Chapter 279 Now the Net Tightens

Chapter 279 Now the Net Tightens

Alice jumped, her hand flying to her chest. "Michael, you scared me half to death. How do you move so quietly?"

"I've been working on this all night. The Hall Group shares have been dealt with, and I've also pulled out the evidence you asked me to keep. Want to take a look?"

When he said this, there was a hint of neglected grievance in his tone, as if Alice had left him on the back burner.

Alice cleared her throat twice, took the document envelope, and quickly flipped through it.

About five minutes later, she set down the envelope and let out a long breath.

"Those shareholders at the Hall Group are pretty cutthroat—they dumped all their shares in less than three days. Once this matter is settled, transfer all their shares to Sidney. As for the evidence we got from Lonnie back then, based on my current investigation, those are contracts signed between the Reyes family, Everwell Pharma, and NovaLife Biosciences."

Michael raised his hand to massage her temples, his voice gentle and steady.

"We're in the home stretch now. NovaLife Biosciences has been arrested for maliciously disrupting market competition, plus they put drugs on the market without complete testing—the person in charge has already been arrested. As for Everwell Pharma, your senior gave us some evidence from back then, and it should arrive by tomorrow morning at the latest."

Alice looked down at the stack of documents in her hands. She just needed to wait for all the evidence to come together, then she could make these people face the consequences they deserved.

Isolde was already disfigured and would spend the rest of her life lying in a hospital bed.

Robert had become everyone's punching bag. Stella was treated as the lowest prostitute, passed around to the beds of various powerful men.

Ivan, as NovaLife Biosciences' representative, had been thrown in prison for participating in making toxic drugs and would basically never see daylight again.

Everwell Pharma itself was already circling the drain. As long as they waited for Byron to be caught and the truth from back then to be exposed, they would all go down together.

Alice's expression was serious as she leaned into Michael's embrace. "These things still need to be wrapped up, and there's Byron... he's not going to be easy to take down."

Michael planted a kiss on the top of her head. "Don't worry, I've got your back. Tomorrow morning I'll work with the others to publish the evidence about Everwell Pharma and NovaLife Biosciences online first, blow them wide open in front of the public. Since Byron doesn't want to show himself, we'll force him to come find you."

Alice's body naturally melted into his embrace. This sense of security and support was something she'd never experienced before.

"Okay, we'll definitely succeed."

She lay in bed, held in his arms, surrounded by a soothing atmosphere, and soon drifted off.

That night, Alice dreamed of many things. She dreamed of her childhood experiences at the Baker Family, and also dreamed of Henry and her adoptive mother.

The scene shifted, and she dreamed of Brandon, of the time she was tangled up with him, and also of Stella and Ivan.

In her dream, Alice felt someone constantly holding her, comforting her, gradually pulling her out of that tense emotion, leaving only warmth and peace.

Early the next morning, when Alice just woke up, her voice was still a bit hoarse. "Michael."

Michael noticed she was awake, looked up at her from the computer, his voice very soft. "Did I wake you?"

"No, it's about time to get up anyway. I'm getting up."

Alice propped herself up to sit, stretched, and when she turned around, she caught Michael's burning gaze—he was staring at her waist, his Adam's apple bobbing.

She quickly avoided his eyes, went into the bathroom to change into casual clothes, and prepared to head out.

As soon as she passed by him, she was pulled into his arms.

Michael's voice was low and coaxing. "Everything's ready. All the evidence has been posted online. Now the whole circle is buzzing about it, forcing them to give an explanation. Next we just need to wait for Byron to walk into the trap. Alice, shouldn't you give me a reward? Kiss me?"

"Okay." Alice was about to lean in when suddenly another man's voice came from the computer.

"Have some shame! Flaunting your relationship first thing in the morning—we've been busting our asses here for three hours!"

"Exactly! Let her go. I'm the one who helped bring down Everwell Pharma! I want a kiss from Ms. Baker too!"

"Ahem, Michael, don't hold up business."

Alice's expression instantly froze. She looked up at the computer screen, meeting those teasing gazes.

She reacted quickly, slamming the laptop shut, then glared at Michael through gritted teeth. "Why didn't you tell me you were on a video call?"

Michael smiled innocently yet suggestively. "You didn't ask."

Looking at him like this, Alice's rising anger deflated by half.

She was about to say something more when her phone buzzed. Sidney sent a message urging her to come downstairs quickly, saying they needed to leave.

Alice gave Michael a few more instructions, then hurried downstairs.

As soon as she got downstairs, she saw Evelyn carrying a small bag, her whole back hunched.

Evelyn looked up and saw Alice. She opened her mouth but couldn't say anything.

Alice also saw her and walked straight past her toward the door.

She had only taken a few steps when a tired and aged voice came from behind.

"Alice, I'm leaving... and never coming back. I want to say, I'm truly sorry. The person I've wronged most in my life is you."

Alice didn't turn around, only replied in a flat tone. "I've already said everything I needed to say. As for your apology, I don't accept it, and I don't want to see you again. Of course, I won't waste energy hating you either. From now on, just treat each other as strangers who will never cross paths again."

Tears welled up in Evelyn's eyes. She clutched her small bag and walked step by step toward the door until her figure disappeared at the end of the road.

Alice watched her figure fade from view.

Evelyn now looked just like herself back then, with nowhere to go.

But Alice felt no emotion stirring inside. She just calmly withdrew her gaze. If she chose to forgive now, it would be like personally betraying the person she was back then who had been hurt by them!

Sidney walked over from the side. "The evidence your senior sent has arrived, along with the materials from the Robinson family. Alice, the curtain's about to rise."

Alice opened the documents and skimmed through them, zeroing in on several key pages.

It turned out Brandon had been secretly investigating the truth from back then.

Her hands trembled slightly as she held those pages. She put this information together with the evidence she had collected before, and a complete picture gradually emerged.

Back then, the three pharmaceutical companies were in a delicate balance.

NovaLife Biosciences had developed a new drug with very low cost but catastrophic side effects—patients who used it for more than a year would almost certainly develop cancer.

People from NovaLife Biosciences gathered representatives from the Baker Group and Everwell Pharma to discuss this matter privately. They wanted to launch this drug together, choosing to bury the side effects to rake in massive profits.

Everwell Pharma's people were on the fence at the time, but only Selene strongly opposed it. She flat-out refused to produce this kind of drug.

Later the Reyes family got involved. They also saw the obscene profits behind this drug.

Under threats and the lure of money, Everwell Pharma's people finally caved and agreed to join.

But her mother still dug in her heels and said she would collect evidence to sue them.

Under these circumstances, with the Reyes family pulling strings, those two companies bribed people inside the Baker Family, and finally dragged the Baker Family's pharmaceutical group into accusations of tax evasion. Externally, they also had to face the combined pressure of two major pharmaceutical families!

What happened after that, Alice already knew crystal clear. Selene died, Henry was driven to jump off a building by the Reyes family, and she herself was found by the Hall family...