Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

Chapter 170: Chapter 170: Leon Grant Is So Crazy

"What’s going on?"

Evan Ford crossed his arms, his expression calm. "The masked man attacked Jaden with a stun gun. But Jaden’s tough as nails, so he should be fine."

"..."

"You’re injured. What are you doing here?"

"Where’s Jaden?"

"Getting checked out..." As he spoke, Evan Ford saw Jaden in a wheelchair, being pushed by a young nurse. They were heading toward him and Alaric Blackwood.

Jaden held his phone to his ear, arranging for his bodyguards to come over.

Evan Ford jutted his chin toward him. Alaric Blackwood followed his gaze and saw Jaden hang up the phone, then turn to the young nurse behind him. "Could you please handle my admission paperwork?"

The young nurse forced a smile. "All right."

’The patient is being so dramatic,’ she thought. ’All his test results came back normal, but he’s insisting on being admitted. What can I say? Let him stay. There are several empty VIP rooms anyway.’

Once the admission paperwork was complete, Jaden was moved to a hospital room.

"Shouldn’t I get a follow-up brain CT scan or something?"

he asked the doctor.

"That’s quite unnecessary."

"I was zapped for a long time. I was even convulsing. Are you sure you don’t need to check my brain?"

The doctor, with a perfectly straight face, held up two fingers. "What is this?"

"Fingers?"

"How many fingers?"

"Two."

"Good. Your brain isn’t broken."

Jaden had just let out a sigh of relief when the door to his room was pushed open. It was Officer Young, who was in charge of Nina Halloway’s kidnapping case.

Two plainclothes officers followed him. The three of them entered, and after asking for details, Officer Young said, "Should we contact Miss Halloway to come over?"

The moment Jaden heard Nina Halloway’s name, his face instantly paled. "Contact her? What for?"

"Miss Halloway is a key figure in this case. Sean Wright’s body still hasn’t been found, and your attack tonight by a masked man proves that the information Miss Halloway provided earlier was true. The masked man is now targeting you."

Jaden’s heart sank. "Haven’t you identified any suspects?"

"Not at the moment."

"Weren’t you suspicious of that guy with the last name Grant before?"

"He has an alibi for the time Miss Halloway was kidnapped."

"What if he hired someone else to do it?"

"That’s a possibility. Miss Halloway did say she saw several masked people disposing of Sean Wright’s body. But it’s just a suspicion. Without evidence, we can’t do anything to Mr. Grant."

’All I did was break up with Nina Halloway, and now I’m the assassination target of some psycho? My life is so tragic. No one in the world has it worse than me.’

He sighed worriedly and said to Officer Young, "Since Nina is key to the case, then go ahead and contact her."

Officer Young nodded and stepped outside the room to make a call.

...

At that moment, Nina Halloway was already at Leon Grant’s private residence.

The location was The Metropolis, the same residential complex as hers, though not the same building.

Leon Grant’s apartment had the same layout as hers, but the design style was rather unique—a dark, minimalist industrial look. When she first walked in, she almost thought she had entered a raw, unfinished unit until she passed the entryway and saw the furniture and appliances inside.

The chef Leon Grant had invited was showcasing his culinary skills in the open-plan kitchen.

The appetizers had already been served. The main course was next, followed by dessert.

Each course was minuscule. On enormous plates, the food was a mere decoration in the center—beautifully presented, but gone in a single bite.

Nina Halloway was quite hungry. Anne had been feeding her so well lately that her appetite had grown, and the tiny appetizer from the chef wasn’t even enough to tide her over.

She sat at the dining table, facing Leon Grant, while Ethan Austin stood dutifully by her side.

Leon Grant had invited Ethan Austin to sit and enjoy the meal with them, but Ethan had refused.

’As her personal bodyguard, I have to do my job first,’ he thought. ’As for dinner, I can eat when I get home. Besides, Alaric Blackwood called to warn me that there’s something wrong with Leon Grant.’

He was worried that Leon Grant might have tampered with the food and drinks, so he had no intention of touching anything from the start.

"Nina, what did you think of the appetizer?" Leon Grant asked, raising his glass of red wine and swirling it gently.

Nina Halloway replied politely, "It was very good."

"The main course will be a little while. Why don’t I give you a tour of the apartment?"

Before Nina Halloway could respond, the man had already stood up with his wine glass, crossed over in a few steps, and pulled her to her feet by the hand.

He led Nina Halloway into the living room, with Ethan Austin following close behind.

"Your decor is a bit dim," Nina Halloway remarked.

"I like black and gray, so I had the walls painted gray. In my room, all the bedding is black."

A corner of Leon Grant’s mouth lifted as he led Nina Halloway toward the master bedroom.

The door was ajar and swung open with a gentle push.

She found the color palette inside even darker than the living room. The walls were a very deep gray, the curtains were made of solid black fabric, and the large bed in the center of the room—both the frame and the bedding—was entirely black. Nina Halloway felt an immediate sense of oppression.

She gave a dry laugh. "You have very... unique tastes."

’Who would decorate their own room like this?’ she thought.

"Let me show you my collection. I made them all by hand."

He tilted his head back, downing the red wine in his glass. He then casually set the glass aside, took Nina Halloway’s hand, and led her down a hallway to a floor-to-ceiling door made of dark walnut wood.

He pushed the door open, flicked on the lights, and her eyes were met with rows upon rows of glass display cases.

Inside were nothing but taxidermied animals, all eerily lifelike.

The thought that Leon Grant had made them all himself made Nina Halloway’s scalp tingle as she looked at the specimens.

"Some of these animals were pets of mine that I had taxidermied after they passed away. Others I hunted in the wild. If I found them beautiful, I turned them into specimens, too."

Leon Grant took her hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm, leading her deeper into the collection room.

"I like to turn beautiful things into specimens. It’s the only way to preserve them for longer."

As he spoke, the man pointed to the taxidermy of a small Pekingese. "This was the first dog I ever had, back when I was a child. It died of illness when I was ten. So it could stay with me, it became my very first creation."

Nina Halloway looked at the all-black Pekingese in the glass case, and the hair on her arms stood on end.

Leon Grant felt her hand tremble as she instinctively tried to pull it from his arm. He raised his other hand and patted the back of hers. "Scared?"

"A... A little."

"You don’t think I’m some kind of psychopath, do you?"

"..."

’That’s exactly what I think,’ Nina Halloway thought.

However, Leon Grant stopped walking. He looked at her with a gentle gaze and explained, "When I was little, my parents were too busy with work to spend time with me. They were often away on business trips, gone for ten days or half a month at a time. So, they bought me puppies and kittens to keep me company. Those fluffy little creatures were my companions throughout my entire childhood. I have very deep feelings for them. You might think it’s cruel to turn them into specimens, but it’s the only way I can keep them by my side."

"Nina, can you understand me?"

’No, I can’t,’ Nina Halloway thought. ’Leon Grant is completely insane.’

She glanced back at Ethan Austin, who was following behind them. Before she could even send a silent plea for help with her eyes, her phone started ringing.

It was a call from Officer Young.

She quickly pulled her hand from Leon Grant’s arm and answered the call.