Joanna nodded and said, "I won't be going in today."
Clara was incredulous. She gripped Joanna and said, "You're gonna leave just like that? This house has a special meaning to you. It's gonna be turned into a garbage treatment plant! Don't you find it insulting? How can you stand it?"
Joanna took a deep breath and answered with a serious expression, "Of course I can't stand it, but there's no point arguing with a security guard. He's just doing his job."
'Then what are you gonna do?"
"Find the mastermind behind the scenes who's targeting this piece of land and make him give up."
'The mastermind behind the scenes?"
Clara was puzzled. 'Didn't the security guard say it's an order from the Municipal Planning Department? Then it's a government project. What mastermind behind the scenes are you talking about?"
"It may look like a government project on the surface, but it's definitely driven by a business organization. So, to solve this problem, we must deal with the business organization behind the scenes."
Joanna gave Clara a meaningful look.
She had a bad feeling about this.
Her instinct told her this mastermind behind the scenes would not be easy to deal with, and they're specifically targeting her!
Joanna and Clara returned to the apartment.
Clara then went out on a date with her new boyfriend, so Joanna was left alone at home.
She took out her computer and keyed in relevant information about the area where the Pierce Residence was located. She started a thorough investigation.
The area was included in the Municipal Planning Department's expropriation scope six months ago.
That was because a lot of incidents happened in the area, such as the suicide of Joanna's parents, the houses being haunted, and a fire.
After the Pierce Residence was burned down, the couple who set fire to the house both hanged themselves in front of the Pierce Residence.
It was the couple whose daughter mysteriously died in the club ran by Ethan, and who lost the court case afterward due to Zack's help.
Therefore, there were a lot of horror stories about the place. Those living nearby had all moved away, leaving the area abandoned for many years.
Half a year ago, the municipal government announced the plan to build a large garbage treatment plant in the city. They gathered public opinion on where it should be built and this area obtained the highest number of votes, so it was expropriated.
On the surface, everything seemed reasonable. If Joanna did not agree to the expropriation, she would be going against the people's will. In the end, not only would she fail to keep the Pierce Residence, she would also receive a lot of criticism.
But in reality, everything was driven by money.
The mastermind behind everything was Rubio Pascal from the Pascal family.
The Pascal family was one of the eight major families of the City. The family was very secretive, so outsiders had no idea how powerful they were exactly.
They had only heard rumors that Rubio Pascal was a pervert. He was a man in his forties. Every month, he would seek out young women and use them to replenish his youth so that he would stay young and healthy.
Joanna did not understand. There were no grudges between her and this Pascal guy. They had not even crossed paths before. Why would he come up with this elaborate plan to mess with her?
However, no matter who it was and what their purpose was, she would not allow anyone to touch the Pierce Residence!
Joanna easily found Rubio Pascal's private phone number and was about to have a good chat with him when her cousin, Mandy, suddenly called her, sounding very excited.
"Joan, why aren't you here yet? The top donor is already here. Oh my god, he's so handsome that I'm getting a nosebleed. Get over here!"
"Really?"
Joanna's interest was piqued.
When she investigated Rubio Pascal just now, she also checked the physical location of the top donor's IP address in passing. The location was in the Moran Group. It was obvious who was behind the account.
Joanna did not expect Ace, who was usually so proud and arrogant, to simp so hard in order to meet her. It completely shattered his ruthless and cold persona.
She could not wait to laugh at him.
'Tell him to wait for a while. I'll be right there."
Joanna got up, turned off the computer, took a long, comfortable stretch, and went to the Red House Restaurant.
"Joan, over here!"
Mandy was at the restaurant entrance, waving at Joanna from afar.
She managed to achieve financial freedom from one single live stream, so she decided to splurge this time and booked the entire Red House Restaurant for an evening. It could not have been cheap because it was one of the top restaurants in the City.
Joanna parked her car and got out.
Today, her curly hair was casually moved to one side and pinned down by a delicate diamond hairpin. She wore a Klein blue chiffon top paired with a pair of white wide leg pants and a pair of silver high heels. She looked tall and confident, exuding endless charm.
"Wow, Joan, you look so beautiful today. I thought I'm seeing a Victoria's Secret model! You're such an eye-candy!"
Mandy did not even dare get close to Joanna due to the powerful aura Joanna was exuding.
"Haha, you brat, you're such a smooth talker."
Joanna grabbed Mandy's arm and asked, "How long has Ace Moran been here? Do you think there's any conspiracy behind his actions?"
"Mr. Moran?"
Mandy looked puzzled and shook her head, saying, "The person who came is not Mr. Moran."
"It's not him?"
'Yup, it's not him. It's a guy who's every bit as handsome as Mr. Moran, and he's a lot more approachable. However… he feels a bit wild and unruly, so he doesn't feel very reliable."
Mandy gave her serious evaluation.
At her age, she had no resistance to good-looking guys.
Among the handsome guys who caught her eye so far, Ace was ranked first, and he had always been first. That had never changed.
That was, until she saw the handsome guy today. She started to waver.
However, Mandy remained rational. She rubbed her chin and carefully analyzed, "I think this guy would make a fun boyfriend, but if we're talking about marriage, Mr. Moran is much more reliable!"
'If you put as much effort into studying as you do analyzing men, your father would be ecstatic."
Joanna chuckled and pinched Mandy's chubby face.
After finding out that the person who came was not Ace, her mood was not affected much, but she was even more curious who it was.
The reason why the Red House Restaurant was famous was because it was located at the highest point of the City, at the top of the 336 TV Tower. One had to ride in an elevator for 15 minutes to reach the restaurant that was 520 meters above the ground.
Due to its height of 520 meters, it was also known as the "Tower of True Love". According to legends, only a man and a woman who truly loved each other and understood each other would run into each other here.
The two girls stepped into the panoramic elevator that had a 360 degree transparent glass design. They could get a nice view of the entire city from the elevator.
"Joan, do you know that this place is called the Tower of True Love? If you miss someone really, really badly, you'll definitely run into them here. Isn't it romantic?"