Chapter 32 Were You Really Just Passing By Today?

When Henry and Alice got to the police station, they were taken to separate rooms to give their statements. It took about half an hour to wrap things up.

The chief shook Henry's hand. "Thanks for coming in. The suspect, John Evans, is getting treated at the hospital right now. We've determined it's a case of intentional assault, but we're still looking into whether it was premeditated or if someone put him up to it. His family is asking for a psychiatric evaluation."

Henry's eyes narrowed, his gaze icy. "They're trying to use that to get him off the hook?"

The chief nodded. "If he's diagnosed with a mental illness, it's possible."

Henry glanced over at a couple in their fifties nearby and asked, "Are those his parents?"

"Yeah."

Henry walked over, his face dark. "Don't even think about exploiting legal loopholes, or I'll make sure John's diagnose becomes real."

John's dad got agitated. "Are you threatening us?"

Henry's stern look was intimidating, a chilling aura around him. "Don't push my limits!" He then turned to Alice, his voice softening a bit, "Let's go."

Alice nodded and followed Henry.

As they passed John's parents, John's mom suddenly grabbed Alice's hand. "Miss, John's a good boy. Can you give him another chance, please?"

Alice pried her fingers off. "I get that you love your son, but he broke the law. If he'd succeeded today, I could've been disfigured or worse. My life would've been ruined."

"But you're standing here unharmed! Please, have mercy, I'm begging you." John's mom knelt on the ground. "John's a bit extreme sometimes, but he wouldn't hurt someone for no reason. He must've been instigated."

Henry ignored her and just grabbed Alice's wrist as they walked out.

John's parents tried to follow, but Ethan stopped them. "You should go to the hospital and get your son to tell the truth. But even if he doesn't, we'll find out everything."

Once outside the police station, Henry let go of Alice's wrist, quickly putting some distance between them.

As Henry bent down to get into the back seat of the car, Alice felt a crushing sense of defeat.

On the way back, Ethan glanced in the rearview mirror, noticing the tension between Alice and Henry in the back seat.

What happened?

When they got back to Bluewater Bay to patch up Henry's wounds, everything seemed chill.

Now, their relationship seemed to have hit rock bottom.

Soon, the car pulled up outside Bluewater Bay.

Henry, hidden in the shadows, spoke in a cold, indifferent tone, "Ethan, take her upstairs."

"No need, I can..." Alice started.

Henry's tone was unwavering, "Ethan!"

"Yes!" Ethan quickly got out of the car and opened the door for Alice. "Miss Savoy, please."

Alice cast a deep, lingering glance at Henry before turning away. "Uncle Henry, I won't say anything inexplicable or do things that trouble you anymore."

After Alice got out of the car, Henry called Ethan back, his tone carrying a warning, "Don't talk nonsense."

Ethan nodded. "Yes."

As Alice entered the building, Henry glanced at her unintentionally, then looked away.

Alice stepped into the elevator, and Ethan followed.

Ethan couldn't help but say, "Miss Savoy, Mr. Howard actually cares a lot about you."

"I know." Alice said, "Were you really just passing by today?"

Ethan sighed inwardly, of course not.

After work, Henry said he was going to the Royal Orchid Restaurant.

Ethan thought Henry was going there to dine, but when they arrived, Henry had him park the car behind a pillar, and didn't get out of the car while he just waited there quietly.

At first, Ethan didn't understand and didn't dare to ask.

Until Alice and Rupert came out together and drove away, Henry had him follow them.

Then he realized Henry was there to watch Alice and Rupert's date.

No, it was stalking.

After that, when Henry saw someone trying to harm Alice, he rushed out before the car even stopped.

Ethan knew that Henry had never cared about any woman other than his female family members, yet Alice was the first.

They said that an outsider saw things more clearly than those involved.

He could see that Henry's concern for Alice went beyond that of an elder for a younger person.

After all, something intimate had already happened between Alice and Henry, so the feelings involved were definitely not simple.

Ethan originally thought Alice could be with Henry, but today he saw Alice dining with Rupert and suspected that Alice might be messing around with two men. He felt a bit like complaining on Henry's behalf, which is why he mentioned how good Henry was to her.

