Chapter 60 Urging Her to Have a Child
I have to say, Joanna was truly tempted.
She admitted that she was already fed up with the Jones father and son.
She had also thought about how to stop these two from squandering money. After all, Joanna didn't want to throw all her hard-earned money into this bottomless pit.
The best solution was indeed what Angelo suggested.
The two of them had discussed this before.
"But... my dad might not transfer the company shares to me."
It was heartbreaking to think about. They both had the Jones surname, yet Chad got twenty percent of the company shares as soon as he became an adult.
Just ten percent more and he would surpass Henry.
But Joanna and Sandra didn't even have one percent between them.
This meant that the two of them would always be the ones asking Henry for money.
A self-mocking look flashed in Joanna's eyes. She didn't hold out much hope for this.
Angelo thought for a moment: "Didn't you just take a sum of money to fill the Jones' hole? Your dad probably doesn't know yet. You could force him to sign over the shares first, then bail him out."
It would be just like forcing Chris to sign the divorce papers at the police station back then.
Joanna smiled: "Okay, then I'll trouble Angelo to help me find a suitable candidate. I'll do this right after tomorrow's surgery!"
"See you tomorrow."
Soon, the two hung up, and Angelo left Joanna's apartment.
After a good night's sleep, Joanna got herself ready and went to Sandra's nursing home.
Yesterday Angelo told her that his friend's surgery was scheduled here, with Dr. Bruce in charge of the follow-up care.
Dr. Bruce had temporarily cleared out an office for her, and the patient's files were all prepared. For Dr. J, it wasn't difficult.
After reviewing everything, Angelo soon brought the patient over for transfer.
After talking with the family, Joanna threw herself into the operating room and was busy all morning before coming out.
Fortunately, the surgery was very successful.
The patient's family kept thanking Joanna and Angelo. They knew that without Angelo's help, they could never have gotten Dr. J to treat their relative.
Joanna wasn't comfortable with this situation, so she returned to her mother's room first.
Sandra first glanced behind her, then asked: "Why didn't Chris come again?"
"He has a lot going on at the company and doesn't have that much time to come to the hospital. If you need anything, you can tell me."
Joanna explained reluctantly. Since she couldn't mention the divorce for now, she could only keep lying.
"No matter how busy he is, he should come home more often. You and Chris have been married for three years now. If you don't have a child soon, it'll be harder for your body to recover. Joanna, listen to me, work on your relationship with Chris more. It'll only benefit you two as a couple!"
Sandra looked gentle, but her tone was stubborn.
This was her decades of experience.
Joanna didn't agree, but didn't dare contradict her, afraid of upsetting Sandra's condition.
She smiled and brushed it off, handing Sandra the peeled apple: "We know what we're doing. Mom, you focus on getting better. There'll be plenty of time for you to supervise us later."
Sandra ate the apple Joanna had peeled. Though her face showed a warm smile, the disappointment in her eyes was visible.
Joanna felt suffocated and turned to leave.
When she came back, she saw Sandra had put down her phone, with a somewhat panicked look in her eyes.
She found it strange: "Mom, were you on the phone with someone?"
The phone was her backup, temporarily given to Sandra. There weren't many contacts in it, just to prevent Henry and Chad from finding them.
But seeing Sandra's expression, Joanna had a bad feeling.
Soon, she knew where this unease came from.
Because Chad had found the nursing home!
"Joanna, how could you leave Mom here alone? And you won't even let Dad and me see her!"
As soon as Chad arrived, he pointed at Joanna's nose and scolded her, completely ignoring Sandra's increasingly unpleasant expression.
Joanna laughed coldly: "Was I the one who left Mom alone in an abandoned house, not taking care of her or giving her medicine? Chad, do you even remember she's the mother who gave birth to you and raised you? If Mom hadn't called you, would you have ever thought to come see her?"
Although she hadn't heard Sandra's phone conversation, she didn't need to ask to know that if Sandra hadn't coaxed Chad, this cold-hearted person would never have come to visit his mother!
Joanna was so angry her chest hurt. She couldn't understand what was worth Sandra's devotion to this family.
"What are you saying? Are you cursing at me?" Chad's face turned red with anger. He glared at Sandra directly, "It's all your fault. You're sick and still can't stay quiet. You called me over just to get scolded by her. Are you happy now?"
Sandra was stunned for a moment, her face full of guilt: "Chad, Joanna didn't mean it. She's just angry that you haven't come to see me in so long. Now I'm awake and my illness will slowly get better. We're all family, don't hold grudges. Sit down and talk it out. We're still family."
Joanna and Chad looked at each other, neither acknowledging the other.
Joanna didn't want to upset Sandra or trigger her condition.
As for Chad, he probably saw Sandra's haggard appearance and suddenly felt a bit guilty and ashamed.
Seeing the two quiet down, Sandra's face broke into a smile again. She asked: "Joanna and Chris have worked hard for your dad's situation. Have you been to see your dad lately? He's not suffering, is he?"
Chad pressed his lips together and said nothing.
Actually, he had only panicked for a while that day when he learned Henry was in trouble.
But after that, thinking that Joanna wouldn't abandon Henry, he never worried again.
These past few days he'd been eating, drinking, and having fun, occasionally street racing with his college roommates. Life was comfortable.
Chad wouldn't reflect on his own mistakes. He glared at Joanna directly: "How would I know you were helping Dad? Didn't you say before that you'd never care about us again? Mom, you definitely don't know what Joanna's been doing lately!"
Hearing this, Joanna immediately panicked. She knew Chad wouldn't say anything good, and these words would definitely upset Sandra.
She instinctively wanted to stop Chad from continuing, but it was too late...
"She threw a tantrum about divorcing Chris and has been getting close to another man! When I was wrongly accused and jailed, she didn't help, and I starved in the detention center for over a week! And when Dad asked her to apologize to Chris, she wouldn't listen. She jumped out of the car and ran away, then cursed at Dad..."
Before Joanna could stop him, she slapped Chad across the face. His right cheek swelled up quickly.
Chad froze for a moment, looking at Joanna in shock, then grabbed the small lamp from the table and threw it at Joanna.
"Joanna! How dare you hit me? You hit me in front of Dad, and now you're going to hit me in front of Mom too?"