Chapter 483: Past Events

Alice couldn't remember what she was feeling back then. All she knew was that it must have been desperation.

Later, they took away her phone and kicked her in the stomach. Her stomach had been aching on and off ever since.

But Alice eventually found her chance.

How could these human traffickers easily let these girls go? Since they'd already made their move, they needed to sell them off as quickly as possible at the highest price.

"Check if they're virgins first." The leader pointed at the three girls. "Or just tell us yourselves? Girls these days are all so loose, probably none of you are virgins anymore, right?"

"Especially this Ms. Baker. She's a real beauty, though. Get her hymen reconstructed—she'll be worth the most. You guys better not mess with her!"

Alice could still remember how those men's perverted gazes kept roaming over her body.

Michael had once said that for someone from her background, being this beautiful was actually tragic. She'd been preyed upon by countless people since childhood.

Thinking about the past, Alice closed her eyes. She didn't want to bring this up either, but Michael's sudden mention of it couldn't be that simple.

She quickly asked, "Didn't that case already get sentenced? Did something happen?"

"No, I was just asking." Michael shook his head, then pulled her to sit on the couch. "Want some warm milk or honey water?"

"The guy I hit—is he dead or in a vegetative state?" Alice continued asking. "Are his family members causing trouble, or is the police reopening the investigation?"

She was both lucky and unlucky back then. The gang leader had made it clear she couldn't be touched, or her value would drop if she got damaged. But the other girls weren't so fortunate.

How could the kidnappers pass up one last chance to have their fun? Just as one of them was about to assault the other girls, Alice grabbed a stool from the ground and smashed it over his head. That one swing gave all the girls a chance at survival.

The man was also afraid their leader would find out, so he'd chosen a secluded corner. The girls managed to escape the abandoned house while he was unconscious and ran to the highway for help.

Alice had been following up on the case ever since. As both a victim and witness, she'd even testified in court. She couldn't remember exactly who she'd hit at the time, but apparently all the kidnappers had been caught, and none of them appealed—probably knowing an appeal wouldn't get them probation anyway.

Seeing her pale expression, Michael quickly pulled her into his arms. "Think back—was there anything strange that happened? Or anything that felt off to you?"

"Yes." Alice nodded. "They knew my last name."

She still remembered the leader saying her surname with precision. In court, the man claimed Alice had mentioned her surname to the woman pretending to be pregnant. She couldn't remember some details from that time and hadn't dwelt on it much.

But thinking about it seriously now, she was certain she'd never mentioned her last name. So how did they know her surname? They also knew she wasn't a virgin? That meant they knew she was with Michael?

The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. "Michael, what exactly happened?"

"Nothing happened. I just suddenly remembered this incident." Michael shook his head. "Are you sure nothing else unclear happened?"

"Of course not." Alice shook her head. If there had been, the police would have contacted her.

Hearing her say this, Michael finally relaxed. If Alice said there wasn't anything, then there wasn't.

Harlan was very likely just bluffing to make him afraid. Michael's expression darkened as he stood up. "I still have documents to review. You should sleep first."

He didn't explain much, but Alice's heart began to tighten with anxiety.

"Michael, give me a laptop. I want to look up how those people were sentenced and if there are any who slipped through the cracks." Alice said.

She wanted a computer, and she also wanted to see what was on that memory card.

But Michael just stroked her hair. "Pregnant women shouldn't look at computers too much—there's radiation. Go to sleep early."

As he reached the doorway, he added, "The ringleader, Jake Larson, got eleven years. The others got between three and ten years. Don't worry, I've been keeping an eye on things."

That night, Alice slept restlessly, and Michael didn't come back. She'd thought something major was about to happen, but several days passed peacefully.

Alice began to wonder if she was overthinking things. Maybe since she was now Michael's wife, she couldn't have any blemishes on her record, so Michael needed to handle this matter?

Unable to figure it out, she simply stopped thinking about it. After all, the police and courts had investigated everything back then—nothing else could possibly happen.

Until this afternoon, when David came to the villa looking for Michael. Michael was still working overtime at the company, so David waited in the living room.

At that moment, two makeup artists looked at Alice helplessly.

"Mrs. Johnson, if you don't like these, Mr. Johnson said they can be changed anytime,"

"And these jewels all go with the wedding dresses and makeup. Why don't you try them on first?"

They'd been trying to persuade her for hours. If it were any other woman facing these top-tier wedding gowns and jewelry, she would have eagerly started trying them on long ago.

But Alice just sat quietly in the living room, watching some mindless TV drama.

Seeing her silence, David couldn't stand it anymore. "Ms. Baker, not to criticize you, but you're really making things difficult for people! These girls have been trying to convince you for ages. What's the harm in trying them on?"

"If they don't make things difficult for me, then of course I won't make things difficult for them." Alice didn't even turn her head, continuing to watch her drama. "Since you're so sympathetic, why don't you go try them on? Have Michael give you whichever ones you like."

"You!" David pointed at her, then sighed. "Fine, I won't stoop to your level."

"You two should head back for now. When we've made our selection, we'll contact you. Design everything in advance so we don't waste time later."

Hearing this, the two stylists quickly left the villa. They both knew Michael was difficult to deal with, but they hadn't expected Alice to simply refuse to deal with them at all!

They were top-tier makeup artists—even A-list celebrities had to book appointments with them. They never imagined Alice wouldn't even spare them a glance.

"I think they all look pretty good. Why don't you try again?" David casually picked up a purple wedding dress. "Aren't they all supposed to be white? There are purple ones, too?"

"I want coffee." Alice tossed the remote aside.

A servant immediately stepped forward. "Mrs. Johnson, you can't have coffee while pregnant. How about milk or juice instead?"

"Juice then." Alice rubbed her temples irritably. "I want orange juice mixed with lemon juice, and add some sugar. I don't want it sour."

The servant glanced at David before leaving. For a moment, only Alice and David remained in the hall.

Alice turned up the TV volume, then looked at David. "Is everything taken care of?"