Chapter 179: I’m a grown man

Meanwhile, back at the venue, Lily waited anxiously for Clara to return.

"She said she would be back quickly," Lily muttered, glancing around. "What’s taking her so long?"

Silvia, who had been waiting with her, let out a worried sigh.

"We shouldn’t have let her go alone. You know how Madam is. Trouble seems to find her wherever she goes."

Lily frowned. "Or she finds trouble first."

"Honestly, I can’t even argue with that."

Just as the two women began imagining the worst, a man approached their stall.

"Excuse me, are you Miss Clara?" he asked.

Both Lily and Silvia turned toward him.

"No," Silvia replied cautiously. "Do you need any help?"

The man offered them an awkward smile.

"The manager wanted to speak with Miss Clara regarding the event. He said it was important."

Lily and Silvia exchanged confused glances. Clara had already discussed everything with the manager earlier. As far as they knew, there shouldn’t have been any reason for another meeting.

"What do you think the manager wants to discuss?" Lily whispered.

Silvia shook her head. "I have no idea. Maybe something went wrong with the arrangements."

"But Clara would have told us if there was a problem."

"I know."

The man cleared his throat, drawing their attention back to him.

"He asked me to bring her over as soon as possible."

Silvia looked around the venue, hoping to catch sight of Clara. But there was still no sign of her.

"Lily, you stay here," she said after a moment. "I’ll go and find out what the problem is."

Lily nodded. "All right. But don’t take too long."

Silvia turned toward the man.

"Sir, could you tell me where the manager is?"

"Of course. He’s near the administrative office, just past the main hall. I’ll show you if you’d like."

Silvia hesitated before shaking her head.

"That’s all right. I know where it is. Thank you."

The man nodded and remained beside the stall as Silvia walked away.

Lily watched him for a moment, her eyes narrowing slightly. But before she could question his presence, the man spoke again.

"I heard this is your first time participating in an chairty event here."

Lily turned toward him.

"Yes, it is. We received a huge order, so we’re really looking forward to hearing the guest’s feedback."

"That’s good. I’m sure everything will go well."

"I hope so," Lily replied with a small smile. "We’ve worked very hard for this."

The man nodded, but his attention seemed to drift toward the crowd. An awkward silence settled between them.

Lily eventually looked away and noticed a group of children playing nearby. They were laughing and chasing one another when one of the boys suddenly tripped and fell onto his knees.

"Oh my goodness!"

Lily immediately rushed toward him.

"Are you hurt?" she asked, crouching beside the child.

The boy sniffled, staring at his scraped knee.

"I—I fell."

"I can see that," Lily said gently. "But did you hurt yourself anywhere else?"

The boy shook his head.

"Only my knee."

"All right. Let me help you up."

She carefully helped him stand and examined his knee.

"It’s just a small scrape. It might sting a little, but you’ll be fine."

The boy looked at her with teary eyes.

"Really?"

"Of course. You’re a brave boy, aren’t you?" He nodded hesitantly.

"Then you have to be brave for a little longer. Come on, let’s clean that wound."

"My friends are waiting," he mumbled, glancing toward the other children.

"They can wait for a minute. Your knee is more important right now."

Lily brushed the dust from his clothes before guiding him toward one of the nearby staff members, who helped clean the scrape and apply a small bandage.

"There," Lily said, smiling at him. "All better."

The boy looked down at his knee and then grinned.

"Thank you!"

"You’re welcome. But be careful while playing, all right?" she said.

"I will!"

The boy hurried back to his friends, and Lily watched him for a moment to make sure he was safe.

Meanwhile, the man who had approached the stall stood several feet away, his expression turning cold as he observed Lily’s distraction.

"It’s time," he murmured under his breath.

He glanced around once before quietly walking away.

A few minutes later, Lily returned to the stall. She looked around, expecting to see the man waiting nearby. But he was gone.

Lily frowned. "Where did he disappear to?" she muttered, scanning the crowd.

