Chapter 183
"Don't you know what Mr. Johnson is like? He's donated plenty of money to you over the years. Now he's just asking for a small favor."
Joshua sighed, "I have no choice. Besides, if those two don't make up, I'm going to go bald."
The doctor snorted, "For the sake of the equipment, I'll help you this time. Listen carefully—just this once."
"But isn't this a bit too underhanded? Tricking people like this. I can see she really cares about your boss."
"You noticed it too, right? They both care about each other, but neither will give in. And I'm the one who suffers."
Joshua left the doctor's office with his phone and returned to the hospital room.
Michael was sitting on the bed with a dark expression, looking at financial reports. Hearing the door open, he let out a cold snort.
Joshua walked over with a grin, "Take a look at this. See, I told you Ms. Garcia cares about you, but you wouldn't believe me."
He clicked play.
The hospital room footage appeared on the screen.
When he heard Diana admit she was his girlfriend, Michael's lips curved up almost imperceptibly.
Diana, saying one thing but meaning another.
She must be using birth control because she didn't want to trouble him, not because she disliked him.
Yes, that must be it.
Michael's thin lips curved into a smile as he snatched the phone away, "I'm keeping this. Go buy yourself a new one and get reimbursed from finance. Your bonus and salary are both doubled this month."
Joshua was over the moon.
All his hard work during this period had finally paid off.
However, he glanced at the phone and said carefully, "I can just send you the video. I have photos of my family on there too."
Michael gave a faint acknowledgment but didn't return the phone. Instead, he operated it himself, and after transferring the video to his own phone, he deleted everything from Joshua's phone.
After Joshua left, Michael sat on the bed, playing the video over and over.
Each time he heard Diana admit their relationship, he couldn't help but smile.
Soon his good mood was ruined.
Looking at the content in his email, Michael changed his clothes and headed upstairs.
The door was kicked open.
Ruby was getting her nails done. Hearing the sound, she looked up sharply. Seeing the person at the door with that cold expression, she felt inexplicably guilty, her heart trembling.
"Michael, did you come to see me?" Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Since being hospitalized, what she hoped for most was his visit.
Now finally seeing him, her lips curved into a gentle smile.
Michael's dark gaze fell on her, "You had someone kidnap her, didn't you?"
Ruby feigned confusion, "What are you talking about? Who had an accident? Who was kidnapped? I don't understand."
"It doesn't matter if you don't understand, but I will continue investigating. If I find out this has anything to do with you, I won't let it go."
Michael strode closer, looking down at her, "Ms. Hill, do you really think having money means you can do whatever you want? If my investigation proves this, what do you think would happen if it got leaked online?"
The Hill family was different from his—it wasn't controlled by one person.
On the surface, Ruby seemed well-loved, but there were many competing interests within the family.
Not to mention, Ruby's brother Evan was at a critical stage of an arranged marriage.
If a scandal broke out now, the first person affected would be Evan.
For Evan to become the heir, the business marriage was crucial.
This chain of events—the Hill family couldn't handle it.
Michael's gaze was sharp, his eyes full of warning, "Better behave yourself, or the consequences will be more than you can handle."
With that, he turned and left decisively.
Ruby swept all the nail supplies onto the floor.
She had said to just throw the person into the sea, but Violet had dared to disobey.
What's more, Diana had been rescued without a scratch.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, throwing everything within reach onto the floor.
Violet entered just then. He knew he'd messed up—the job wasn't done.
"I'm sorry, I didn't expect them to be so useless. I told them exactly what to do, but they disobeyed. But don't worry, I had no direct contact with them. It was through an overseas account, so there's no way to trace it back to us."
He was scared too, thinking about it.
He knew Michael was capable, but finding them in just one day was still unexpected.
Even more shocking was how much Michael cared about Diana.
Seeing Ruby's twisted expression, Violet swallowed, "I know you're upset, but you need to stay calm now. Michael put a gag order on this, not letting us tell anyone that he was injured because of Diana. But there are no secrets that last forever."
"The Johnson family wants you as their daughter-in-law. If they knew the real reason Michael got injured..."
Ruby's eyes lit up, then dimmed again, "But would it work?"
She always ended up losing when it came to Diana.
Tattling once or twice was fine, but too many times made her look incompetent.
Cleo wanted a smart and capable daughter-in-law, not a useless one.
Violet smiled, "If you agree to let me handle this, I guarantee results. Diana's troubles are just beginning. We just need to watch from the shadows."
"Alright, I guess we can try. But you don't understand—Mrs. Johnson wouldn't want to break with Michael over a woman. At most, she'll use some tactics."
Having grown up in a wealthy family, Ruby knew clearly that Cleo seemed to like her, but more accurately, she liked the Hill family status.
A marriage alliance between the families would last longer.
And if Michael wanted to secure his position as heir, a marriage alliance was necessary, and she was the most suitable choice.
Cleo might deal with Diana for Michael's sake, but she wouldn't go too far, to avoid damaging their mother-son relationship.
To achieve her goal, using someone else wouldn't work—she'd have to do it herself.
But there was no rush. She'd marry in first, then deal with the mistress as the legitimate wife—that would be more justified.
Thinking of Michael's dark expression when he came just now, Ruby's heart trembled.
He really didn't care about her at all, showing no hesitation in protecting Diana.
Her hands under her sleeves slowly clenched into fists.
"No rush, take it slow. There's plenty of time ahead."