Chapter 233 Did He Take the Wrong Medicine?

Chapter 233 Did He Take the Wrong Medicine?

Justin's answer came without hesitation—yes—and Joanna found herself looking over at him.

He avoided her eyes, turning his head slightly to the side with an expression that said fine, whatever.

Since this was a work matter and Joanna didn't know the details, she stayed quiet and let it play out.

She was still turning it over in her head when Justin spoke again.

"That works."

Just like that.

Cathy stared at him. Then she caught Diana's eye across the room, and Diana gave her a very pointed look.

Cathy's gaze sharpened. "What about the day after tomorrow?"

Justin pressed his lips together. "That works too."

Cathy didn't feel relieved. She felt played. "So you did this on purpose."

If he'd actually been stressed about the deadline, he wouldn't be agreeing this easily.

Justin's eyes narrowed. He looked at her with undisguised impatience. "Think whatever you want. The project timeline is yours to set. Happy now?"

Cathy blinked. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, genuinely at a loss.

She looked over at Joanna and pointed at Justin. "Did someone swap out his medication?"

By the window, Justin turned his wheelchair around and put his back to the room.

Joanna watched him and quietly put the pieces together. Justin was giving ground because of her. Karen had told him, before she left, to do whatever Joanna asked and not give her any grief—and this was what that looked like in practice.

Since it was a work matter, Cathy hadn't actually needed Joanna to intervene on her behalf. She took a step toward Justin.

"You don't have to be difficult about it. I'm not here to start something." She kept her voice even. "I'll have my team get the revised plan to you by five o'clock tomorrow afternoon. That way nobody has to pull an all-nighter."

Silence.

"I'll take that as a yes?" Cathy waited a few more seconds. Justin still didn't respond. She didn't push it—just pulled out her phone and called her team to pass the word along.

When she hung up, Diana materialized at her elbow, voice dropped to a conspiratorial murmur. "He's scared you'll tell Joanna he was being difficult. He doesn't want her upset with him. You could absolutely use that as leverage."

Cathy's eyebrows shot up. Then it clicked, and she let out a short laugh.

She tapped Diana lightly on the forehead. "Since when are you this devious?"

Diana made a face. I'm being perfectly reasonable. She hadn't stirred the pot, hadn't pushed Joanna toward a divorce, hadn't done a single thing to complicate what was already a mess. She considered herself downright saintly.

What she said out loud was: "Don't you want to see how far he'll actually go for her?"

Of course she did.

Justin had nearly died getting Joanna off that cliff. Cathy had seen what he was willing to sacrifice. But seeing it and trusting it were two different things—and whether he deserved to be tested at all depended entirely on Joanna.

"Hey." Joanna reached over and pulled Diana back down onto the edge of the bed. She'd caught every word—they hadn't been nearly as quiet as they thought. "Don't."

Diana settled beside her, looking only slightly chastened.

Cathy couldn't tell exactly what Joanna meant by don't, and with Justin still in the room, she wasn't going to press. She let it go and shifted gears.

"How are you feeling? Any better?"

"Getting there," Joanna said.

Cathy studied her for a moment, then seemed satisfied. "Good." She paused, then said, "Okay. There's actually something I wanted to talk to you about."

She glanced briefly at Justin, then back at Joanna.

"I want to start my own architecture firm. Something completely independent." A beat. "I want you in."

Joanna went still.

She knew Cathy's situation at home—had known it for years. Cathy had studied architecture and design in college, had quietly proven herself on project after project. But her parents had kept the high-profile work for her brother. When Cathy delivered, the credit went elsewhere. She'd been the engine behind things she wasn't allowed to put her name on.

Cathy had taken on Justin's project thinking it would finally change something. Thinking it would be proof enough.

It hadn't been.

"I've made up my mind," Cathy said. "No matter how well I do under that roof, the results will never actually be mine. So I'm building something that is. Completely separate from my family."

Joanna thought about it for only a moment. "I'm in. I've got some money sitting around—I can take a stake."

Diana raised her hand tentatively. "I don't have much, but... could I get a small share?" She brightened. "Oh—and my brother has money. I could get him to invest too."

Across the room, Justin turned his wheelchair back toward them. His gaze swept past Diana with a cool, flat look, then softened the instant it landed on Joanna.

"That won't be necessary," he said.

Everyone looked at him.

He turned his wedding band slowly around his finger—a quiet, almost unconscious gesture—and said, "There's something I haven't had the chance to tell you yet. Leon had a stroke. He's lost most of his motor function. He's in a care facility now."

Joanna stared at him. The announcement was so abrupt she couldn't immediately make sense of why he was telling her this now.

Justin continued. "He had Claire dissolve all of his smaller companies. The only two he kept were Everglory Construction and Aura Apparel." He paused. "He's transferring Everglory Construction to you. Aura Apparel goes to Claire."

It clicked.

Cathy got there at the same moment. "You're saying I should take over the operational management of Everglory Construction."

Joanna wasn't in any position to run a company right now. If the firm was going to function, it would need Cathy as the one actually driving it.

Justin gave a small nod. "You could come in as a capital partner and take the director role."

Cathy turned it over, her expression uncertain. "Leon remarried. He has a son. Why would he just give the company away?"

Justin's tone was unbothered, almost casual. "Apparently the company was hemorrhaging money. Claire mortgaged the family home to cover the shortfall. When his new wife found out he was bedridden and the business was buried in debt, she cleaned out whatever was left and disappeared with the kid."

Joanna looked at him. "How do you know all of that?"

Justin's expression didn't change. "You were unconscious for two months. As your husband, I handled what needed handling."

He nodded toward the small cabinet beside her bed. "The transfer agreement is in the bottom drawer. Leon's already signed. It just needs your signature."

Diana was closest. She found it quickly and passed it to Joanna.

"Aura Apparel was something Leon built for Stella," Justin added. "I didn't think you'd want anything to do with it. I left that one for Claire to deal with."

He went on, "Everglory's reputation has taken hits, but the licensing and infrastructure are solid. Claire has already cleared the outstanding debt."

Cathy's skepticism surfaced immediately.

"Claire handled all of that on her own?"