Chapter 145: She Was Soft-Hearted After All
’There’s no one else around. If those guys decided to come back, the three of us would never be able to fight them off.’
’But my sister must have a plan. She’s just incredible. She took one down without a sound, scared the leader half to death, and even finished off the last one herself.’
Alvin Lancaster felt a little ashamed. When he first heard his sister’s plan, he’d thought he would be a key fighter. The real battle had been much harder than he’d imagined.
He’d practiced Taekwondo, but that kind of sparring was a world away from a real brawl. Both his reflexes and his situational awareness were far inferior to his sister’s.
"We’re waiting for the police." Jane Lancaster raised an eyebrow. "Surprised? I called them before I even came out."
In the quiet of the night, the rumble of an engine grew closer.
Inside the car, the man’s menacing eyes were fixed on Jane Lancaster.
It had taken him a few minutes to realize he’d almost been completely bluffed by her.
They had a hostage, three able-bodied men, and long knives ready in the car. Their odds were clearly better in a direct confrontation.
’So why not take the chance?’
Jane Lancaster looked utterly astonished. "You actually came back?"
The man asked, "You knew we would come back?"
He quickly scanned the area. The spot Jane Lancaster was hiding in was clever. It was behind a hedge over a meter high, with a patch of rose bushes in front of it.
Whether he tried to cut straight through or go around, he’d have to get past both obstacles.
The man continued talking to Jane Lancaster while making a hand signal behind his back.
After receiving the command, Chubby slipped silently out the other side of the car, preparing to circle around and flank her.
Adrian Lancaster: "??? Mmmph, mmmph..."
He struggled desperately to warn them, but the sounds he made were faint, and the driver slapped him across the face for his trouble.
Jane Lancaster acted as if she hadn’t heard the muffled grunt from the car. "You’ve already captured Adrian, haven’t you? Why won’t you just leave us alone?"
"Adrian?" The man paused, startled.
"That’s right. Adrian. The A-list celebrity, Adrian," Jane Lancaster said, looking even more baffled. "You went to all that trouble to lure him out and kidnap him, and you don’t even know who he is?"
A flicker of doubt crossed the man’s mind. His gut told him he’d stumbled into a world of trouble. "How did you know I lured him out?"
Just then, thankfully, Chubby gave the signal. He had successfully moved into his flanking position!
A surge of delight went through the man. He was just about to charge through the rose bushes and hedge to grab Jane Lancaster.
Suddenly, the wail of police sirens cut through the night.
His heart leaped into his throat. ’How did the police get here so fast?’
"You called the cops?" he asked, his expression turning grim as he stared at Jane Lancaster.
Jane Lancaster gave him a friendly smile. "I called them a while ago. After all, I was terrified. A group of thugs suddenly broke in and kidnapped my celebrity brother."
——
The officers who arrived on the scene were also surprised. A gang of thugs had broken into a resort manor and kidnapped a major celebrity.
The whole incident was rather bizarre. The celebrity had apparently exposed his own location and walked right into the trap.
The young woman who called for help, on the other hand, had been remarkably alert, decisively contacting the police the moment she sensed something was wrong.
The police made a point of praising her actions. "When you’re traveling, you should always maintain this level of high alert."
They glanced at Adrian Lancaster and made a mental note. This celebrity was prime material for future online scam prevention campaigns.
’And if I recall correctly, doesn’t this guy have a ’genius’ persona? How could he be so stupid in real life, getting lured out by a single text message?’
Adrian Lancaster: "..."
’What were those looks for? Are they questioning my persona, or do they think I’m an idiot?’
Either way, it was deeply unpleasant.
It had been a long time since he’d felt like this. He couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.
By the time the group finished giving their statements and returned to Rosewind Estate, it was already the wee hours of the morning.
As Jane Lancaster headed back to her room, Adrian Lancaster suddenly spoke up. "You knew from the start that those were thugs on the phone, didn’t you? Deliberately asking them to deliver a cake, revealing the address of Rosewind Estate... you were baiting them!"
Alvin Lancaster stopped in his tracks, startled.
Jane Lancaster’s eyes widened. "Third Brother, what are you talking about? That’s impossible!"
’You got it! So what? It’s not like I’m going to give you a prize.’
’Otherwise, why do you think those idiots suddenly changed their target and came to Rosewind Estate?’
Adrian Lancaster pressed the bridge of his nose. "And you counted on me getting lured out, didn’t you?"
He wasn’t as good-natured as his two older brothers. Once he grew suspicious, he was determined to expose her true colors.
"That’s enough, Chase! Stop this nonsense!" Alvin Lancaster said, pulling his brother back.
’He was starting to get unreasonable.’
He had also faced their leader, and the man’s menacing gaze had sent a chill down his spine.
Yet his sister had engaged the man in conversation as if nothing was wrong, stalling for time until the police arrived...
Alvin Lancaster knew he could never have done that. He wouldn’t have even been able to stand his ground to keep the man’s attention; he would have unconsciously wanted to turn and flee.
Of course, he knew his sister had likely used their brother, but ultimately, it was their brother’s own carelessness that was to blame.
Besides, he was surprised. Since when had his brother gotten so close to Luna Morgan?
Adrian Lancaster whipped his head around to stare at him in disbelief. "Second Brother, you’re saying I’m the one being nonsensical?"
"Aren’t you?" Alvin’s tone was serious. "If it weren’t for Jay today, things could have ended very badly for all of us."
Those men had knives. If they’d decided on a direct assault, all of them might have met their end here. He felt a wave of retroactive fear just thinking about it.
’Fight, fight! Hurry up and fight!’
’Adrian Lancaster realized I used him. He must be about to lose his mind with rage, right?’
’Go on, say it! Tell them that if I hadn’t brought the danger here in the first place, none of you would have been in danger at all!’
’So she really did do it on purpose!’
Adrian Lancaster slowly calmed down. She wanted him to say it, but he perversely decided not to give her the satisfaction.
"I’m sorry. I lost my composure," he said, taking the initiative to apologize. Then he walked into his room and shut the door.
Jane Lancaster was deeply disappointed. She’d really thought the two of them were going to start a fight.
Just as she was about to head to her own room, Alvin Lancaster suddenly asked, "Jay, did you deliberately lure those thugs here... to save Luna?"
His voice was very quiet. Jane Lancaster turned back to him. "What did you say, Second Brother?"
"Nothing," Alvin Lancaster said, snapping out of it. He turned and went into his room as well.
——
Jasper Sterling learned about Jane Lancaster’s run-in with a gang of thugs at Rosewood Manor just half an hour after it happened.
Gavin was rather confused. "Why did Miss Lancaster deliberately ask them to deliver a cake?"
He really couldn’t figure it out. The whole affair felt off in every respect.
The caller was a kidnapper, yet because of Jane Lancaster’s one bizarre request, the kidnapper actually went all that way to deliver a cake?
Well, they hadn’t actually delivered a cake. They’d gone to kidnap Adrian Lancaster instead.
Whenever Jasper Sterling pictured the scene, he couldn’t help but smile. She had clearly set Adrian Lancaster up to take a fall on purpose.
"Why? Because in the end, she’s still soft-hearted, of course."
Luna Morgan’s greatest and most powerful advantage was, without a doubt, Caleb Lowell.
It was obvious who the kidnappers were after. But if they discovered that Caleb Lowell was completely ignoring them and felt they were being played for fools, no one could guarantee what they might do to Luna Morgan.
That must be why Jane Lancaster decided to act as bait, to guide the kidnappers toward a new target, right?