Anna hurried to the lounge and saw Brian there.
"Brian!"
"What's going on?"
His intuition told him that something had happened to Ayla.
Anna went to the sofa and sat down.
"Brian, Ayla’s missing.I can't find her anywhere.On top of that, there are only nineteen dresses in the
dressing room.One of them is missing."
"How on earth did that happen? Ayla came here to do an inventory check to make sure that everything
was alright, didn't she? One dress went missing, and Ayla is nowhere to be found.Have you searched
for her already?"
Uneasiness spread throughout Brian's heart.
"I've already searched every nook and cranny of the venue, but I didn't see Ayla anywhere."
Even Anna was getting anxious now.If one of the dresses went missing, the fashion show wouldn't be
able to proceed smoothly.
Those twenty dresses that Ayla designed weren't the only ones to be displayed today; other brands
from this shopping mall will be shown as well.
If Ayla didn't show up, the media reporters would stir up rumors about this.
This ordeal would definitely stain her image.
"I'm going to look for Ayla.You deal with the other affairs," Brian said to Anna as he put out his
cigarette.
"Brian, I..."
She knew that he was worried about Ayla, be since there were so many quests at the venue, it would
be so much worse if he wasn't there with them, wouldn't it?
"I know what I'm doing."
Brian knew how worried Anna was about him, but he was also worried about Ayla's safety.
If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have asked Ayla to help with backstage affairs.He
would've told her to stay by his side the entire time.
Brian walked along the corridor, step by step.
His eagle- like eyes gazed at every corner, hoping to find Ayla.
While walking, he kept calling her number.
But no matter how many times he called her, nobody was picking up.
He walked towards the exit and made his way into the underground warehouse.
A faint sound reached his ears, so he pressed on to look for its source.
At this time, Ayla was currently locked in the warehouse.
The door was locked from outside.She had been knocked unconscious with a hard object, and her
phone fell to the other side where she couldn't reach it.
Ayla only woke up because her phone kept ringing.
Brian stood at the door of the warehouse and heard the phone buzzing.
"Lala? Lala!"
He knocked on the door, continuously calling out Ayla's name, but he didn't hear a response.Then, he
noticed the small lock on the door.
This door was originally intact, and there was no need to install a lock from outside.
Clearly, someone had done this on purpose.
Brian couldn't waste any more time.
Whether Ayla was in the warehouse or not, at least he was sure that her phone was there.
With his strong legs, he kicked the door repeatedly.
Sadly, his efforts were in vain.
The door was firmly locked.
The sound of his kicks attracted the security guard of the warehouse.
"Mr.Clark? Is that you? How can I help you?"
"Call someone to help me break this door down! Now!"
If Ayla was truly inside, he would worry about what might've happened to her.
"Yes, Mr.Clark."
The security guard immediately ran to follow his command.
After a while, the guard returned with a bunch of keys and a hammer.
Using the hammer, he broke off the small lock and finally opened the door.
This warehouse used to be tidy, but it was now in shambles.
There were clothes and hangers scattered all over the floor.
However, Brian still didn't see Ayla.
All he found was her phone, lying on top of a pile of clothes.
At last, he found her in a corner amongst a different pile of clothes.
There was blood dripping down her forehead.She must've gotten hit by something heavy, and lost
consciousness.
"Lala, Lala!"
Brian picked her up and took her out of the warehouse.
"Get the car and drive it to the gate."
"Yes, Mr,-Clark."
One of the guards took the car key from him and was about to run to the underground parking.
Brian stopped him for a moment, and said, "For the time being, don't tell anyone about this.We have to
keep this a secret."
He didn't want to cause a big scandal due to Ayla's injury.He believed that one of the company's
employees was the culprit.
As for that person's identity, he was ready to investigate.
After putting Ayla in the back seat of his car, he drove as fast as he could to the hospital.He brought her
to the emergency room and sat on the bench outside the door.
Her blood was all over his clothes, and his eyes were laden with worry.
‘Who dared to hurt Lala during such an important day?’ Brian took out his phone and dialed Hank's
number.
"Hank, I'm in the hospital right now.Lala got injured.Keep an eye on what’s going on at the venue.I think
there won't be any more problems as long as you work with Anna.As for me and Lala, make up an
excuse and don't let the media know that she's injured."
If those reporters found out about this, it would not only affect them, but also the company.
"Understood, Mr.Clark.I'll take care of it."
After hanging up the phone, Hank went back to work.
About half an hour later, Ayla’s wound had been treated, and she was sent out of the operating room.
"Doctor, how is she?"
"Mr.Clark, Miss Woodsen only suffered minor injuries.The reason she was unconscious for a long time
was because she was locked up for too long.The person who hurt her probably didn't want to kill her."
The doctor examined Ayla's wound and gleaned it was caused by a hard object, possibly an ashtray or
something of the same material.
Brian only felt relieved when he heard that she was fine.He thought that she was capable of handling
everything, but he didn't expect that someone was plotting against her.He had no clue how many
people this stubborn woman had offended.
Perhaps he was the reason this happened? He sat at her bedside, watching the live broadcast of the
fashion show on TV.
It was more successful than he thought.
By the time she woke up, the show was already over.
"What am I doing here?"
Ayla touched the bandages on her head, wondering what had happened to her.
'Why does my head hurt so much? Brian stood by the bed, looking at her.
"You're finally awake.Do you not remember what happened?"
He thought that she might have an idea who had done this to her.
Ayla shook her head.
"I don't remember anything."
"Then what do you remember?"
Brian looked into her eyes.
"Do you remember when you got hit? What was the last thing you were doing before it happened?"
Bit by bit, her memories came back to her.
"I remember that I went backstage to check the dresses and realized that one of them was missing.I
thought I must've left it at the warehouse, so I went ahead and looked for it.But after searching for a
long time, I couldn't find it.After that, my head started to hurt, and I can't remember what happened
next."
Ayla believed that someone must've hit her head with something hard, but she didn't say it.
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