Chapter 96 Setting the Trap
Joanna had no idea that her appearance had caused Chris to feel a bit dissatisfied with Cynthia.
She just felt a bit unlucky today, running into those two again.
But lately she'd been really busy, with no free time to pay attention to Chris's affairs.
Although Angelo's dress was finished, she hadn't started on the competition piece for Teacher Gong's charity project yet.
While the inspiration and concept were all worked out, she still hadn't decided on the clothing style for her design.
Designing dresses for Angelo's family had given her some ideas.
Current formal wear really emphasized design elements - maybe clothing for a charity theme should focus more on practicality?
She was thinking of using this style for her new piece.
When Joanna got busy, she lost track of time.
She hadn't eaten all day, and if she hadn't been about to faint from hunger, she probably would have kept working in the studio designing clothes.
Taking out her phone, she saw it was already 2 AM.
She also noticed Angelo had sent her many messages that she hadn't replied to.
Nothing important - just telling her he was already having people contact Henry, and it probably wouldn't be long before there was good news.
After not hearing back from Joanna for so long, Angelo seemed to have guessed she was busy designing clothes and had entered her absorbed state.
So he'd thoughtfully ordered takeout for her and left it at her door.
When Joanna saw this, she quickly went to get it.
It was already cold - it had been delivered a while ago.
Luckily there was a microwave to heat it up.
While warming it, Joanna replied to Angelo: [Thanks, I was just working on my design. The clothes have been sent out to be made, I can pick them up in a couple days and bring them to you.]
Angelo must have already been asleep and didn't reply, but Joanna didn't mind.
After filling her stomach, she quickly washed up and went to bed.
She slept soundly, and when she woke up the next day she felt the cold - looking out the window, it was about to snow.
Just then her phone made a notification sound. Looking down, she saw it was from Angelo.
In his large, broad palm he was holding a snowman that looked just like her, crafted very delicately, like a white porcelain doll.
Joanna replied with pleasant surprise: [Your hands are so skilled!]
He replied quickly: [Just a little trick to make you happy.]
Joanna smiled, put down her phone, and after washing up went out to work.
The hospital was very crowded with patients. Beds had been tight these past few days, so several doctors were scheduled for shifts.
Today happened to be her turn.
After several busy days at the hospital, she'd almost forgotten about that project.
Until Angelo called her: "Henry showed up. He made an appointment to meet with people from Smith Group. The location is Hearthstone Coffee."
Joanna checked the time: "I still have one surgery here. I'll head over as soon as I'm done. Angelo, will this really work?"
Angelo just said: "Let's test the waters first. If he's completely off guard, we can record evidence and go straight to the police to arrest him."
Joanna nodded, "I trust your plan!"
After a brief chat, they hung up.
After finishing surgery in the afternoon, Joanna quickly drove to the coffee shop.
She and Angelo sat down at a nearby table and observed for half an hour without seeing anyone.
"Could Henry really be on guard?" Joanna asked.
Angelo frowned too: "If he's on guard, that means this project is about to blow up, and he's just waiting for it to explode so your mother can go to prison for him."
"What do we do?" Joanna got anxious.
Angelo thought for a moment and made a call: "Help me keep track of Chad's location."
After giving instructions, he explained to Joanna: "Your dad cares most about his son Chad. If something happens to him and your dad needs money, he definitely won't be able to sit still. If he's on guard and won't show himself, we'll force him to show himself."
Joanna's eyes lit up - she thought this was a great idea.
When she first learned this project had problems, she'd even thought about how to help Henry solve this trouble.
But after learning that Henry had pushed all the responsibility onto Sandra, she was too angry to care about Henry anymore.
Other people's fathers could take on family responsibilities and protect their wives and children.
But Henry, besides taking advantage of his children, had absolutely no awareness of being a father or husband.
Soon, Henry rushed in.
He nervously looked around, didn't spot Joanna and the others, then looked for the person he was meeting.
To ensure the plan went smoothly, Angelo directly sent out an assistant.
After receiving Angelo's message, the assistant went to meet Henry with a contract.
"You're really from Smith Group and interested in our drug?" Henry's tone was somewhat nervous, with a hint of probing.
Joanna saw the assistant nod and say something, and only then did Henry relax.
He looked at the contract the assistant pushed over, seemed somewhat dissatisfied, and said something to the assistant.
Then Angelo received a message from the assistant: [Mr. Smith, Henry isn't satisfied with the amount and wants to raise the price.]
Angelo glanced at the nervous Joanna, pushed his coffee over to her, then replied: [Agree to it. Follow the plan and get him to reveal who actually controls this project.]
The assistant and Henry talked for quite a while.
Joanna couldn't hear clearly and wanted to move closer to eavesdrop.
Soon, the two reached an agreement, and just as Henry was about to sign.
Several plainclothes police officers rushed in: "Don't move! We suspect you're making an illegal transaction. Put your hands on your head right now and come back to the station with us for questioning!"
This happened so suddenly that Henry had no time to react.
Angelo immediately stood up, grabbed Joanna's hand and walked over: "Sir, there's a bit of a misunderstanding. This person is our company employee. The other one is who we called the police to arrest."
The police confirmed his identity as the person who made the report and recognized him as the CEO of Smith Group.
But Henry didn't know any of this. The first thing he saw was Joanna, and he immediately shouted: "Joanna! I'm your dad, save me! I was tricked into coming here today. Your brother was kidnapped and they want ransom money. If it wasn't for the money, I wouldn't have signed a contract with these people!"
Joanna looked at him with disappointment, then showed him a video on her phone of Chad playing games at the nursing home.
"Chad just went to keep Mom company, he wasn't kidnapped. But this project that killed many innocent victims - you're the one doing it. Henry, you have no conscience. Taking some money is one thing, but how could you kill people!"