Chapter 2 Plea The Devil

As the girl sobbed and pleaded, Alice saw a familiar figure.

A petite figure, with natural curly shoulder-length hair, wearing a rose-red Hermes beret, sneaking into the beautiful beverage shop.

Georgia-Charles's half-sister.

It had to be her.

It could only be her. From the moment Alice entered the Thomas family home, Georgia had hated her.

Stupid, easily angered, jealous... all these emotions had been inherently mixed into her tiny life.

Her cute and charming appearance had turned into a sharp-tongued, mean look because of these emotions.

Alice swore she had never provoked her.

She was very clear that everything she had was a gift from the Thomas family, and she could never be so tactless as to provoke the eldest daughter of the Thomas family.

But Georgia hated her. Hated her for taking away her brother's love, hated Charles for always protecting her, and hated her growing beauty, nurtured by the rich resources of the Thomas family.

In any case, at Heaton Academy, the person who most wanted her gone was none other than Georgia.

Alice took a photo of Georgia talking to the store clerk at the beautiful beverage shop.

But it was useless.

These couldn't be used as evidence to prove Georgia's false accusations against her.

The girl beside Alice, who had finally been hung up on by the other party during a video call, noticed Alice crouching in the shrubbery, staring intently at the beverage shop.

Following Alice's gaze, the girl saw Georgia.

"I know you, you were criticized by the whole school for stealing the necklace," she said, gasping for breath, "You're Alice, Charles's sister."

At Heaton Academy, Alice wasn't exactly anonymous.

After all, she was one of the few commoners in the whole academy.

But what made her stand out... was the fact that she sat on Charles's shoulders, and her living conditions surpassed that of 80% of the rich girls in the academy.

The "gold digger" label was nailed to her.

"It wasn't a necklace, it was a bracelet," Alice corrected her indifferently, "And I didn't steal it."

"I know you didn't steal it. Georgia picked up her necklace," the girl said, then handed Alice her phone with a well-lit selfie.

In her selfie, it just so happened to capture a photo of a random person, Georgia, picking up the "Starlight Tear" bracelet and looking confused.

The evidence couldn't be clearer!

Alice couldn't help but suppress the urge to kiss the girl on the cheek, trying to stay composed as she asked, "What's your name?"

"Sunny," she replied. "Don't expect me to help you. I can't mess with Georgia, and I don't want to get involved."

With that, she turned to leave.

Alice quickly caught up with her, nonchalantly saying, "My brother is Charles, you know that, right?"

"Who doesn't know that?" Sunny said. "So what?"

"Charles is good friends with Stuart, and I know Stuart."

Sunny suddenly froze in her tracks, a mixture of emotions flashing across her face-doubt, hesitation, confusion...

"You're... familiar with Stuart? How come I've never seen you two talking at school?"

"He's in graduate school, and there's rarely an opportunity to meet at school, but he often comes to my house." Alice spoke quickly, fabricating the story.

It was true that Charles knew Stuart, but Charles had never introduced Alice to him.

In fact, Alice knew no more about Stuart than she knew about any random classmate.

She had heard he was a child prodigy who entered Heaton Academy at the age of fourteen with the highest scores in all of London and was now a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biological Sciences.

High intelligence, top-tier looks, the only heir to the William family, one of London's wealthiest families, with political and business backgrounds-he had it all.

But he was a complete bad seed.

Rumor had it that all the girls around him had been tortured by him... He seemed to have a pathological obsession with "pain."

He was also into biological anatomy, spending his days studying "human fragments."

No girl could last a week around him.

Even so, the girls chasing after him were endless, from aristocratic ladies to ordinary girls.

With his perfect appearance and extraordinary background, few girls could resist such temptation.

These were all rumors.

But Alice knew nothing else about what kind of person Stuart actually was.

"Do you really know Stuart?" Sunny asked, with uncertainty in her voice.

Alice calmly replied, "Mm."

Sunny hesitated for a long while before saying, "I can give you the photo, but only after it's been pixelated..."

Alice raised an eyebrow.

Sunny immediately added, "You go talk to Stuart and get him to delete my video."

"What video?"

