"The cooperation between the Jiang and Landon families is completely finished."

"What exactly have you done?!"

Her stern questioning left Joanna bewildered.

"Mom, what are you talking about?"

Her mother’s voice was filled with frustration:

"Joanna, I thought you were someone who valued the bigger picture, which is why I felt safe handing the company to you!"

"I never expected that for the sake of a man, you would not only ignore the relationship between our two families but even kick the Landon family while they were down!"

"Now, the Landon and Clara families have joined forces to target the Jiang family, and you are entirely to blame!"

Joanna frowned, unable to understand what she meant.

"Mom, what are you saying! How could I possibly kick the Landon family when they are down? I was actually thinking—"

Her mother was utterly disappointed.

"Joanna, you are truly blinded by your own obsessions!"

"Madam Landon came to beg you to save the Landon family, and not only did you refuse to help, but you even forbade your own hospitals from treating them!"

"Now, the public opinion on the internet is spreading, severely impacting the Jiang Group’s stock price! If you can't come up with a solution, don't bother being president anymore!"

Her voice was laced with boundless rage.

"What did you say?"

Joanna froze, the veins on the back of the hand gripping the phone bulging, her eyes slightly dazed.

"Mrs. Landon came to beg me for help?"

"I forbade the hospitals from treating them?"

"I knew nothing about any of this!"

Her mother felt she was beyond saving.

"The videos have been exposed all over the internet; go see for yourself!"

With that, she hung up the phone abruptly.

Joanna immediately opened social media.

The trending searches related to the Jiang Group had already exploded.

She easily found the video and clicked on it.

The video clearly showed Lucas taking his mother to three different hospitals, only to be turned away at each one.

Joanna’s eyes were bloodshot as she stared fixedly at the screen.

Impossible!

She had never met his mother, nor had she ever issued an order to deny them treatment!

What on earth was going on?

Before she could process it, the latter part of the video caused her pupils to shrink violently.

A woman whose face was obscured held Lucas in her arms.

The look of trust he showed her was like a needle, piercing deep into Joanna’s heart.

It made her breath hitch.

Who, exactly, was that woman?!

Just then, an even more explosive trending search popped up.

In an instant, it claimed all of her attention.

【Breaking! Landon Group cancels engagement with Jiang Group!】

【Lucas & Clara】

【Landon heir abandons Jiang heiress, actually chooses the Clara family's newly found true heiress?!】

"Bang!"

Joanna’s phone fell heavily to the ground.

The screen shattered into pieces.

After a long while, she bent down to pick up the phone, her fingertips trembling as she tapped into the trending topic.

She didn't read a single word of the text.

She only noticed one photograph.

Lucas was holding the woman tightly, his eyes rimmed with red.

The woman’s features were blurry.

But her identity was all too obvious.

The Clara family’s true heiress—

Clara.

12

When Joanna arrived at the Jiang Group from the villa, the entrance was already crowded with dense throngs of reporters.

Upon seeing her, the reporters swarmed forward, eager to extract a more sensational scoop from her.

"Miss Jiang, is the rumor true that you intentionally withheld medical treatment from your future mother-in-law for the sake of a man?"

"Miss Jiang, is the reason the Jiang and Landon families canceled their engagement because the Landon Group is on the verge of bankruptcy and no longer holds value for the Jiang Group?"

"It is said that the Landon Group is being targeted by international luxury giants and that the Jiang Group is behind it. Is this true?"

......

Joanna turned a deaf ear to them, walking briskly toward the interior of the company.

The security guards behind her firmly blocked the reporters.

In the CEO's office.

As she pushed the door open, the CEO’s dedicated chair slowly turned around.

Revealing her mother.

She walked step by step toward her mother.

Her mother stood up, her face cold, and delivered a fierce slap across her face.

With the sharp sound of the slap, her cheek swelled up rapidly.

"Joanna, you have truly disappointed me!"

Her mother picked up a stack of files from the desk and threw them hard at her.

"If you had fallen for a sufficiently excellent man, I might have supported you."

"But look at whom you've fallen for?! Poor status, poor background, and even poorer capabilities!"

"And you even went as far as offending the Landon family and destroying the marriage alliance for the sake of this man!"

Her mother's chest heaved violently with rage.

"Open your eyes and look closely at what a despicable person you have fallen for!"

The sharp edges of the paper easily sliced through Joanna's exposed skin, leaving behind several bloodstains.

Seeing her in this state, her mother's hardened heart softened a fraction.

"I will deal with the board of directors; as for the rest, I leave it to you to handle."

Clacking away in her high heels, her mother lowered her voice as she passed Joanna.

"I hope you won't disappoint me again."

Not until the sound of the high heels faded and the office door clicked shut did Joanna slowly squat down to gather the scattered files.

She sat before the desk and began reading page by page.

The first page of the report was the investigation regarding the fall of the Landon family matriarch on the Jiang family's staircase.

The surveillance footage from the Jiang residence had been retrieved.

The video surveillance was extremely clear, showing the exact movement of Julian pushing the woman down the stairs.

He had done it stealthily, but the Jiang family’s surveillance was high-definition; after fifty times magnification, every action was laid bare.

Joanna’s face turned pale.

Following that, the next page contained the hospital report.

Julian’s medical records clearly stated that his injuries were superficial and that there was absolutely no medical necessity for a blood transfusion.

Moreover, his physical examination reports never mentioned that he suffered from hemophobia or a clotting disorder!

He had lied to her!

The four large bags of plasma drawn from the unconscious woman had all been poured out by him in the operating room.

Joanna’s hand holding the report trembled.

She recalled what Lucas had said:

"Julian doesn't have a clotting disorder at all; he did this on purpose!"

But at the time, not only did she not believe him, she felt he was targeting Julian.

She even sent him to the baseball field!

The color drained entirely from Joanna’s face.

In order to retaliate for the harm Lucas allegedly caused Julian, she allowed him to be beaten by baseballs until he was covered in blood!

She even banned all hospitals under the Jiang Group from providing him with treatment!

She used his life to threaten his mother, forcing Julian’s designer brand into the malls under the Landon Group.

Joanna could hardly imagine the pain and despair Lucas must have felt at that moment!

Immediately after, she saw the professional authentication report.

It clearly listed that every piece of jewelry Julian claimed to have designed himself was, in fact, plagiarized from international luxury brands.

His claims of "hand-designed" and "hand-crafted"—all bullshit!

She gripped the paper so tightly that she crinkled it.

What on earth had she done?

The Jiang Group was not involved in the luxury sector; Joanna’s clothing was usually custom-made, and she didn't know much about luxury goods.

So, she hadn't doubted Julian when he said he designed them himself.

But she never expected that she had been played for a fool by him!

13

Joanna recalled that day when Lucas had gritted his teeth and shouted at her:

"Joanna, I’d rather die than be saved by you!"

At that moment, facing her distrust, how much pain must he have felt in his heart!

Yet, not only was she unaware, she even thought he was being stubborn!

She had even forced him to apologize to Julian!

How absurd it was to make a victim apologize to their tormentor?!

Lucas’s defiance only provoked more irritation within her.

She had forced him to go into the sewer to retrieve Julian’s works.

Later, she left due to work matters.

It was Julian who told her that Lucas had left, relying on his status as the young master of the Landon family, without retrieving his works.

To make it up to him, she specifically took the time to go to Japan to buy matcha raw chocolate for him.

And incidentally brought a box of dark chocolate for Lucas.

She knew he had strong self-esteem, and ordering him down there was just a burst of angry words; she just needed to make a show of it for Julian.