Chapter 40 Finding Mother
Joanna's eyes widened, her heart aching. "You lied to me? Henry, believe it or not, I'll call Chris right now and have him stop the funding process for Jones Corp!"
"You wouldn't dare," Henry said, cool and steady. "Joanna, your mom's with me. If you don't play nice and keep this pregnancy, she won't get any help. If something happens to her, nobody's gonna know. But if you do what I say, she gets to live."
He didn't want to push Joanna too hard. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Since you've been cooperating these past few days, I'll give your mom her medication. Alright, don't worry about anything else."
With that, Henry was about to hang up.
But before he could, Joanna made her demands. "You have to send me a video showing that my mother is safe! She hasn't had treatment for a week. You need to take her to the hospital for a checkup, and you need to hire a caregiver to look after her!"
Henry found Joanna's demands troublesome. However, to keep Joanna cooperative so she'd have the baby, Henry still sent her a video of him giving Sandra medication.
Joanna stared at the medicine bottle and sent him a message: [What medicine did you give her? Did my mom have any bad reactions? Henry, her body is very fragile, she can't just take any medicine!]
Henry didn't reply to her messages at all.
Seeing she couldn't get any useful information, Joanna immediately sent the twenty-second video to Angelo.
Soon after, Angelo called via video chat.
On screen, he looked exhausted, too. Seeing the villa background behind Joanna, he paused for a moment. "Joanna, where are you?"
In her urgency, Joanna had forgotten she was still at Hillside Villa.
She pressed her lips together and said, "I'm staying at a friend's place, haven't gone back to the apartment yet, but I'll be back soon."
Angelo was silent for a while, not calling out her lie.
With his experience, he could easily spot the European paintings and all the fancy decor behind Joanna.
Although Joanna had earning power now, with the Jones family as a burden, she couldn't yet afford to live in such a villa. Connecting this with Henry using Sandra to threaten Joanna, it must be to gain some benefit. The Jones family was waiting for funding recently, so what Joanna needed to do was to please Chris!
"Joanna, as long as you're happy, I'll support whatever you do."
Joanna felt even more guilty. She quickly changed the subject. "Angelo, are you calling because there's a lead on my mother?"
Angelo nodded. "From the last photo, I guessed it would be a remote location. Henry should be hiding there, too, so I've been tracking your father and brother's movements. The video you just sent has more information. That medicine bottle is from an old abandoned factory. I've checked all the nearby places where someone could be hiding, and I have a theory. I've already contacted the police."
After waiting over a week, Joanna finally heard some good news.
She said excitedly, "Angelo! Then I'll come find you now, let's rescue my mom today! I don't know if that medicine has harmed her body. I'm afraid her condition will worsen, and she'll never wake up again."
Angelo understood her feelings and comforted her. "Don't worry, that's why I'm calling. But Joanna, I've contacted a professional neurology medical team. They can bring equipment directly to examine your mother. We need to pick them up first before we go rescue your mother."
It seemed Angelo had thought things through more thoroughly. Joanna's excited heart quickly calmed down. "Okay, I'll come find you right now."
She hung up, quickly freshened up, took a taxi, and successfully met up with Angelo.
Angelo tactfully didn't ask about where Joanna had come from.
Angelo took Joanna to pick up the medical team first, then received confirmation of Joanna's mother's location.
He showed Joanna. "They've found your mother. Henry doesn't seem to be there."
Joanna's expression was somewhat cold. "He's not important. Let's rescue my mother first."
Angelo nodded.
They quickly arrived at a remote, abandoned housing development in the suburbs. This place had been left unfinished before, so not many people lived here. Who knew how Henry had found this place?
The environment inside was the same as in Joanna's photos, if not worse. Garbage was piled on the floor, lots of dirty clothes were thrown on the bed, and dust was everywhere on the ground.
Joanna didn't care about the disgusting environment. She immediately went to check on Sandra's condition. "Mom?"
Sandra didn't respond. Joanna didn't dare delay. She quickly helped clear out a relatively clean area for the medical staff to do a basic physical examination.
Twenty minutes later, the results came out.
"Besides some expired medication, your mother has some nutritional deficiencies and needs special medication for recovery as soon as possible," The team leader, Dr. Bruce, said, looking serious.
"Her condition wasn't this bad before, but since her treatment was put off and her meds were stopped for a few days, things have gotten worse. Miss Jones, I recommend moving her to our hospital right away so we can run a full exam and put together a proper treatment plan."
"Okay, thank you, Dr. Bruce."
Joanna didn't dare delay. She quickly made way and watched the medical staff put her mother in the ambulance. The tension she'd been holding finally released.
Angelo handed her a tissue. Only with his reminder did Joanna realize her eyes had reddened.
She quickly wiped away this vulnerable appearance and took a deep breath. "Thank you, Angelo. I'll cover all the costs for the care team myself. I can't trouble you anymore."
Angelo gave a quiet laugh. "If you keep doing great work in medicine, that's worth more than any money. Joanna, I just don't want to see you give up or lose control over your own life again."
Joanna's eyelashes trembled. She knew that Angelo was advising her not to go back.
Her compromises with Chris over the past few days now seem ridiculous.
She had almost compromised and actively tried to seduce Chris.
Joanna took a deep breath. "Don't worry, Angelo. I know very clearly what I'm doing. I also know Chris isn't someone I can trust. I'll take care of my mom's situation fast, then get back to work."
Angelo nodded, his eyes warm and supportive.
He'd been there for Joanna from the start, like tending to a wilted flower, hoping she'd find her strength again.