Sunny's face suddenly darkened, her facial muscles twitching slightly... "You don't need to worry about that, just get him to promise to delete it."

"If he agrees on the surface but keeps a backup, I won't know," Alice said with her usual meticulousness. "Unless I see him delete everything related to it, you must tell me the content of the video."

"It won't happen," Sunny said, "Stuart, once he promises something, won't go back on his word. But first, you need him to agree."

It was difficult, really difficult...

Although she didn't believe Alice could persuade Stuart to delete the video, there was no other choice.

They were both out of options.

...

Alice and Sunny made a "deal"-Sunny would give Alice the only photo that could prove her innocence, and Alice would help her deal with the video.

The whole school knew Alice was Charles's "sister," and since Charles knew Stuart, if she used this connection to ask Stuart for help, there was a glimmer of hope.

Alice went to the southeast district of Heaton University, which was where postgraduate students worked.

She had no idea where to find him.

By chance, she ran into a few familiar male faces walking out of the library-Charles's old friends.

The prestigious family genes were clearly visible.

They were accompanied by several girls, handsome and beautiful, chatting and laughing, a picturesque scene that caught the attention of everyone around.

"Yo, Alice." One of the boys saw Alice first and called out, "Long time no see, you're even more beautiful now."

Alice had planned to pretend not to see them and quickly leave, but since she had been noticed, she had no choice but to smile and approach. "Kavin."

Kavin, wearing a baseball cap and full of trendy brands, smiled and said, "Your brother's gone abroad, who are you looking for here?"

A girl beside him murmured, "Wasn't she the one who stole something? Why hasn't she been expelled?"

Before the words even left her mouth, Kavin shot her an irritated look and impatiently said, "I'm talking to Alice, who told you to speak?"

The girl was scolded but didn't dare retort to Kavin, so she sulked and kept quiet.

These rich boys were all nice to Alice, thanks to Charles, treating her like their little sister.

But Alice knew well what they were really like behind the scenes.

She never truly trusted them.

The only person she could trust wholeheartedly in this world was Charles.

"Alice, don't worry too much, Kavin believes you didn't steal anything." Kavin patted her shoulder, giving a meaningless comfort, and was about to leave.

Alice suddenly asked him, "Kavin, do you know where Stuart is now?"

At her words, Kavin immediately frowned and turned to ask, "Why do you want to find him... for what?"

"A bit of personal business."

"Personal business?" Kavin became interested, "Alice, let me warn you, you'd better not get involved with that guy... or you'll regret it."

If campus rumors could be a bit off, hearing such a warning from someone who knew Stuart personally was definitely not without reason.

"What, is he some kind of monster?" Alice joked.

"He's not a monster," Kavin sneered coldly, "He's a... demon."

His lips uttered those two words, and Alice's heart chilled.

"How, he's going to eat me?"

"He won't eat you, he'll just play with you, and when he's done, he'll throw you away." Kavin lifted his chin, "Alice, don't get interested in him. If you do, even Charles can't save you."

"I'm just going to ask him something, that's all," Alice said. "A favor from a friend."

Kavin had already given his warning, whether she listened or not was her choice.

"At this time, he should be in the Biological Sciences lab, on the third floor, in the dissection room. You can find him there."

"Thanks, Kavin."

Alice thanked him and quickly headed towards the Biological Sciences lab.

Kavin watched her leave, wondering if he should tell Charles about it.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally put his phone down.

Forget it. He didn't know what kind of relationship Alice and Stuart had, so he decided not to meddle.

If Stuart got angry...

Just thinking about it made him shudder.

The Life Science Building had been renovated in the past two years.

The old European-style building, which used to have an eerie atmosphere, was transformed into a modern glass structure filled with cutting-edge technology, thanks to sponsorship from The William family's empire biotech company.

Alice walked into the Life Science Building and headed straight to the third floor.

The hallway in a circular pattern was almost empty, the classroom lights turned off, with only the green exit signs casting a faint glow.

Turning the corner, Alice saw a strong white light coming from the faraway glass window.

She walked closer and saw the words "Dissection Room" on the door.

The curtains weren't closed, and through the glass, Alice saw a tall young man holding a sharp, small scalpel.