She then glanced toward the direction Silvia had gone.

"Hopefully, Silvia handles everything."

***

Silvia followed the man’s directions and headed toward the administrative office. However, when she reached the area he had described, she found nothing resembling an office.

Instead, all she could see were several narrow corridors lined with storage rooms.

Silvia slowed down and looked around in confusion.

"Did I take a wrong turn?" she muttered.

She glanced behind her, trying to remember the route she had taken. The venue was larger than she had initially realized, and with so many similar-looking corridors, it was easy to lose her way.

"Maybe the office is further ahead."

She walked a little farther, checking the doors as she passed. Most of them were closed, with small labels attached to them. None of them appeared to belong to an administrative office.

Silvia frowned.

"That man said it was near the main hall. How did I end up here?"

She pulled out her phone to call Clara, only to realize she had left it inside her bag at the stall.

"Of course," she sighed. "Why would anything go smoothly today?"

After looking around one last time, Silvia decided to return to the venue and wait for Clara instead. She turned around and took a few steps back toward the corridor.

But before she could reach the exit, someone suddenly grabbed her from behind.

"What—?"

A hand clamped over her mouth, muffling her startled cry. Silvia struggled, trying to turn around and see who had caught her.

The person shoved her forcefully toward one of the storage rooms.

"Let go of me!"

Her voice was barely audible beneath the hand covering her mouth. She tried to brace herself against the doorframe, but the attacker pushed harder, sending her stumbling into the dark room.

Silvia turned around just as the door slammed shut.

"Wait!"

She rushed toward it, but before she could pull it open, she heard the unmistakable sound of the lock clicking from the other side.

"Hey! Open this door!"

Silvia pounded against it with both fists.

"Can you hear me? Let me out!"

There was no response.

She pressed her ear against the door, listening carefully. At first, she could hear faint footsteps moving away. Then even those sounds disappeared.

"Hey!" she shouted again. "Someone help me! I’m trapped in here!"

But the corridor remained silent.

Silvia stepped back and looked around the storage room. It was cramped and poorly lit, with boxes and unused equipment stacked against the walls. A faint smell of dust filled the air.

She hurried back to the door and began banging on it again.

"Please! Is anyone outside? Open the door!"

Her voice echoed inside the room, but no one came.

Meanwhile, outside the storage room, the person who had locked her inside slowly stepped into the light.

The woman’s expression remained calm as she glanced at the closed door.

It was none other than Julianna.

She stood there for a moment, listening to Silvia’s muffled cries from inside. A faint smile touched her lips.

"Keep shouting," Julianna murmured. "No one is going to hear you."

She turned away from the storage room, her footsteps growing quieter as she disappeared down the corridor.

Inside, Silvia continued calling for help, unaware that the person responsible had already left her behind.

***

Meanwhile, Adrian, who had finally run out of patience, walked toward the stall. His brows furrowed when he realized Clara was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is Miss Hayes?" he asked.

Lily, who was still watching the man standing before her, turned toward Adrian. It took her a moment to recognize the same man she had shamelessly praised earlier. But she quickly composed herself.

"She’s around somewhere, answering a call," Lily lied.

There was no way she would let the old man suffer simply because her madam had suddenly disappeared.

Adrian considered her answer for a moment before nodding.

"Well, I can’t wait any longer. Can I please eat the cookies now?"

"..."

Logan, who had witnessed the worst tantrums his boss could throw, found himself embarrassed by this particular one.

"Boss, could you please be a little more thoughtful?" he asked, lowering his voice.

Adrian shot him an annoyed look.

"You said I could have one. Why are you acting like my mother now?"

"Because you’re behaving like a spoiled child," Logan countered.

Adrian’s eyes widened.

"How dare you compare me to a child? I’m a grown man."

"Then start behaving like one."

Lily stared at the two men in confusion. She had expected them to be ruthless, cold businessmen, but here they were bickering like an ordinary father and son.

Are all wealthy people secretly like this? she wondered.