"Laila." Roy had come back earlier than usual today. He'd been feeling guilty for neglecting her lately. With most of his work now finished, he thought he'd return early to have dinner with her.
But to his surprise, when he got home, Laila wasn't there.
He went out, and searched the area nearby—but still no sign of her.
Puzzled, he took out his phone and first dialed Laila's number. No answer. Then he called Xiao Ye, who was still in the village.
"Xiao Ye, have you seen Laila?"
"Laila? Didn't she already go back?" Xiao Ye replied, glancing around and asking the people near him. All the responses were the same—no one had seen her.
"They said she wasn't seen after the afternoon. We assumed she went back to the set."
Roy's heart suddenly tightened. "She's not at the set. I just tried calling her—no one answered."
"No way!" Xiao Ye immediately tensed up. He grabbed a friend's phone and dialed Laila's number himself. The call went through, but no one picked up. He tried again—this time, the phone had been turned off…
Powered off!
A cold jolt shot through his chest. Unless something had happened, she would never turn off her phone.
"Roy, have a few people start searching nearby. I'll try contacting the people assigned to her detail." Xiao Ye clung to one last shred of hope. Maybe she just lost her phone… or maybe the battery died.
He didn't have the bodyguards' numbers, but one of their people had been assigned to stick close to Laila. Yet when he checked who had been on rotation… he found that person was also unreachable.
"Why are we only finding out now that she can't be contacted?!" Xiao Ye exploded, cursing furiously. "You call yourselves top-tier mercenaries? I've seen dog shit more competent than you! At least that can be thrown at the enemy and make them puke! What about you lot? You didn't even notice the boss went missing!"
The mercenaries stood there, heads hung in shame. Even their team leaders felt humiliated. They were supposed to be protecting the crew—and they'd lost their most important person.
Laila's disappearance was no small matter. Half an hour later, after confirming that there was no sign of her in the village, at the film site, or in the surrounding areas, it was clear—something had happened.
Gone with her were two bodyguards and one mercenary who had been part of her security detail. The most frustrating part? No one could say when they'd gone missing. It wasn't until Roy noticed she wasn't at home that anyone even realized she was gone.
The chaos in the village hadn't helped. The crew, the villagers, the locals—everyone had been crammed together. Each group was focused on its crisis, and the recent period of relative safety had made everyone too complacent.
This was a disaster.
Laila's disappearance was a slap in the face to a lot of people.
First, her bodyguards—actual top-tier professionals whose starting salaries were in the million-dollar range.
Then, the South African military—who had sworn a blood oath to protect the film crew.
And finally, the mercenaries—supposedly the best of the best, even better than the bodyguards in terms of combat skill.
And yet, under their so-called airtight protection, Laila and her three-person security team had vanished.
Four grown adults—not four ants.
How could they just disappear, even with all the security measures in place?
Fusca, who had stayed behind to assist with the village's reconstruction, received the news quickly. Upon hearing that Laila was missing, his mind went blank. The only words echoing in his head were: "This is a catastrophe!"
This was Laila Moran. More people on Earth probably knew her name than South Africa's. Her fans spanned the globe. Once news of her disappearance got out, the whole world would be watching South Africa with judgmental eyes. The image they had worked so hard to rebuild internationally would crumble in a single night.
"Why did she go missing? How did she go missing?!" Fusca was losing his mind. He threw the folder in his hand at the row of soldiers standing before him.
"What was your mission? Protect the entire film crew! And now look—you've lost the most important person! What the hell were you doing?!"
He couldn't do anything about the bodyguards or mercenaries Laila had brought with her. But these soldiers—his soldiers—had seriously failed in their duties.
"Apologies, sir. We were helping out in the village at the time," the soldiers said, heads bowed in shame. If there had been a hole in the ground, they would've gladly crawled into it.
It was too humiliating. Their primary target had gone missing, and they hadn't even noticed. If it hadn't happened, they wouldn't have believed it was possible.
Fusca roared, "Whose soldiers are you?! Whose orders do you follow?! Your task was to protect the crew! What does the village have to do with you?!"
Of course, this wasn't entirely the soldiers' fault. If Laila hadn't gone missing, they'd probably be receiving medals right now for helping the village. But things had changed. Laila's disappearance would have massive consequences—so massive that even Fusca didn't know what to do next.
While Fusca tore into his men, Xiao Ye was also erupting in fury.
"You all keep bragging about being professionals—this is your professionalism?!"
At that moment, everyone was seated around a campfire in the open space. Hundreds of people. Not a single one spoke.
Bodyguards. Mercenaries. Crew members—everyone stunned, helpless.
The realization that their boss was missing had hit like a thunderclap.
Laila was the most generous, approachable boss anyone could ask for. She was their idol, their beacon—the person who led them through the vast ocean that was Hollywood. With her, they could dream of Oscars, of glory.
But now she was gone. Gone!
And not a single person could say when she had last been seen.
"Roy, don't worry—Laila will come back safely." Leonardo tried to comfort his grim-faced friend. He could feel his anxiety, his rage—and he did not doubt that if the bastards who took Laila appeared right now, Roy would tear them to pieces.
But anger alone wouldn't solve anything. They had to figure out a way to bring Laila back.
Roy shot to his feet. "There's no point in dwelling on what's already happened. Right now, I want to know one thing—who was the last person to see her?"
Yes, he was furious. Yes, he wanted to kill whoever dared lay a hand on Laila.
But now was not the time to lose his head. He no longer trusted those so-called professionals. If she was going to be found, it would have to be by him. With his strength.