His fingers were slender and pale, the veins visible as his hand moved the scalpel, with nails neatly trimmed.

He was wearing a mask, but his sharp profile, with a pronounced bone structure, was visible. His eyes were hidden beneath well-defined brows, long and dark.

The scalpel smoothly cut through pale skin, his movements graceful and skilled, calm and unhurried.

Alice asked a male student, wearing a white lab coat and about to enter the dissection room, to relay a message to Stuart that she was looking for him.

The student initially ignored her, as many girls sought out Stuart every day.

However, when he saw her face, he couldn't help but notice.

Who could refuse such a beautiful woman?

He nodded and entered the dissection room, quietly speaking to Stuart.

Stuart didn't lift his head and continued his cutting calmly.

The student, not receiving any response, stood by the door, next to the intercom, and said to Alice,

"Stuart isn't done with his work yet and won't talk to anyone. You can wait or leave."

"Okay, thank you. I'll wait," Alice replied.

The student thought for a moment, then couldn't resist adding, "There was a girl who waited for him for six hours before, but she didn't see him."

Alice nodded and leaned against the wall, waiting for about two hours.

Finally, she saw him separate the brain from the body and place it in formalin solution.

The sudden sight of the bloody dissection made her stomach churn, and she rushed to the bathroom.

She stayed there for a while, regaining her composure.

When she returned to the dissection room window, she saw several medical students in white coats preparing the dissection body.

Stuart was nowhere to be found.

Alice panicked and searched everywhere, walking a full circle through the hallway but couldn't find him.

Unable to stop herself, she called out his name a few times, "Stuart!"

No answer.

Just as the student had said, even if she waited, he didn't meet with just anyone.

Disappointed, Alice turned the corner, but at the end of the hallway, she finally saw the person she had been searching for.

The twilight sky was a deep blue, signaling the approaching night.

He didn't look like a monster with three heads and six arms or some demon crawling out of hell.

He was just an ordinary tall young man.

With an extraordinarily perfect appearance, so handsome that it made one... hesitate to breathe.

Suddenly, a flock of crows flew up behind her, cawing loudly, creating a dark and gloomy backdrop.

He approached and gently handed Alice a tissue.

"Don't be disrespectful to the donor."

"Donor?"

"The term of respect for body donors in the medical field."

Alice hesitated for a few seconds and apologized.

His tone remained calm, his voice low. "Did you need something?"

"Stuart, Sunny asked me to find you. She hopes you can delete her video," Alice got straight to the point.

"I asked, what do you need?"

Lying often backfires, especially when it's the first encounter...

"She has evidence that can prove my innocence. If I can't prove that I didn't steal, I might be expelled."

"Then why should I help you?" His voice remained steady, not a hint of change.

"You know Charles. He's my brother."

"Brother?" His tone suddenly spiked, with a sharp emphasis on the word "brother." "I've heard many rumors about you two."

He put extra weight on the word "brother."

There were often jokes about her and Charles, some even sexual, but in reality, Charles had never touched her.

Alice, not backing down, replied, "I've heard plenty of rumors about you, too."

Stuart smiled.

His smile was cold and sinister, like a gust of wind from an abyss.

He slowly moved closer to Alice, leaned in beside her ear, and whispered, "How do you know those are rumors?"

A faint scent of ebony wood lingered in the air before dissipating.

He walked away from her.

Alice didn't want to give up just yet and chased after him, persistently asking, "What do I have to do for you to delete the video?"

Stuart turned his head to glance at her.

Her white shirt collar was slightly messy, and she had a cool, ethereal aura about her. Her strikingly beautiful features gave off a very alluring vibe.

It wasn't a calculated attempt to seduce him.

She just stood there, effortlessly drawing attention, making men feel a desire to defile her.

No one could doubt Charles's taste.

"If you make me happy, I'll consider it," Stuart said.

Alice thought of the rumors about him, a cold sweat running down her back. She whispered, "What do I have to do?"

Stuart raised his chin and looked at her pure, tempting face.

"Eight o'clock tonight, at the villa in the capital city."

"Be on time. I won't wait."