Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 239: I won’t let you get away with this

Mia stood on a small mound, watching the scene unfold from a distance. After a moment, she seemed to have an idea, confidently placing her hands on her hips.

“Actually, even though the people in the gang can’t openly…”

She tapped her cute chin, closing her eyes slightly as she analyzed the current situation.

Mia was full of confidence, and her assessment of the situation was spot on. But Ryan didn’t give her a chance to show off. The moment he heard a scream, he left Mia behind without a second thought.

“Hey! At least let me finish!”

She barely felt a gust of wind as Ryan disappeared from her sight.

Watching Ryan run off toward the source of the noise, Mia pouted. His eagerness left her feeling a bit annoyed.

But she was somewhat used to it by now. Whenever something involved Alice, Ryan would get all worked up, as if he were the one in danger.

However, this time, it wasn’t Alice who was in trouble—it was those troublemakers from earlier.

“Seriously, can’t you just let me finish talking for once…”

Mia sighed deeply, feeling a bit helpless. She jumped down from the mound and ran in the direction Ryan had gone.

When Ryan reached the entrance of the construction site, the scene before him caught him off guard. He had expected a clash between the workers and the people on-site, but it was much worse.

A group of rough-looking men were driving the workers away. The man who had been leading the workers earlier was now on the ground, scrambling backward on all fours, looking utterly defeated.

“Didn’t you want money? Come on, take it!”

“No, no, no, it’s all a misunderstanding! I don’t want it anymore!”

The man had never seen anything like this before. His tough-guy act was just that—an act. But these guys? They were the real deal.

The workers scattered in all directions, screaming, with few even thinking of fighting back.

The protest they had organized was completely crushed by the violence, like a house of cards blown away by the wind.

But a few of them turned around and started recording with their phones. Ryan was momentarily confused, unsure of what was happening.

Were the workers planning to attack Miss Alice, and then she called in the gang to deal with them?

But wouldn’t that just make things worse? If Miss Alice wanted to clean up the gang’s image through financial means, she couldn’t afford any bad press.

Miss Alice was smart—she wouldn’t do something so reckless. Besides, Ryan didn’t recognize any of these people.

They didn’t seem like Miss Alice’s crew.

The demeanor of the people working under someone often reflects their leader.

Alice had always been a graceful yet strong presence, and most of her people were the type who wore suits but could still be intimidating.

Hannah, for example, had been a tough one, but she ended up the way she did because she went after Ryan directly.

“These guys are Marco’s.”

Ryan was still puzzled when a small hand landed on his shoulder from behind.

A breathless voice came from the girl behind him, and Ryan turned to see Mia.

Her face was flushed, and she was panting heavily.

No need to ask—she was probably the last in her gym class at school. She had only run a few steps and was already about to collapse.

Ryan did have some memory of Marco.

During that meeting about Alice, Ryan had met a few of the gang leaders.

Dante and Rocco were unforgettable, but there was also a man who hadn’t participated at all, just sitting back and watching the show—that was Marco.

And it seemed Marco had some connection with Mia too. According to Mia, they were using each other.

“Marco’s people…”

Ryan rubbed his chin, looking at the man getting beaten up without feeling any sympathy.

But after a few seconds of hesitation, Ryan rushed forward, shouting at the gang members who were doing the beating.

“What the hell are you doing? This is Miss Alice’s territory! Who gave you the right to cause trouble here?”

Ryan hadn’t even reached them when they noticed him. One of them started walking toward Ryan, clearly not with good intentions.

Ryan knew he didn’t have much authority on his own, so he immediately invoked Alice’s name.

The effect was immediate. In the gang, no one dared to disrespect Miss Alice, no matter who they were. Even if they had issues with her in private, they wouldn’t dare to show it openly.

“Assistant Ryan, we just happened to be passing by and saw these people trying to cause trouble for Miss Alice, so we stepped in.”

“We’re just being loyal to Miss Alice, no harm intended.”

As soon as Ryan reprimanded them, the men who had been beating the workers immediately backed off and hurried to explain themselves.

But their explanation was neither humble nor apologetic. It was more like, Yeah, we did it. So what?

Under normal circumstances, Ryan might not have thought much of it. But now, he couldn’t help but be suspicious of their intentions.

“Did Marco send you?”

Ryan squinted, glancing at the workers in the distance who were holding up their phones. A sense of dread washed over him.

A worker uprising was one thing—at worst, it would be seen as a labor dispute. But if footage of people getting beaten up got out…

“Hey! Stop recording!”

Mia, like a firefighter rushing to put out a blaze, dashed toward the workers. The rest of Miss Alice’s people quickly caught on and moved to stop the filming.

“I asked, did Marco send you?”

Ryan was grateful to Mia, but he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

Alice wouldn’t send people to do something so reckless, and Marco wasn’t the type to help Alice out of the goodness of his heart. If he sent people here, it could only be with malicious intent.

If footage of the beatings got out and ended up online or in the media, the damage to Alice’s reputation would be far worse than a simple worker strike.

“No, Marco who? We don’t know any Marco.”

But the men insisted they didn’t know Marco, their expressions defiant, as if daring Ryan to do his worst.

If Mia hadn’t recognized them, Ryan might have had a hard time figuring out the truth.

As the situation spiraled further out of control, Ryan’s unease grew. Meanwhile, Mia had already confiscated three phones, offering $2,000 each as compensation—a tactic that seemed to work.

The bodyguards, however, were clearly out of their depth, only managing to stop the workers from recording any further.

Ryan gritted his teeth. He had gotten crucial information from Mia, and even if he confronted the troublemakers, he had a good chance of coming out on top.

If things had just gone smoothly, Ryan was confident he could have handled the situation without any major issues.

But, as always, the real problem came from within. Just when things seemed to be going well, someone would always pop up to make life difficult for Alice.

It didn’t have to be this way.

A deep, indescribable anger welled up inside Ryan. He clenched his fists so tightly that he could hear his knuckles cracking.

If he were in Alice’s shoes, he doubted he could stay calm. There’s only so much one person can take.

But the people targeting Alice never seemed to tire, and they didn’t bother hiding their intentions. Their goal was always simple: to destroy Alice.

Ryan thought back to what he had seen in Alice’s room—the photo of a young girl with a bright, innocent smile. It was such a beautiful smile, but now it was gone.

She had endured too much. How could she still smile like that?

Ryan still didn’t fully understand why Alice had such high regard for him, but at this moment, he felt a deep connection between them.

He had to protect Alice. He had to see that smile again.

“I won’t let you get away with this.”

Ryan glared at the troublemakers, his anger palpable. Even the man on the ground could feel the hostility radiating from him.

Ryan had never been in a fight before, but now his right hand clenched into a fist, and he swung it toward the face of one of Marco’s men. Calm? He couldn’t stay calm anymore. To hell with it.