Chapter 117
Ophelia's dad, Chase Campbell, shot her a furious look, his face twisted with anger. "I took you in, fed you, gave you a home, sent you to school, and this is how you repay me?" he yelled.
A nearby cop shouted, "Calm down!"
Ophelia stared at Chase, terrified. She bit her lip, too scared to make a sound, her body shaking like a leaf.
Her family was a nightmare. Why was her life so awful? Why did she have to be the one adopted? If only she hadn't been, maybe her life would be different.
"David!" Andrew Anderson was fuming when David ignored him.
"What are you yelling for?" Alice shot a look back at Andrew. "No one's deaf here. Can't you see we don't want to talk to you? So rude!"
Andrew's eyes bulged with rage. "Do you know who I am? How dare you talk to me like that? Get lost!"
David's face turned icy as he walked toward Andrew.
The waitstaff quickly grabbed Andrew, stopping their boss from hitting someone in front of the cops. But David seized the moment and landed a heavy punch on Andrew's gut in front of everyone.
Andrew's legs buckled from the pain, and he dropped to the ground, clutching his stomach, his face twisted in agony.
David smiled politely. "Excuse me, can I get a tissue?"
The waiter rushed to the counter, grabbed a pack of tissues, and handed them over, shaking with fear.
David took two tissues. "Thanks."
The waiter smiled awkwardly. "N-no problem."
David's bad temper was totally at odds with his supposed good nature!
After wiping his hands clean, David went back to Alice, covering her ears with both hands and looking straight at her. "You didn't hear anything just now, right?"
Alice nodded, thinking to herself, 'David, you're so handsome!'
The cop standing by thought helplessly, "Hitting someone right in front of us—do you even respect our presence?"
Because the incident was so serious, it could be classified as human trafficking, so everyone had to go to the police station to give statements before they could leave.
Chase, Ophelia's dad, was taken straight to the interrogation room at the station, where specialized personnel took over. Ophelia, as the victim, was looked after by a female officer. The buyer who got beaten by Alice was also taken to another interrogation room after getting emergency treatment for his injuries.
There were quite a few people waiting to give statements outside. The officer taking Alice's statement sighed and said, annoyed, "Ms. Bailey, do you know how many times you've been to the police station? Every time I see you, I get a headache! Why don't your guardian keep an eye on you?"
Alice blinked innocently, pointed to the chair next to her, and said even more innocently, "This time my guardian came in with me."
The officer was stunned.
David held back his laughter but still had to put on a serious face and said, "Alice, behave."
Alice glanced at David, made a face at him, then quickly turned back to the officer and said seriously, "Go ahead, I'll tell you everything I know."
The officer was so mad he almost threw his pen. "I don't need you to do that; I just hope you never come to the police station again!"
Alice had come hoping to find Ophelia, and she didn't expect to actually find her at the Golden Palace. If the buyer hadn't been in such a rush and forgotten to close the door, she might not have heard anything.
The officer looked up at Alice and asked, "How did you know this kind of place has those kinds of booklets? Are you really a student? Did you lie about your age?"
Alice took a sip of hot water, her hand still sore from hitting someone. She casually said, "I used to be involved in this kind of thing, so I know about it, but I've turned over a new leaf now."
The officer and David were speechless.
The officer took a big gulp of water to calm down and said, "The victim is your college classmate. How did you know the suspect was the victim's father?"
Alice corrected him, "To be precise, he was her adoptive father."
The officer nodded, "Alright. Wait, how did you know they were in an adoptive father-daughter relationship?"
The officer was getting frustrated. "What exactly do you do?"
Alice said helplessly, "I'm a freshman at Ivywood University."
The officer taking Alice's statement felt exhausted; it was more tiring than chasing criminals. Fortunately, the subsequent people were easier to deal with. After taking David's statement, the officer couldn't help but say, "Sir, you..."
The officer wanted to say, 'You don't discipline your child and even join in the mischief!'
David seemed to know what the officer wanted to say and smiled, nodding, "I understand. I'll educate her properly when we get back. This was purely an accident. I'm really sorry for the trouble."
The officer mumbled, "It's not really trouble... just be careful next time."
Alice sat next to Ophelia, glanced at her swollen face, and asked, "Does your adoptive father hit you often?"
Ophelia instinctively covered her swollen cheek, pursed her lips, and remained silent.
Alice leaned against the wall and said, "My dad never hit me, but I was bullied by my sister and stepmother."
Ophelia turned to look at Alice, blinking blankly, "Aren't you the rich girl from the Bailey family? How could that happen?"
She had always thought that daughters of wealthy families were happy, never had to worry about money, could buy whatever they wanted, had bodyguards to protect them, and could go wherever they pleased.
"I'm an illegitimate child," Alice sighed. "You know what that means, right? Being an illegitimate child in a wealthy family isn't something to be proud of, so naturally, I am looked down upon. Do you think being a rich girl is easy? Those who hate you are always trying to find ways to catch you making a mistake."
Ophelia didn't say anything, just stared at Alice for a long time before giving a bitter smile. "That's still better than me, right? I have to work to pay for my tuition, and I have to send money home every month, or they'll have the school expel me."
Alice frowned, "Yeah, that does sound pretty rough."
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