Thinking of this, Adrian was a bit concerned that tonight's events might not go as smoothly as he and Holden had planned, so he decided to prioritize his safety.

He bowed to Bennett respectfully and said, "I understand. I'll get to work right away." Adrian feared he would be exposed if he stayed with Bennett, so he pretended to immediately carry out the task to slip away.

Bennett nodded without thinking too much.

His main focus now was to find a new group of beasts to replace the batch of beasts for the competition. After all, this was the highlight of the evening. Many people had come to witness it. It could not be canceled.

Normally, Bennett didn't need to deal with matters like this personally. But there had been too many suspicious occurrences recently. He was worried that something untoward might happen again, so he had to ensure everything was in order in person.

The beastkeeper was a burly man, and his face was not familiar to Bennett.

Bennett looked at the man with a frown, thinking he had never encountered this young man in the manor before.

He approached the man and asked in a deep voice, “I've never seen you before. What's your name?"

The young man replied nervously and respectfully, “Sir, my name is Kamdyn Barton. I'm Mayfield's cousin."

Bennett's brows furrowed. He grabbed Kamdyn's neck, glared at him menacingly, and growled, “Who the hell are you?"

“Sir, I'm really Kamdyn! That's my real name!" Kamdyn exclaimed fearfully. He struggled to repeat his name and explained, "Mayfield recommended me to work here. He said he had informed you and that you had approved...”

The murderous look in Bennett's eyes intensified. His grip on Kamdyn's neck tightened.

Kamdyn struggled for breath, feeling suffocated. His face turned red due to lack of air. "Mr. Olson, I don't know what I've done wrong. But please spare my life. I'll do anything..."

His voice faltered, and blue veins bulged on his forehead. His eyes began to roll, and his complexion became paler. Eventually, he stopped breathing.

Bennett let go of Kamdyn disdainfully. He let Kamdyn slump to the floor.

He then turned around, his cold eyes sweeping the people present.

“Everyone, listen carefully. Find the man who came in with me just now. I want to see him; I don't care if he is dead or alive," he ordered.

Before anyone could say a word, he pointed at Kamdyn's lifeless body and continued, "If I don't see him by the end of the banquet, this will also happen to you."

The atmosphere at the scene was tense. Everyone feared Bennett would suddenly explode and kill them like he had killed Kamdyn, so they quickly obeyed his orders and left.

Just then, the person who was responsible for watching over Ariana hurried in. Noticing Bennett's grim expression, he became nervous but carefully reported, “Mr. Olson, Miss Edwards is missing..."