Judging from Lydia's reaction, Joanna knew that she remembered very clearly that she had left the baggage with the blanket in the villa.
"Go on, tell me where my baggage is." Joanna questioned with a cold face.
Lydia looked troubled. After making sure that there was no one around, she said, "I am not going to hide this from you, Pierce Your belongings have been cleared away by that woman, and we don't know where they have been sent. That woman is such a troublemaker. Recently, she has been making a scene to either refurbish your room or remove all the plants you planted in the yard. In short, she does not allow anything which belongs to you in the villa. She is just so difficult to serve!"
Right at that moment, Alice, who was proudly sticking out her belly, came and slapped Lydia in the face. "Traitor! Who asks you to be such a tattletale?"
Lydia's face turned as white as a sheet, and she quickly lowered her head, not daring to breathe.
Joanna found it rather ironic when she thought of how high and mighty Lydia looked when the latter bullied her in the past.
There was always a more evil villain to defeat another.
Joanna did not bother to waste time here. She looked Alice straight in the eyes and said sharply, "Give me back my stuff."
"What stuff? I don't know what you are talking about."
"I will count to three. If you still refuse to give me back my stuff, don't blame me if I hurt you."
"Stop threatening people here. Do you think I am afraid of you?"
Alice held her arms across her chest and said arrogantly. "Let's not argue about whether I have taken your stuff or not. Even if I have, what can you do if I won't give it back to you?"
Hah! She was now pregnant with the only heir of the Moran family. This would be her strongest shield. She was sure that Joanna would not dare to touch her!
"One…"
"Two…"
Joanna intensified her cold gaze.
All she wanted was to get back her belongings without making a scene with Alice. But if Alice was determined to fight, she would have no reason to hold back!
"Three!"
Joanna finished her countdown, but Alice was still unmoved.
"You, throw out everything in her room!" Joanna lost the last bit of her patience and ordered Lydia.
"Don't you dare!"
Alice glared at Lydia.
"…"
Lydia gulped. She felt as if she was in between Scylla and Charybdis.
When she was hesitating, Joanna uttered slowly, "I'll give you a hundred fifty thousand dollars!"
Lydia's eyes lit up instantly when she heard the figure, and she said to Alice, "I'm very sorry, Miss Alice. I don't think I can
serve you anymore. I apologize in advance for offending you today."
Alice was so angry that her face turned red and she threatened Lydia. "Idiot! You'd better think it through. Who is going to be the mistress of the Moran family in the future? If Ace knows about this, will he let it slide?"
"If you become the future mistress of the Moran family, then I will be even more eager to leave. Otherwise, I might lose my life!" Lydia rebutted boldly. She finally exploded after holding back for so long.
Money definitely tasted better than the suffering of working under this vicious woman.
So, she threw Alice's belongings one by one no matter how the latter threw tantrums.
All her belongings, from the large items like her expensive jewelry to the small ones like her panties, were scattered on the road in front of the door. It was so humiliating when her things were run over by the passing cars.
"Stop it! You traitor! Stop it right now!"
Alice yelled and screeched to stop her. Her disheveled look was a total disgrace.
It felt like a deja vu, and the only difference was that their roles had switched. Joanna found it ironic as she watched.
"Let me ask you once more. Where are my belongings?" She grabbed Alice by her collar and questioned icily.
Alice, who could not care less about anything anymore, laughed hysterically. "I won't tell you. Never. If you have the guts to hit me, or you dare to touch me, Ace will never let you go. I…"
Slap! Slap!
Joanna flung her arms and slapped Alice hard twice.
Alice and Lydia were dumbfounded.
They never expected that Joanna would really do it.
"You actually hit me? Just you wait!"
Alice fished out her mobile and called Ace. When he answered the call, she cried, "Ace, come back quickly and save me. Your ex–wife is going to beat me to death!"
Joanna, who was stony–faced, also took out her mobile and pressed three numbers.
Ace instinctively wanted to hang up when he heard Alice's voice. But when he learned that Joanna was also there, he immediately turned the car around and headed back to Moran villa.
Alice covered her swollen cheeks and said triumphantly, "Just wait. Ace will be here soon. You just hit me, and the evidence is all here. I shall see what will happen to you!"
Joanna put down her mobile as well and said with a faint smile. "You should also wait. The police will be here soon. It's so hot today, perhaps the detention center will be cooler."
The numbers she had just dialed were indeed 911.
Since there was no way she could beat this scoundrel, she would leave it to the law.
Ace arrived at the scene in a very short time. His gray supercar looked smart as it rumbled under the dazzling sun.
The man performed a perfect doughnut with his car and pulled up in front of the door.
Alice could not wait to go to him when he got out of the car. Sticking out her belly and pointing to her red swollen cheeks, she cried pitifully.
"You are finally here, Ace. If you didn't come, my baby and I would've been tortured to death by Miss Pierce! I don't know what made this crazy woman suddenly come here and ask Lydia to throw my things out on the road. She told me to leave, but I refused, so she hit me. I am terrified, but my baby is as well. I can feel it moving around in my belly. Though I can tolerate this, I cannot let my baby be bullied. You must do something!"
She cried so pitifully, and tears rolled down her little face like a fountain, making her look more miserable than Ophelia in Hamlet.
Ace frowned, troubled by her noisiness. Stealing a glance at Joanna, he then looked at Alice and said coldly. "Things don't just happen on their own. I don't believe that she would treat you this way for no reason. Have you thought about why?"
His words stunned everyone.
This was indeed an unusual phenomenon. Ace's attitude toward Joanna had never been good. He never stood up for her when they were still married. But now that they were divorced, he actually sided with her.
Why would Alice think about her mistake when she was obviously the "victim" with her cheeks swollen?
"I guess it is because Miss Pierce felt that I have taken her place as the mistress of the Moran family that she hated me
and took it out on me."
Alice cried and said, "I know you hate me and want to take revenge on me, Miss Pierce. But I beg you, can you let me go for the time being because I'm still pregnant? I promise you that I will do anything to atone for my sins once my child is born. This is the child of the Moran family. I cannot let him suffer any harm!"
Ace's face changed slightly when he heard "the child of the Moran family."
He seemed to realize he was being too biased, so he looked at Joanna and asked deeply. "Did you hit her as she said?"
"Yes, I did."
Joanna admitted openly.
"Why did you do that?"
"She's the one who asked for it." Joanna smiled and said, "She is pregnant, after all. Her request required little effort, so I thought I could just fulfill her wish."
Alice was so annoyed that she gritted her teeth. She hugged Ace's arms and tried to antagonize him. "Look at how arrogant
she is. Ace, She's completely devoid of respect for you and the Moran family. If this goes on, I am sure she will go crazy one day and do even crazier things. You should stop her!"
"Yeah, if you don't return my things, I will definitely do crazier things. For instance, I might send you to prison and let you give
birth there."
Joanna's eyes were determined. She did not seem to be joking.
Meanwhile, a siren could be heard, and a police car arrived at the villa.
Two police officers got out of the car and walked toward them.
"Who made the report?"
"Me."
Joanna raised her hand. She pointed at Alice and said to the police, "Sir, she broke into my house and stole my valuables. She's also physically assaulted people. You should arrest her."