"Are you proud of hitting women?"
There was no emotion in Carol's voice, and her eyes were filled with everything.
Hearing Carol's question, all eyes 'swished' to Pete.
Many people from the Alexandria Community had complex expressions.
They had long lived in a closed Community, seeing each other constantly, so how could they not know that Pete often domestically abused Jessie?
It was just because Pete was one of the few doctors in the Community, and his status was not low.
Plus, Jessie had children with her and truly needed a man, so most people just pretended not to see.
But at this moment, seeing Carol, who always had a kind and gentle expression, unhesitatingly stand in front of Jessie and even slap Pete, they suddenly felt a bit ashamed.
It was like having their internal affairs exposed on a public stage by others, with the veil of shame mercilessly ripped away.
They were both ashamed and a little annoyed.
While Carol was questioning Pete, it was also as if she was questioning every one of them, yet they couldn't say Carol was wrong.
They wanted to help, but they couldn't bring themselves to speak.
The contradictions and struggles of human nature were vividly displayed at this moment.
Being stared at by all eyes, Pete felt as if he had contracted some skin disease, and the skin all over his body stung as if pricked by needles.
But how could gazes penetrate the skin?
So perhaps, what Pete felt pierced was actually his self-esteem, which needed to be regained by hitting women.
Under numerous gazes, Pete's spine curved slightly, paired with his messy bangs.
If one had to describe his current state in a single sentence, it would undoubtedly be: a cowering quail, disheveled and hunched.
But he still held onto his last bit of male pride, chuckled, and then confirmed with Carol.
"Excuse me, I want to confirm you're speaking to me? You want to interfere in our family matters?"
"And you, you too."
Looking past Carol's figure, Pete looked at Jessie, who was holding Sam.
"I heard the Prison is about to reform its system. In the future, everyone will need to work for points and exchange everything with points. Are you sure you want to continue like this?"
Pete's words carried a hint of threat, and Jessie pursed her lips.
Pete was a doctor, and Jessie was a teacher.
Besides that, Jessie also had a half-grown child, and the one in her arms hadn't even fully developed, so even the points she earned from work wouldn't be enough to support herself.
In other words, if she left Pete, Jessie and her two children wouldn't be able to survive in the Prison.
Carol's lips moved; she was about to say that she had 50,000 points and could share some.
But then she thought, Jessie continuing like this was not a solution either.
Carol needed to take care of Sophia to grow up healthy and couldn't continuously give out points.
But if Jessie went back, she would undoubtedly be beaten by Pete again.
Furthermore, when the Prison began implementing a contribution point system in the future, Pete would control the primary source of family points, making it even more impossible for Jessie to escape him then.
As Carol pondered, Daryl, behind her, took a few steps forward.
Daryl gritted his teeth, the muscles on the side of his jaw protruding with clear outlines, just about to exert force and step forward.
But the next second, a large hand rested on Daryl's shoulder.
Feeling the familiar warm temperature from the large hand, the breath Daryl had held in his chest immediately relaxed.
"Who is speaking?"
Shawn raised his eyelids and looked down at Pete.
Even though Shawn did nothing, just a single gaze made Pete, who only dared to be domineering internally, feel an oppressive force that almost made him gasp for air.
Pete was nearly a head shorter than Shawn.
When Shawn looked down at him, he had to look up, and the moment their eyes met, he couldn't help but swallow several times in a row to suppress his dry throat.
He held it in for a long time before managing to utter a sentence.
"The Prison… is it going to manage our own family matters too…?"
Compared to just now, Pete's momentum was much weaker, and his voice became softer and softer.
Shawn did not speak to him immediately but first patted Carol's right arm, then stood in front of Carol, facing Pete directly.
At such a close distance, the oppressive feeling emanating from Shawn became even stronger.
Pete even felt his fingers trembling slightly. The less Shawn spoke, the more intense this suffocating atmosphere became.
"Are you speaking to me?"
Shawn seemed to be on a different wavelength from Pete, only repeatedly asking one question.
Sweat broke out on his back, everything in his eyes began to sharpen and become clearer, his heartbeat was strong and powerful…
As a doctor, Pete knew this was the effect of adrenaline surging because it thought he was about to die.
Pete lowered his head, his eyes fixed on the ground, not daring to respond.
He gripped his left hand tightly with his right, but his hands, which as a surgeon should be steadiest, now trembled uncontrollably.
All notions of dignity, family prestige… all such obsessions were swept away at this moment.
Pete was subjected to 'bullying' from Shawn, from the very root of his bloodline.
It was like a male member of a wolf pack, prostrating on the ground to show submission when facing the alpha, looking somewhat humble.
With just one encounter, the superiority and inferiority were immediately apparent.
Shawn shifted his gaze, no longer looking at Pete, and coldly swept his eyes around the surroundings.
Indeed, the people brought back from the Alexandria Community were simply not as good as those from the Quarry Camp.
Most of those present were from the Community, but only Carol, Daryl, and Michonne were willing to step forward.
Outside the crowd, Shawn saw Rick, who had arrived later, and upon hearing about domestic violence, Shane had directly brought the army in.
When he beat Ned back then, his fists were never soft.
But when Rick met Shawn's gaze, he stopped Shane, who was preparing to push through the crowd.
Rick didn't speak, but just placed a hand on Shane's shoulder and slowly shook his head at Shane.
Shane let out a sigh through his nose before giving up.
"I think everyone knows that the Prison will have some new changes in the near future."
"And these changes will affect every member of the Prison, and even impact the future of the Prison."
Shawn's voice came.
It seemed he didn't care about the minor matter of Pete's domestic violence.
It seemed his gaze was only focused on the overall height of the entire Prison.
"I just hope everyone can understand that the new system will not have too much impact on everyone's normal lives."
"Nor will there be any… situations that allow some people to exploit loopholes, or make it impossible for everyone to live."
As he spoke, Shawn's gaze fell on Jessie.
Jessie awkwardly adjusted her top, trying to cover her swollen cheek.
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