Lillian was at the center of a media storm that day. Even though the heat had cooled down somewhat, the gossip was still rampant in the crew.
Rumors about whether or not she had an affair with Peter were spreading like wildfire.
On top of that, Sophia had intentionally caused trouble for her in the crew, making it seem like everything was true.
Silence, in particular, was gloating, especially since Conrad had embarrassed her last time. Later, she was mocked for being ugly and stirring up trouble-too full of herself.
She was dragged away by Conrad’s bodyguards and warned, with Director Karl himself telling her she’d be fired if she did it again.
That grudge was finally repaid today.
She had spent the whole day badmouthing Lillian, and Silence was starting to feel exhausted.
“Silence, what should we do with the leftover dry ice? Should we put it back in the freezer?”
“Just do whatever needs to be done.” Silence said, recalling what Evelyn’s assistant had told her earlier.
“Let Director Lillian handle it. After all, she’s been working all day. It’s not like this will make a difference.” Silence said dismissively, and the others reluctantly went to find Lillian.
Lillian really hadn’t stopped working all day.
She had asked people to take care of things, but they ignored her, acting as if she didn’t exist.
Being so blatantly ostracized, Lillian refused to back down.
She had no choice but to handle these things on her own.
By this time, it was almost dark.
Lillian was afraid that Conrad might return home early tonight and find that she wasn’t there, so she hurried to the parking lot.
The car that stored the dry ice was parked there.
Lillian searched around but couldn’t find the driver. Just as she was about to call and ask, someone suddenly threw a black cloth bag over her head, tied her hands with rope, and lifted her into the car, then locked the door from the outside.
A moment later, the driver came over, casually picking his teeth. After checking the car, he started the engine and drove off.
“She won’t freeze to death, right?”
“We’re just giving her a lesson. There’s not much dry ice left. The worst that could happen is she catches a cold. Once the car reaches its destination, they’ll find her, won’t they?”
“Yeah, you’re right. Then treat me to late-night snacks tonight.”
“Let’s go.”
Lillian tumbled around in the back of the car. The sudden drop in temperature made her shiver uncontrollably.
After struggling, she collided with the sides of the car several times. Her wrists, tied with coarse rope, started to bleed and sting painfully.
Lillian shook the bag off her head, her heart pounding.
The car had already started moving.
“Driver! Driver! I’m in the back!”
Lillian yelled repeatedly toward the front, but the truck driver had the stereo blaring and didn’t hear her at all.
Lillian closed her eyes, knowing she had to act quickly while she still had the ability to move. She began working on loosening the ropes around her wrists.
******
When Conrad arrived at Evelyn’s apartment, the door had just opened, and a lively, elegant piano melody flowed out.
Evelyn sat at the white piano, wearing the latest style of evening dress. Her fingers danced across the keys.
Lately, she’d been getting only three hours of sleep each night, practicing hard after work, just so Conrad could see this special side of her.
Conrad stood still, watching her. Only when the piece ended did Evelyn gracefully rise and give him a sweet smile.
“Conrad, do you like it? I’ve been practicing with a teacher for a long time, and I wanted you to be the first to hear it.”
“Didn’t you say your eyes were bothering you?”
Evelyn froze. “I… What, if I’m fine, does that mean you don’t want to see me?”
“Do you think my time is so easy to waste? If I want to hear someone play the piano, I’ll go to a concert.”
Evelyn felt immediately embarrassed, her eyes starting to tear up.
“But I missed you.” Evelyn looked at him intently. “It’s been almost three months since I’ve seen you.”
If it weren’t for the resources she still had, and for Conrad always sending doctors to check on her, people even called her “Mrs. Conrad.” She almost began to doubt that Conrad no longer wanted her.
Conrad, a bit impatient, sat down and answered his phone. “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean Lillian’s gone? Andrew, are you possessed? You can’t keep track of one person?”
Evelyn’s heart skipped a beat, and she quietly stepped forward.
Conrad clicked his tongue, irritated, and began searching for the location on his phone.
He had shared his location with Andrew through his ring, something that only happened with absolute trust.
Andrew had been tracking Lillian based on this all along.
“Her stuff is all in the locker? But she’s not there?” Conrad kicked the coffee table aside, ready to leave.
Evelyn quickly said, “Conrad, are you going to find Lillian?”
Conrad didn’t turn back, but Evelyn added, “I know that area very well. I’ve been filming there recently. I can come along and help you search.”
She quietly followed him.
Conrad didn’t refuse.
He immediately had Ford contact the head of the crew to review the surveillance footage.
Silence had just finished work, and a group of people was getting ready to leave when, suddenly, a crowd appeared out of nowhere and blocked the door.
“What’s going on?”
“Nobody’s allowed to leave until the results are out.”
“What results? What’s happening?”
Hundreds of crew members were still on-site that night, and the crowd at the door was loud and chaotic, making a huge commotion.
Meanwhile, Director Karl and the others quickly contacted the surveillance technician to pull up the footage.
They could see that Lillian had been thrown into a truck by two men and driven away.
Conrad had driven over at high speed, making such a ruckus that Gordon naturally heard about it.
“What’s going on? I heard Lillian’s missing?”
Conrad replied, “Let’s talk inside.”
Director Karl was sweating coldly.
One employee went missing, and it was done by someone from the crew. If that leaked, their project would be over.
It was a disaster; there had been so many issues even before the official filming started.
“Sir.” Andrew handed Conrad the footage.
Conrad took one look and his gaze fixed on the group of people.
Who didn’t know Conrad’s name?
They never imagined that the disappearance of just one person, Lillian, would bring out this powerful figure.
“You people from this crew… really interesting,” Conrad said coldly.
Ford had already started looking into the truck driver’s license plate number.
“Mr. Conrad, the truck stopped at North Port Dock five minutes ago. After parking, it drove off.”
North Port Dock. If Lillian had been left there overnight, she could have frozen to death!
Conrad kicked the closest person out of the way. “Who did this? You better step forward now. If I have to waste my time finding out, it won’t be as simple as you think.”
After Conrad spoke, the black-clad bodyguards behind him swiftly pulled out their guns, pointing them at the crew.