However, he couldn't speak for Henry or guess what was really going on in his head.

Plus, Henry had made it clear he shouldn't speak out of turn.

Thinking that, Ethan replied, "Yeah, we were just passing by."

Alice had still held onto a sliver of hope, thinking Henry had come specifically to find her.

Hearing Ethan's words, she forced a smile. "I understand. Mr. Ross, be safe on your way back."

Back home, after pulling herself together, Alice turned on her computer and started digging into John—his accounts, recent call logs, info records, and whereabouts.

Through a series of investigations, Alice discovered that John was a foolish fan of Clara.

Clara was a popular online influencer with millions of followers and a high level of internet fame. Given how bad things had gotten between Alice and Clara, it was highly likely a fan was seeking revenge.

But Alice didn't overlook any possibilities and found a virtual number that had been in close contact with John recently.

Alice's fingers flew across the keyboard. She input lines of code, and soon the program she wrote automatically tracked and found the ID info of the other party.

Trevor Lawson, male, 34 years old, skilled in computer programming.

Following this lead, Alice discovered that his account had received five hundred thousand dollars a week ago, and the payer was Vincent Hill, the owner of Golden Shadow Bar.

After pondering for a moment, Alice realized she had never crossed paths with Vincent, so it was likely someone had hired him to cause her trouble.

So, she hacked into Vincent's phone to check his Facebook and call records, and found a familiar name, Julia.

Alice chuckled softly, so it was Julia.

After tracking Julia's current location, Alice quickly stood up, went into the closet, and put on a black coat, a mask, a baseball cap, and took a pair of white gloves before heading out.

At the Golden Shadow Bar.

The air was thick with the smell of smoke and alcohol, and deafening music pounded in people's ears.

Men and women danced passionately on the dance floor. A woman, clad in a thigh-high skirt, exuded sultry allure as she tossed her cascading, wavy hair with abandon, swaying to the beat.

Tired from dancing, she stepped out and sat next to a blond-haired man in a booth.

"Julia, don't worry, that bitch will be disfigured tonight."

Julia took a sip of her drink, lit a cigarette, and blew a puff of smoke upwards. "Dared to steal my man, she's overestimating herself! That hacker didn't leave any evidence, right?"

"Don't worry about my work. He only incited that foolish fan. There's no substantial evidence, and they definitely can't trace it back to him or us."

Julia's red lips curled up, and she patted the man's shoulder. "Thanks, Vincent."

Vincent laughed, "Julia, just don't forget about me when you make it big."

"Of course!" Julia stood up. "You have fun. I'm going to touch up my makeup."

Suddenly, she widened her eyes in horror as she saw a fully armed person walking towards her. "Who are you?"

Alice's lips curled up behind her mask, and she cracked her neck.

Julia's hands trembled uncontrollably, and her lipstick fell to the ground with a clatter. She rushed towards the door in a panic.

At that moment, her hair was yanked back forcefully, her neck arching backward. She clutched her head in pain, "Don't hurt me, I have a lot of money, you can have as much as you want!"

With a powerful shove, Alice sent Julia stumbling into the sink, the impact causing a sharp pain in Julia's abdomen.

Julia turned around, her hands raised in front of her chest, "Who hired you? I'll pay you double, five times, ten times!"

Alice slapped her hard, then again.

She grabbed Julia's neck, gradually tightening her grip. Julia kept slapping Alice's arm.

Until Julia's face turned from red to purple, Alice finally let go.

Julia collapsed to the ground like a rag doll, coughing violently.

Alice squatted down and tilted her head to look at her.

Julia shook her head frantically, breaking down in tears. "Please don't hurt me."

Alice raised her hand and hushed her.

Julia nodded repeatedly, "I won't cry, I won't scream."

Alice gave her a thumbs-up, then came the loud sound of slaps, until Julia's face was swollen, with blood streaming from her nose.

Looking at the barely conscious Julia, Alice picked up the lipstick from the ground and drew a clown's mouth on Julia's face.

At that moment, there was a loud banging on the door.

"Julia, are you okay?"

"Julia, say something!"

Alice slapped her face three times hard, then got up and jumped out of the second-floor window.