Chapter 54 Joanna, You Have Changed
Henry's voice was quite loud. Even without the speakerphone on, Sandra could still hear a bit, and she couldn't help but feel worried.
Joanna couldn't see behind her. She just said through gritted teeth, "Chris is being pressured by shareholders himself right now. How would he have time to deal with you? As for my mom, you dumped her there because you wanted her to fend for herself! Henry, if you won't take care of my mom, I will! Don't expect to see her again."
Henry's eyes widened.
He'd been sure Joanna would cave and get him that ten million. Lately, Henry and Chad had been spending money like there was no tomorrow and had already blown through all the company's funds. If he hadn't gotten a payment notice today, he wouldn't have even thought about it. He rushed to call Joanna, never expecting that his usually obedient daughter would suddenly have the nerve to cut him off from Sandra!
Henry angrily accused her, "I'm your father! Your mom and I aren't divorced yet. As our daughter, you have no right to stop us from seeing each other!"
Joanna lowered her voice, not wanting her mother to hear. "She doesn't want to see you either!"
Worried that Henry would upset her mother's condition, Joanna didn't plan to reveal that her mother had already woken up.
Henry was angry, but now wasn't the time to worry about Sandra. Getting the money was most important!
He snorted coldly. "Fine, I've given Sandra back to you, but you must give me the money. The company urgently needs to pay suppliers. If you don't give it to me, I'll call the police and say you tried to kill your mom!"
Joanna didn't expect Henry to be so shameless. She said angrily, "Go ahead and call the police! I won't give you another cent! You and Chad's problems are yours to solve!"
With that, she hung up, completely ignoring Henry's explosive rage.
At that moment, Jones Corp received an inspection for compliance review.
"This must be a misunderstanding. How could there be problems with our accounts? The accountant has records and we file taxes normally." Henry couldn't be bothered to continue calling Joanna and fawningly approached to offer cigarettes.
But the people who came were very impartial. "Many of your projects have irregularities. Come with us for an investigation now!"
Henry didn't even have time to call anyone for help before being taken away.
The other company employees panicked seeing this situation.
Before, even though Henry was unreliable, his daughter had married well and had the Coopers backing them up!
Now they couldn't even get a single payment. If they couldn't get the supplier payments, would their salaries not be paid either?
The employees anxiously called Chad.
In the hospital room, as soon as Joanna hung up and turned around, she saw her mother's sad eyes.
Before she could say anything, Sandra said, "We're still a family. If your dad gets into trouble, everything will fall apart. Your brother's still young—you can't take on the burden of supporting him by yourself. Joanna, don't make things harder for your father."
Joanna pressed her lips together. "Since you heard, you should also know that during all these years you've been sick, they never took care of you. Even your medical bills were paid with money I got from Chris. Mom, Chad and Henry aren't suited to run a company. They've been using Chris's money to fill holes. I've already thrown so much money at this over the years. If we don't correct their mistakes, our family will really fall apart!"
Sandra had been sick for over three years and didn't know what had been happening.
Though she felt bad for her daughter, she still said, "But he's your father..."
When she was little, Henry really loved his daughter and often bought her treats. But at some point, things changed. He only knew how to take, and forced Joanna to give up things she liked.
Joanna had been giving in all along, even sacrificing a lot for Chad and Henry's sake. She knew she shouldn't blame her mother, who had just woken up and knew nothing, but hearing these words still made her feel hurt and misunderstood.
She insisted, "I know what to do. Mom, you just woke up. Don't worry about these things."
Sandra worriedly added another reminder. "Don't be mad at your father. Running a company isn't easy for him. All these years, he's made sure you had a roof over your head, food on the table, and you got your education. Joanna, no matter what, he's still your dad. Family is family—we can't just turn our backs on each other."
Joanna didn't answer. She didn't want to upset her mother, so silence was the best response right now.
Sandra could see that her daughter was reluctant and sighed. "By the way, aren't you married to Chris? If your dad needs more money, maybe Chris can help out. We can't just let your father end up in jail, can we?"
Joanna's body tensed. She didn't want to talk about her family situation, much less her marriage to Chris.
Mom would probably blame her for not managing the marriage well, wouldn't she?
Joanna lowered her head. "He and I... are planning to divorce."
"Why?" Sandra got a bit agitated. She felt her daughter had changed a lot. "Joanna, you won't take care of your father and brother, and now you can't even make things work with Chris? Didn't you listen to anything I said? Sometimes you just have to tough it out—things get better. Chris has a bright future ahead of him. Even though I didn't agree with your father's plan to get Chris involved back then, Chris is responsible and was willing to marry you. That helped your dad and brother a lot. How could you just…"
Getting more and more worked up, Sandra started coughing violently.
The monitors kept alarming, and doctors came in wave after wave.
Dr. Bruce pulled the anxious Joanna aside. "Although your mother has woken up, her emotions can't have big swings. It's best not to let her know about some things."
Though Dr. Bruce hadn't known Joanna long, when he picked up Sandra that day and saw her condition, he guessed the family wasn't harmonious. As a doctor, he had the patient's best interests at heart.
Joanna understood this. She nodded and stood to the side, watching her mother gradually stabilize.
Before her mother woke up, she thought her mom would understand the choices she made.
But now, she had to admit that no one could truly feel her helplessness.
Joanna felt very conflicted inside. After the doctors left, she sat by her mother's bed, not knowing what to say.
No matter what, she didn't want her newly awakened mother to fall unconscious again.
"Joanna, you have changed. I feel like I don't know you anymore." Sandra seemed confused. Before, her daughter was obedient and sensible. Though she was unhappy with her father, she would still compromise for family harmony. They'd gotten through so many years—why was it that after she'd just been sick for a while, her daughter seemed unwilling to maintain that harmony anymore?
Joanna forced a smile. "No, I was just joking earlier. Chris and I are doing fine."
"Really? You're not lying to me?" Sandra's expression looked a bit better. "Joanna, you're grown up now. You need to understand that no one is perfect. When you live with someone for a long time, all their little flaws start to show. You just have to learn to deal with it."