"What? She killed herself?"
Joanna received the call on the way to the court. She was shocked.
Zack was sitting next to her. Seeing her reaction, he immediately asked, "What's wrong?"
"The court said Alice committed suicide early this morning. Her remains have been sent to the crematorium."
"That's impossible!"
Zack said confidently, "Alice is a suspect in a court case and the case hasn't reached a verdict yet. Even if she really did kill herself, according to the law, her corpse can only be dealt with after the legal investigation period is over. There's no way the corpse would be cremated this quickly, unless…"
"Unless someone wants to destroy the corpse to hide evidence or to substitute it with another person!"
"That's right!"
Zack had handled a lot of criminal cases and had encountered all kinds of bizarre situations before. It was not the first time he had encountered a situation where the suspect suddenly "committed suicide" right before a trial.
Joanna thought hard about it and instantly understood everything.
"Hah, I knew it! So that's why Ace was willing to let Nancy go yesterday. This is what he had planned."
"Honestly, this kind of trick is so lame. Instead of looking for a good lawyer to defend her in court, he chose to use his power to put himself above the law instead. What a coward!"
For the first time, Joanna was looking down on Ace.
She could not believe he would actually come up with an idea like faking death in order to protect that bitch, Alice. He had abandoned all dignity. Joanna felt ashamed for him!
"Don't be mad, boss. The old boss' power and background are simply too strong. From the judge to the police, everyone have to show him some respect."
Zack shrugged helplessly and said: "However, if you want to continue pressing charges, I can still get you the win. Do you still need it?"
Joanna thought for a moment, then shook her head, "No, there's no need!"
She had only made such a big deal out of the situation to make Alice suffer.
Now, Alice had been forced to fake her death to get out of her predicament. From now on, she could only use another identity to live in disgrace. It was enough payback.
As long as she behaved herself from now on and stop messing with Joanna, Joanna would not drive her into a dead end.
After all, they were both mothers. Even if the mother was guilty, the child was innocent. Joanna was not so ruthless that she would let the child suffer too!
"Understood. You have such a big heart, boss. You're like Mother Teresa born again. Working for a kind boss like you, our law firm's employees will surely have an easy life until our retirement!"
Zack took the chance to lick Joanna's boots.
Although he hated Joanna in the beginning. Joanna had made him her underling now. He absolutely admired her!
"In your dreams!"
Joanna glared at Zack and said, "You haven't done any work yet and you're already thinking of retirement? I'm not the Moran Group. I'm the evil demoness Joanna Pierce, and I'm gonna squeeze all your value out of you!"
Zack laughed helplessly. "Yeah, I noticed. Boss, you're even more difficult to deal with than the old boss. We might not even help the old boss do things if he paid us money, but we would do things for you even if you don't pay us! That's charisma!"
Joanna felt like throwing up.
Zack's boot–licking was really something else!
"Anyway, back to business. The matter I discussed with you before, can it be done?"
Joanna asked Zack with a serious expression.
Zack instantly became serious too. "Boss, you have such a big appetite. A case that involves a multinational enterprise like that is usually really tough."
"Of course I know it's tough. That's why all I asked for in my divorce was the Morans and Co. Law Firm. More precisely, I wanted you three gold–standard lawyers."
"You said it yourself, THREE gold–standard lawyers. John and I might be willing to give it a try for your sake, but Lisa hasn't said anything yet."
Zack continued. "I'm good at criminal cases while John is good at administrative cases. As for civil and commercial cases… Lisa's one of the best in the world. But you haven't even met with her yet. Are you sure you can convince her?"
Joanna raised her eyebrows. "Lisa and I are both women. I'm sure she'll support me."
"I wouldn't be so sure!"
Zack told her a piece of gossip, "I heard Lisa and the old boss are abnormally close. Lisa has helped the Moran Group settle a lot of business disputes over the years. Now that the Morans and Co. Law Firm has changed hands, she'll very likely leave the law firm to become the Moran Group's legal advisor. If that happens… who knows, maybe you'll end up getting devoured alive by the Moran Group instead!"
"She won't do that!"
Joanna declared confidently.
Zack did not understand why Joanna felt so confident, but a confident woman was so charismatic!
"Actually… I received a text from Lisa last night. She'll be arriving in the City today. Why don't you meet up with her?"
Joanna's eyes instantly brightened. "Good idea!"
Since she learned that Lisa would arrive back at the City at eight o'clock that evening. Joanna had been very excited.
She had been waiting to meet Lisa for a long time.
As Zack said, when it came to handling corporate lawsuits, even on a global scale, Lisa was at least in the top five, perhaps
even top three.
Joanna happened to need Lisa's help in a lawsuit involving the change of management rights.
It would be no exaggeration to say that, if Joanna won this case, her children and her would have nothing to worry about financially for the rest of their lives….
That was why she asked for nothing but a tiny law firm during the divorce.
According to Zack, Lisa had been in abroad for the last six months, dealing with a family business inheritance case.
Coincidentally, it happened to be somewhat similar to Joanna's case.
Now, Lisa had finally returned after winning the case, and Joanna also saw the light of victory….
Of course, this was assuming that Lisa would help her like Zack did!
"Zack, I'm going to pick up Miss Lisa this evening. What flower does she like? I'll prepare a bouquet for her as a gift."
Joanna asked Zack excitedly. There was no longer any trace of unhappiness caused by Alice on her face.
"I seem to recall that she likes carnations, especially purple carnations."
Zack sighed and tried to persuade Joanna again. "Boss, I advise you to give up, Lisa's a tough nut to crack. You can win me over with just a couple of video game matches, but not her… The reason she's returning is most likely to terminate her contract with the Morans and Co. Law Firm. You're just gonna get rejected."
"Besides, even if she's willing to help you with that case, according to my analysis, the chances of winning are still very slim."
Zack was not trying to pour cold water on Joanna's enthusiasm to do business, but Joanna's plan was simply too ambitious. What she wanted to do was really hard to achieve.
"I have to try no matter how slim the chances are. Remember when I ran for president of the Electronic Technology Association before? None of you guys were optimistic about my chances either, but… I still managed to do it!"
Joanna felt proud saying that. At the same time, she became even more determined.
She would not give up easily on the decisions she had made!
"That's true!"
Zack looked at Joanna with even more admiration. "Our boss has unlimited potential! Go for it!"
Joanna was already waiting at the airport by six o'clock in the evening.
Holding a beautiful bouquet of fresh purple carnations in her hand, she stood at the most conspicuous spot at the exit, holding
a sign that said "Lisa". She looked full of sincerity, like a fangirl waiting for her idol at the airport.
After waiting for two hours, Lisa's flight finally landed.
A short–haired woman in khaki silk shirt, white suit pants, and black sunglasses walked out of the VIP lane with confident
steps.
Joanna had no doubt that this eye–catching woman was definitely the famous Lisa.
"Miss Lisa, Miss Lisa, over here!"
She waved her bouquet and shouted, paying no heed to the people around her.
The woman in sunglasses looked towards Joanna. She emanated coldness, and it was a coldness that was very familiar to
Joanna.
It was almost exactly like the coldness Ace exuded!
Were incredible people all ice cubes in nature?
If that was the case, Joanna wanted to melt them even more!
"I finally get to meet you, Miss Lisa! I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. This bouquet is for you!"
Joanna enthusiastically handed the flowers to Lisa.
"Joanna Pierce?"
The woman stopped and asked coldly.
"That's right. I'm your new boss."
Lisa pulled her sunglasses down a bit, looked Joanna up and down, and said disdainfully, "I hate carnations!"