Chapter 80 Identity Dispute
"I believe she is qualified to speak at this seminar. Luke should also be able to tell whether Joanna’s suggestions are useful or not. Compared to the medical expertise of the President of Cooper Corporation and the designer Cynthia, I think Dr. J is far more professional."
Dr. J!
She rarely appeared in public before, so apart from Luke, few people in the room knew her personally.
But everyone had heard of that title, and they had even greater faith in Dr. J’s abilities!
The expressions on Chris and Cynthia’s faces stiffened simultaneously, both shocked: "How could she possibly be Dr. J?!"
Angelo and Luke immediately turned their gazes over, with a hint of subtle mockery. Luke asked, "Why couldn’t she be?"
Cynthia’s tone was agitated: "If she were Dr. J, how could she possibly refuse when her own husband’s grandfather needed surgery? She clearly knew the Coopers had been searching for Dr. J, and even went through great lengths to find Luke to request the surgery!"
The more she spoke, the more convinced Cynthia became, straightening her back: "Luke, you may not know Miss Jones well. She hasn’t performed a single surgery in the three years since her marriage, staying at home as a full-time housewife. If she had any real ability, wouldn’t her husband, Mr. Cooper, know about it? Besides, Joanna has no money of her own. She relies entirely on the $100,000 monthly allowance from Mr. Cooper just to get by. How could Dr. J possibly let herself fall into such a pitiful state?"
The eyes of everyone at the seminar were fixed on them—some curious, some impatient. Joanna took it all in.
She was grateful for Luke and Angelo’s support, but in a setting like this, she couldn’t let them lose face.
Joanna took the microphone, looked at Chris, and forced a smile: "That’s right. How could Dr. J let herself fall into such a pitiful state? A hundred thousand dollars a month? Even if I only perform one surgery a month, I earn millions. A mere hundred thousand—and Mr. Cooper used to think it was some kind of charity."
Chris’s body tensed, his expression grim: "Joanna, stop talking nonsense. Your salary at Grace General Hospital is only a few thousand dollars a month. How can you claim to make millions per surgery? Are you so addicted to pretending to be Dr. J?"
He stared intently at Joanna, waiting for her explanation.
"David treated me poorly. After we married, I sincerely wanted to help with his treatment, but didn’t Mr. Cooper think I was incompetent, that I was just causing trouble, and reject me? So when Luke found me later, of course I thought my skills weren’t enough and refused to operate on David. Later, when I interviewed at St. Mary’s Hospital, wasn’t the test case your grandfather’s leg injury? I wrote a treatment plan, and Mr. Cooper threw it right in the trash in front of me. So now, just because I’m Dr. J, I’m suddenly qualified to operate on your grandfather?"
Joanna’s tone was calm, but only she knew the bitterness and hurt she felt during that time, constantly denied and undermined by Chris.
She was Dr. J. Ever since she started performing surgeries, she had faced fewer and fewer doubts. Everyone praised her skills—except Chris, who, unaware of the truth, kept putting her down.
After three years of marriage without touching a scalpel, she had almost begun to believe her surgical skills had deteriorated.
But during her time at Grace General Hospital, she had proven herself once again.
She was still the remarkable Dr. J. The mistake had never been hers.
"That’s only because you never showed your abilities!" Chris retorted, his face flushed with anger.
Joanna let out a cold laugh. "If you cared about me, how could you know nothing about my capabilities or my studies?"
"I—" Chris was speechless.
He couldn’t help but glance at Cynthia beside him. Her face was pale, shocked, and tinged with panic.
The others in the room looked on with scorn and disgust, making it impossible for him to stay a moment longer.
Ignoring Cynthia, he fled the seminar hall.
Angelo asked coolly, "Aren’t you going after him, Cynthia?"
Cynthia stood up awkwardly. "There seems to have been a misunderstanding today. We shouldn’t disrupt the seminar and launch of the new drug any further. Mr. Cooper isn’t feeling well, so we’ll take our leave now."
After she left, the low murmurs and mockery in the hall gradually subsided.
Joanna glanced apologetically at the crowd. "I’m sorry for interrupting the session with personal matters. Please, let’s continue."
The subsequent discussion proceeded smoothly. The research institute also expressed strong interest in Grace General Hospital, and collaboration seemed all but certain.
After the seminar, Joanna asked Angelo for some time off to take Luke to dinner.
Though Angelo was a little disappointed not to spend more time together, he understood her longing to catch up with an old friend after so many years, so he returned to the hotel first.
The restaurant Luke had chosen wasn’t far. On the way, he was still energized from the discussion about the new drug.
Joanna said with a smile, "My mother is a brain cancer patient. I don’t know if your institute has begun using this new drug yet, but if possible, I’d like to use it in her treatment."
She didn’t say this lightly or without concern for her mother’s well-being.
As a doctor, Joanna knew exactly how successful the research on this new drug had been.
She trusted Luke and the institute’s team, and she believed this drug could help Sandra’s condition improve.
Since the last critical episode, Sandra had not woken up. This drug might be exactly what she needed.
Luke was surprised by her decisiveness. "Joanna, you trust me that much? The team and I have already tried it on some patients, and the results weren’t very noticeable. I’ve studied your mother’s medical records—the new drug might work faster for her. But it’s a bold attempt, and I didn’t dare bring it up with you."
Joanna nodded solemnly. "I trust you. Besides, I’ve reviewed the components of the new drug and your reports. It really could help my mother’s condition."
"Alright, I’ll do my very best!" Luke patted Joanna’s shoulder. "Meeting your husband for the first time today—he’s even worse than I imagined. Joanna, leaving the field for someone like him three years ago was a real mistake."
Mentioning Chris stirred complex feelings in Joanna. She said guiltily, "I’m sorry. Maybe I was truly blind back then. But let’s not talk about him today—we finally get to catch up. How are our mentor and classmates? Do they still resent me?"
Luke set the cleaned cutlery in front of her. "They stopped resenting you a long time ago. Everyone’s busy with their own lives. If you’d like to see them, I can organize a class reunion."
Joanna wasn’t quite ready and hesitated.
Fortunately, Luke had only made the suggestion casually and didn’t press further. Their conversation naturally shifted to the old days when they worked together as a team.
They talked for a long time, and by the time Joanna returned to the hotel, it was already late at night.
Hearing no movement from next door, she guessed Angelo was already asleep, so she washed up and got ready for bed.
But just as she was about to lie down, urgent, forceful knocking erupted at her door.
"Joanna! Come out! I need to talk to you!"