Thomas must have been loud, because the bodyguards outside heard him and rushed in, only then realizing that Yvonne was missing.

"You were all standing right outside the door, and you didn't even notice she was gone?!" Thomas yelled at the bodyguards, his voice laced with panic and anger.

After his outburst, he ordered his men to lock down the teahouse immediately, allowing no one in or out.

The teahouse erupted into chaos, with many disgruntled customers complaining loudly.

Thomas couldn't care less about the others. He had only been on the phone for ten minutes, yet Yvonne had vanished as if into thin air.

The teahouse manager pulled up the security footage. There were no cameras inside the private room, but none of the cameras covering the exterior areas showed any trace of Yvonne.

Just as Thomas was at his wit's end, Bennett arrived with his own men.

It turned out Bennett had placed some of his people among Yvonne's bodyguards. Therefore, Bennett had been notified the moment something happened to Yvonne.

He strode up to Thomas and grabbed him by the collar, his grip so tight that Thomas could barely breathe.

"Thomas, if anything happens to her, I won't let you off the hook,” Bennett snarled, the corners of his eyes red with a ferocity never seen before.

After saying his piece, he shoved Thomas away and, led by a bodyguard, entered the room where Yvonne had disappeared.

"Ms. Jones disappeared from this room..." The bodyguard recounted every detail of what had happened from the moment they arrived at the teahouse until Yvonne went missing.

Bennett listened intently as he scanned the room for any clues.

He carefully examined everything: the used teacups, the burning incense, the sealed windows.

"I drank the tea too, and I was in this room the whole time. There shouldn't be a problem with it..." Before Thomas could finish, he saw Bennett put down the incense burner and speak to a bodyguard.

"There's something wrong with the incense. Take it for analysis immediately."

After giving the order, Bennett walked over to the window and examined it closely.

The teahouse was on the ground floor, and the windows were almost all sealed shut, except for a small transom window.

After a moment of observation, Bennett suddenly reached out and gave a few forceful shoves. A large section of the window unexpectedly swung open.

From the inside, the window looked sealed, but the mechanism to open it was on the outside.

Once the window was open, faint footprints could be seen on the

ground outside. Bennett que net

that yone had

vonne had been drugged and.

been an

taken out through here.

It was a crude method, but it worked because no one was on guard.

"What about Patrick?" Bennett turned to Thomas, his gaze dark and cold.

"He's still unconscious, resting in the next room," Thomas replied.

Bennett and his men headed to the adjacent room.

Inside, Patrick was indeed still unconscious on the bed.

He had been with Yvonne the whole time and had apparently been drugged as well.

Bennett pulled up a chair, sat down by the bed, and ordered the bodyguard next to him, "Wake him up."

The bodyguard nodded, walked to

the water cooler, removed the large water jug carried it to the bed and poured the water directly onto Patrick's face.

The neck of the jug was small, so the water gurgled out in a steady stream.

At first, Patrick didn't react, but after inhaling a good amount of water, he finally sputtered awake.

He shot up from the bed, coughing and wiping the water from his face.

"What's going on? How did I get here?" he asked, looking at Thomas in confusion.

Thomas was about to explain that he had been drugged and Yvonne was missing, but Bennett spoke first.

"As expected from a famous director. Your acting is quite convincing," Bennett sneered.

"Mr. Bennett Thompson?" Patrick stared at Bennett, bewildered. "What do you mean? I don't understand."