Forced Marriage: My Wife, My Redemption

Chapter 312: There is a big problem...

Davis paused lightly. "Do you really understand how urgent the situation is, and yet you’re pressing me for transport costs before you move them?" His voice was cold, void of warmth. A faint smirk curled on his lips.

"Also, prepare them for the red carpet," he instructed.

"Consider it done," the voice on the phone replied, a slight tremble lacing his words as he continued "Didn’t expect that the first time I’d hear from you after one year, I’d be hanging on a tree," the man murmured.

"My gift," Davis chuckled darkly. He ended the call, then glanced toward the front seat. "Prepare his fund transfer."

Ethan nodded and his attention returned to the work he was handling.

After a pause, he called Richard, who picked up immediately as though he had been waiting for the calls.

"Make arrangements to receive the models arriving in twenty minutes," Davis instructed.

"Okay," Richard replied, taking a deep breath. "And you?"

"I’m close by. Just... the arrival of those models is peculiar."

"Arriving by air?" Richard guessed.

"Yes."

"That’s not a problem. The Grand Duke Hotel has an open rooftop. I’ll contact the manager," Richard said.

After ending the call, Davis rubbed his brow in contemplation. His gaze drifted to the window, catching sight of a billboard displaying the launch advertisement. He studied its careful design, the rich display, and the intricate detail.

"They really invested heavily in this," he muttered with a sigh.

Several minutes later, the car pulled into the underground garage of the Grand Duke Hotel.

Davis stepped out slowly, his eyes scanning the surroundings, mentally analyzing how possible it was for the materials to have been taken without leaving a trace.

Without another word, he stepped into the elevator with Ethan and two guards. The rest of the team remained behind, following his prior instructions.

Notified of his arrival, Richard was already waiting as the elevator doors opened. Davis shook his hand firmly.

"I think you’ll need to stall the program a bit so we can confirm everything," Davis said.

"I’ve already considered that. But—how did you even find out?" Richard asked.

"A subordinate," Davis said simply, stepping forward. "Have the guests arrived?"

"They’ll be here in less than an hour," Richard replied.

Davis nodded nonchalantly. "Once the new models arrive, they’ll walk the red carpet in single file. I know you originally planned for them to appear only on the runway, but we’re adjusting the order."

"Why?" Richard frowned, not quite following his logic.

"To recover the stolen materials," Davis said flatly, casting him a sidelong glance. He could see the deep lines of stress on Richard’s face. _{free\we\bnov(e)(l).com}

"Let’s head to the location where the materials were stored."

The group moved swiftly, turning into a wide corridor and stopping in front of a grand room. Richard inhaled deeply and pushed the door open.

Davis stepped in, his gaze sweeping across the room in one smooth, calculating scan. The table was neatly arranged. A full-length mirror stood in the corner. Makeup kits had been laid out in perfect order. Everything looked ready... except for the chilling absence of the models’ wears, accessories, and several other essential items.

It was as if they had vanished into thin air.

Davis’s eyes darkened. He walked through the quiet hall, his expression hardening with every step.

"How many of your subordinates were in charge of this room and its arrangement?" he asked without turning.

"To ensure confidentiality and proper management, five were assigned. The models brought their own assistants, so our focus was on handling logistics," Richard replied, his voice fatigued.

He felt his head throb from stress and exhaustion. For the past five hours, he’d been scrambling to contain a disaster.

He had tried to investigate—but at some point, solving the immediate problem became more important than finding who to blame. That could come later.

~Earlier~

Richard had woken earlier than usual. With the models arriving the night before and the launch scheduled today, there was much to do.

Everything started off well. The models went through their morning light workouts and had breakfast at 8:30. By 9:00 a.m., they were scheduled for routine care and prep.

But when Richard arrived at the hotel, they were missing from the hall.

His brow furrowed. Something was wrong.

He took a sharp breath and pulled out his phone, dialing the number of the event moderator in charge of that session. The call connected instantly—and the voice on the other end was frantic. noveldrama

"Sir, there’s a big problem. Maybe you should come over to their suites. The situation is terrible."

"What are they doing right now?"

"At the moment, they can’t even stand," the voice reported.

Richard felt dread wrap around his spine. He clenched the phone in his fist and rushed back to his car quickly picked up some of the essentials he might need and shut the car with a thud.

With frantic steps, he ran toward the elevator. The slow rise tested his patience. The moment the doors opened, he sprinted down the hallway to the models’ suite.

He knocked once and entered.

His breath hitched. His hand trembled. The sight before him was devastating.

The models were sprawled across couches and floors, arms and faces covered in angry red rashes, some scratching at their skin, some too weak to lift their heads. They looked ill or better to say —poisoned.

Taking a quick glance round the room, the doctors were already on-site, working to stabilize them. But none of them could stand not to talk about standing properly..

Richard carefully studying the situation drew up one conclusion, they are injected with a paralysis serum.

With the conclusion several nagging questions tugged at the back of his mind.

"Who was responsible?"

"How was it possible?"

"Why are they doing this?"

"What do they want to achieve?"

Even the five standby models had been affected.

Richard felt like the ground had collapsed beneath him. This wasn’t accidental. This was warfare.

Since then, the entire team had been working nonstop to patch up the disaster—but nothing was working.

Richard took a deep breath and stepped out of the suite. He called every other department to check on the situation of the unit but surprisingly, he got a report he never expected.

"The materials and accessories meant for the show had vanished."

Richard’s hands curled into fists. His face went pale. While he was still contemplating on what to do. The doctor called him over.

"We have done our best at the moment but with the situation and results at hand, they wouldn’t be able to do anything."

At that moment, Richard felt he was fighting a lost battle yet he wouldn’t dare to call the event.