Estelle didn’t have a pen, paper, or a knife. But if she wanted to leave numbers, her only option was to write them—especially since even the clocks had been removed from the room.

’But... who said there wasn’t a "pen" in here?’

He recalled a day before a banquet when a makeup artist was bustling around Estelle Lockwood. He’d seen a pen-like object and raised an eyebrow, asking, "Is this makeup too?"

The makeup artist had replied respectfully, "Yes, sir. It’s an eyeliner pencil."

Nathaniel Sloan looked at the vanity.

The makeup pencils on the vanity were all new, with their barcodes still attached. Below each barcode was a string of factory-issued numbers, but...

’On a few of them, there are numbers that were clearly written on by hand!’

Nathaniel Sloan’s heart pounded. He instantly knew how Estelle Lockwood had left him a clue.

He quickly scanned them, committing the numbers to memory.

45-11-20

16-18-03

Acting as if nothing had happened, as if he had just been casually rummaging, Nathaniel Sloan quickly left the room to search elsewhere.

He acted as though he hadn’t found anything, continuing his earnest search in other rooms.

An hour later, Theodore Lancaster walked in with a smile. "Nathaniel, time’s up. It seems you didn’t find anything."

Nathaniel Sloan put on a grim expression.

Theodore Lancaster said, "Now do you believe that Miss Lockwood isn’t here with me?"

"But Estelle is definitely still alive!" Nathaniel Sloan said coldly.

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