Chapter 31

Joseph thought Zoey had a point, so he gave Henry the injection first.

Lally headed downstairs to whip up some fever medicine for Henry, while Zoey stayed in the room and asked Joseph, "Dr. Green, is Claire's arm really bad?"

"Nah, it's just a few bruises. A week of ointment should do the trick." Joseph replied to Zoey while putting away the used syringe.

Zoey felt relieved. "That's a relief. Claire mentioned you took her back to her place last night. Thanks a ton for that."

Just as she finished, she noticed Joseph's expression shift, like he remembered something unpleasant.

She couldn't help but ask, "Did Claire make you pasta?"

"Yeah, your friend's cooking is... something else. It was more like pasta mush, and the taste was, uh, unique."

Joseph looked at Zoey. "So, she's cooked for you too? Not a fan, huh?"

Zoey couldn't lie and say it was delicious. Just as she was thinking of how to change the subject, her phone rang.

"It's Claire calling, I'll take it." Zoey sighed in relief and quickly got up to answer the phone.

Before she could speak, Claire's anxious voice came through. "Zoey, I'm so scared. Your dad, his mistress-turned-wife, and your stepsister who stole your fiancé are all here. They're outside banging on the door."

"What? They actually had the nerve to show up!" Zoey's face darkened, and she gripped her phone tightly. "Claire, don't worry. I'm on my way."

She hung up and looked at Joseph. "Dr. Green, I have to go. When Mr. Windsor wakes up, please apologize to him for me. I had no choice, and I'll make it up to him with a meal later."

Joseph was puzzled, not quite getting what Zoey meant.

But he did hear what Claire said earlier.

It seemed Zoey was in some trouble.

Henry had never been this concerned about a girl in all these years, even bringing her home to take care of her.

Since Henry was still out cold, Joseph decided to tag along and see what was up.

"Wait, you don't have a car. How about I drive you there?" Joseph went downstairs and caught up with Zoey.

Zoey shook her head. "Thanks, Dr. Green, but there's no need. You should stay here and watch over Mr. Windsor."

"I've already given him the fever shot. He's not in any serious condition. But you, what if something happens to you? If Henry wakes up and finds out I knew you were in trouble and did nothing, he'll definitely be pissed at me."

Zoey was stunned, wondering if she really meant that much to Henry.

Joseph had already opened the car door. "Get in. Aren't you worried about Claire?"

Hearing this, Zoey didn't argue anymore and quickly got into the car.

Half an hour later, the car stopped in front of an apartment downtown.

Zoey opened the car door and dashed inside.

When the elevator reached the top floor, Zoey could hear Arthur and his family's cursing outside. Her beautiful face instantly darkened.

As soon as the elevator doors slid open, Arthur spotted Zoey.

"No wonder no one answered the door. Turns out you, the ungrateful one, weren't home!" Arthur was fuming. Losing so many shares and prized collections to Zoey? No way he could be okay with that.

So, as soon as he got Zoey's address, he dragged Caroline and Catherine over. They were here to make Zoey sign a contract to give up the shares and the collections in the gallery, no questions asked.

Otherwise, he wasn't going to let her off easy.

Zoey's eyes were icy, and she didn't even bother responding to Arthur. Instead, she turned to Joseph.

"Dr. Green, thanks for bringing me here. I need to deal with something now. You should head back to avoid getting involved."

Before Joseph could say anything, Zoey pressed the button for the first floor.

Just as the elevator doors were about to close, Catherine reached out and blocked them, making the doors open again.

Seeing the ridiculously handsome Joseph, even more attractive than Alexander, Catherine was green with envy.

She looked at Joseph and pointed at Zoey, saying, "You probably don't know what kind of person she is, right? Back in college, she slept with old men for money. She's too dirty. I heard you're a doctor. You'd better stay away from such a filthy woman, or you might catch something from her and regret it later."

Zoey's face darkened, and she slapped Catherine hard.

Catherine stumbled back several steps, hitting her head on the door.

"Zoey, do you have any respect for me as your father, daring to hit Catherine in front of me?" Arthur's face turned red with anger, and he raised his hand to hit Zoey.

Joseph in the elevator saw this and immediately tried to intervene, but before he could, Zoey had already blocked Arthur's slap.

Her eyes were as cold as ice, and her voice even colder. "I hit her to teach her not to slander others casually. Otherwise, she might offend someone and bring you more trouble. You should be thanking me instead."

Arthur angrily said, "What she said is true. Are you afraid of her exposing it?"

He paused for a moment, then threatened, "If you If you don't want to mess up your career and tarnish your own name, just give me back those shares and the collections. Otherwise, you'll be finished."

His gaze at Zoey had no fatherly warmth, only cold-blooded ruthlessness.

If this had gone down a few years back, Zoey would have probably been devastated, trying to figure out why her own dad could hate her like that. But now? After hitting rock bottom with disappointment, hope kind of slipped away on its own.

She looked at Arthur coldly. "Fine, then you can try to ruin my reputation. But Dad, you should think carefully about the consequences of slander. Can you handle it?"

Arthur frowned. "Are you threatening me?"

Zoey smiled. "I'm just stating a fact. If you tarnish my name, I'll have to hire a legal team to sue you. The compensation will be a large sum, and you'll be heartbroken again."

Hearing her calmly say such infuriating words, Arthur's forehead veins bulged with anger. "Zoey, I'm your father. I raised you, so it's only right that you give me the shares."

Zoey coldly laughed. "The shares were left to me by my mom. When did they become yours?"