Chapter 184: The crimes of Alice!

Chapter 184: The crimes of Alice!

Chapter 184: The crimes of Alice!

Fifteen minutes flew by, and Mia was already pulling Ryan’s hand as they left the rooftop.

Ryan was still dazed as they descended. The last fifteen minutes had bombarded him with too much information, and his brain was still trying to process it all.

Having been kissed on the face already, holding hands now seemed trivial by comparison.

Mia’s words had completely scrambled his thoughts. He had thought Alice was no different from those gangsters and had prepared himself to treat her merely as a target for his mission.

But before he could harden his heart, he was told they were nothing alike.

If Miss Alice had only gotten involved with gang activities this year, there was still a chance she hadn’t been too corrupted.

Miss Alice hadn’t buried anyone? Ryan’s thoughts involuntarily drifted back to the villa’s backyard landscaping. Could it be that there were no bodies buried there?

Miss Alice had been living a normal life up until now, and logically, she would want to return to a normal civilian life. Nobody naturally takes pleasure in bloody affairs.

Miss Alice wanted to return to her normal life, but the gang surely wouldn’t agree. As the heir, she couldn’t just walk away.

So, was that why Mr. Carlson had said Alice would face a lot of resistance?

But that wouldn’t justify the gang sending assassins after her, would it? The idea of “if I can’t have it, no one can” was just twisted.

Ryan felt a headache coming on. Mia was like a little siren, every move laced with temptation.

She had laid out the situation, yet deliberately left things vague, forcing Ryan to guess.

Ryan could try to find out more, but that would mean falling right into Mia’s trap.

Though he hadn’t fully figured it out, his resistance to Alice had softened a bit. Miss Alice might truly be special, and it wouldn’t hurt to see how things unfolded.

As the gang members slowly took their seats, Ryan and Mia returned to the conference room.

Ryan despised these people and didn’t dare interact with them too much. His performance had been too conspicuous earlier, and now many had their eyes on him.

But with Mia by his side, Ryan felt somewhat safe, though it was somewhat absurd that he was being protected by a teenage girl.

Just as he stepped into the conference room, Ryan felt a piercing gaze on him.

Apart from Alice, there were few who could glare with such intensity.

Alice’s gaze swept over Ryan, and upon seeing him unharmed, she relaxed slightly. If Ryan hadn’t returned soon, she would have gone looking for him herself.

Then her eyes landed on Mia next to him, and her expression hardened again.

Feeling that intense stare, Ryan felt a sting in his hand, almost ready to drop Mia’s hand.

But Mia, smiling brightly, tightened her grip on his hand and fearlessly met Alice’s gaze, even waving at her.

...

Alice’s look could kill, and Ryan felt the temperature in the room drop. It seemed Alice’s gaze shifted from Mia to him, demanding an explanation.

Alice had been somewhat sad, but now a nameless rage seemed to ignite just from seeing Ryan and Mia’s clasped hands, like a ticking time bomb.

Ryan smiled helplessly, trying to pull his hand away, but Mia held on tight.

Seeing Ryan’s compliant attitude, Alice’s anger slowly subsided, and she remembered the unpleasantness between them earlier, feeling a bit awkward.

She had planned to have a proper talk with Ryan when he returned, but now she had inexplicably lashed out at him. She felt terrible about it.

But Ryan seemed not to care about these fluctuations. He sighed softly, watching Alice’s mood swing.

Continuing the meeting like this would definitely leave them vulnerable to others’ manipulation. Being a gang leader really wasn’t easy.

Glancing at Alice’s attributes, her mood level had somewhat improved after calming down.

It was said to be better, but it was still hovering dangerously around twenty points.

Ryan looked around the room. People were still settling into their seats, discussing in pairs or small groups, with no one paying attention to them for the moment.

“Miss Alice, it’s okay, just focus on the meeting.”

“Let’s talk about everything else after it’s over. I’ll be standing right behind you, I won’t go anywhere.”

Alice had her own difficulties, wasn’t she deserving of sympathy sitting here?

But for now, Ryan’s feelings towards her were just that—sympathy. Until Alice made her intentions clear, he would remain cautious.

For now, this was a decent state to be in.

Alice listened to Ryan’s words, hearing the comforting tone in his voice.

Even though he understood nothing, was he still trying to comfort her? Did he really care that much about her feelings?

Alice remembered what Hannah had whispered to her before leaving: to stay proactive and not let Ryan cloud her judgment. It seemed Hannah had seen things more clearly.

“Okay... I’ll talk to you properly after we get back.”

Alice took a deep breath, looking at Ryan, and then, remembering Mia’s actions, she grabbed Ryan’s hand and squeezed it tightly.

But when Ryan pulled his hand away, he found a band-aid mysteriously placed in his palm.

As everyone settled, Dante nodded towards Alice, slightly surprised to still see Ryan standing by her side.

With nods from both Alice and Dante, the meeting resumed.

People continued to speak, and Alice wasn’t particularly attentive,her thoughts lingered on Ryan standing behind her.

Unlike before, Ryan didn’t react with anger to the shocking statements being made, nor did he take it out on Alice.

Just as Alice was about to relax, that annoying voice echoed again in the meeting room.

Ryan also looked up, frowning at the person who stood up—it was Lorenzo, the troublemaker from before.

He didn’t beat around the bush but stood up and directly pointed at Alice.

“There’s not much to say about routine matters,everyone’s time is precious.”

“My purpose here today is clear—to discuss the crimes of Alice!”

At this declaration, the room was shocked.