The next day.
Joanna headed for Skyline Villa in a casual beige suit. Her hair was tied into a neat horsetail. She looked young, like a fresh college graduate.
Skyline Villa was located in a primeval forest more than 50 kilometers away from the urban area of the City.
The place had dense vegetation, high level of oxygen concentration, natural hot springs, golf courses, and natural fishing grounds. It was the first choice holiday destination for many wealthy people.
Due to a bit of traffic on the road, Joanna arrived at Skyline Villa at exactly 10:01 am, she was a minute late.
Upon arriving there, she saw a group of people enthusiastically gathered around someone who was walking out of skyline Villa.
That person was Joe Brown , chairman of the Starlight Group and the person Joanna was going to meet.
Starlight Group was a powerful company with a strong background. It was one of the top investment companies in the City and a loyal partner of Moran Group for many years.
Moran Group's customer data leak this time resulted in a significant loss for the Starlight Group as well. Therefore, Starlight Group had terminated their contract with Moran Group and was currently seeking a new partner to cooperate with.
Joanna walked over with quick steps to stand in front of the group of tall, powerful men. The smile on her pretty face was perfect. She said confidently, "Hello, Mr.Joe , I'm Joanna Pierce. So happy to finally meet you. Can we speak privately?"
Although her figure was slender and delicate, her aura was not weak at all. With such a strong conviction in her voice, ordinary people would find it hard to refuse.
However, Joe Brown was no ordinary people.
Ever since the Starlight Group terminated their contract with Moran Group, he had been like a huge piece of juicy meat. Every day, there were countless people like Joanna who would come to him, wanting to "talk". He hardly ever paid attention to any of them.
"Joanna Pierce. I know you. The daughter of the Pierce family who has fallen on hard times and the dignified daughter-in-law of the Moran family…"
Joe looked Joanna over from top to bottom with complicated eyes, then smirked. "Looks like my good friend Ace is really desperate. He's even sending his wife to make me change my mind. He's ruthless."
Joanna thought that Joe must have misunderstood. She calmly explained, "Ace Moran is Ace Moran , and Joanna Pierce is Joanna Pierce. I came here today on behalf of Stellar Group. I have nothing to do with the Moran Group."
"That means you're the mysterious person that brat Liam has been pestering me to meet?"
Joe raised his eyebrows slightly. He was showing a bit more interest in Joanna now.
He vaguely remembered meeting this woman at a family party two years ago.
Back then, she was just a vase standing next to Ace Moran , pretty but useless. She was quiet, dignified and obedient, but Ace did not pay her much attention, so she did not leave much of an impression on Joe.
But now… she looked like a completely different person!
In the distance, a golf cart drove over from the Four Seasons Golf Course.
Joe told Joanna, "I'm curious about you, but you're late. I hate people who are late. You can go home now."
Joanna expected this.
She knew that Joe was difficult to handle. Otherwise, Liam would have gotten the deal done long ago and she would not have had to come personally.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for a minute, Mr. Joe. To express my apology, please accept this gift."
Joanna took out a brown paper bag from her handbag and handed it to Joe .
Everybody there looked on in disdain.
Who did she think Joe was? Plenty of people had given him all kinds of valuable gifts. There was no way he would think much of… whatever that was.
Joe's assistant immediately stopped Joanna and said coldly, "I'm sorry, Mr. Joe never accept gifts from others casually. Please be mindful of your actions."
But when Joe saw the words on the paper bag, his face abruptly changed. "That's…"
"Give it to me!"
Joe grabbed the brown paper bag and pulled out the documents inside, his fingers trembling slightly due to excitement.
It was a freshly-issued winning verdict for an appeal.
Except for Joanna, no one there knew how significant this verdict was to Joe .
After a long time, Joe finally turned his gaze away from the verdict.
He looked at Joanna. His shrewd eyes had a hint of barely noticeable wetness in them. He said, "Come with me!"
And so, as everyone watched on in disbelief, Joanna successfully obtained the opportunity to meet with Joe , the chairman of the Starlight Group, alone.
In the high-end luxury box, Joe was very emotional.
"The appeal is successful. Finally, the appeal is successful. Three years… I've waited way too long for this moment!"
He repeatedly read the contents of the verdict. Even now, he could still hardly believe it.
Joe's reaction reminded Joanna of her late father. She sighed. "Justice is always
present. I believe Miss Chase can definitely feel your fatherly love in heaven."
Joe suddenly stared at Joanna with vigilance and asked, "How did you know about this? And how did you manage to reopen a case that was already finalized?"
"Because I admire you and wish to become your most trusted partner, I spent some time trying to get to know you…"
Joanna's expression was calm as she said without any hesitation, "Everyone knows Joe has a beloved daughter called Jane , but very few people know that… in a remote northern city, you have another daughter called Nancy Chase."
"Miss Chase was two years older than Miss Brown. She was more outstanding than Miss Brown in appearance, conduct, and talent. However, as an illegitimate daughter, her destiny was very
different from Miss Brown's…"
Listening to Joanna's words, Joe was lost in memories. His stern face now contained a bit of softness and a bit of sadness too.
"Yes, Nancy was much more outstanding than Jane,. She's a lot more mature too. If it weren't because she was so considerate and was afraid it might affect me, she wouldn't have…"
Joe could not go on anymore. He had a very painful expression on his face.
Joanna silently looked at the man without saying anything.
No matter how unfairly Joe had treated his two daughters in the past, at least his regret now was real. His mourning was real too.
This was the heaviest love in the world
the love of a father for his dead daughter!
Joe took a deep breath to calm himself down. He put the verdict back into the paper bag and put it away carefully.
"To get a judge to revise a wrongful verdict from three years ago, it must have taken a lot of effort. It's a bit late, but my daughter's name is finally cleared…"
Joe looked at Joanna with appreciation and gratitude in his eyes. He went straight to.you want?" the point. "Your gift has gone straight to my heart. Tell me honestly… what do you want?"
Joanna smiled and took out the contract she had prepared along with a pen, then handed them to Joe "Mr. Joe , I told you I hope I can become your most trusted business partner. I also hope that in the next four years, Starlight Group can become our Stellar Group's largest investor and distributor."
"Your largest investor and distributor in the next four years?"
Joe was momentarily stunned. Then, he smiled and said, "Young woman, you have a tiny body but such a big appetite. In the entire City, does anyone except for Moran Group have the right to say something like that?"
"In four years, Stellar Group will be more qualified than Moran Group to say that," declared Joanna.
"Oh, really?"
Joe lifted his eyebrows slightly.
Those were arrogant words, but spoken by the young woman, it did not feel conceited.
"You're Ace's wife, yet you're speaking for Stellar Group. This is rather interesting."
Joanna decided to press the issue while she had the momentum. "So, what do you think, Mr. Joe? Would you take the gamble and cooperate with Stellar Group?" Suddenly, a girl's voice rose outside. "Get out of the way! Let me in!"