Upon hearing that, Joanna's face instantly changed. She questioned him. "So it's you… what have you done to Nancy?"
"You should ask your nanny what she did instead."
Ace's expression was still extremely dark. He said coldly to the emotional Joanna, "Your nanny tried to force Alice to get an abortion. Are you gonna tell me you know nothing about it?"
He paused for a moment and continued, "Let's each take a step back. I'll let Nancy go, and you let Alice go."
Ace felt he was being generous enough to Joanna.
Alice's child was his brother's only descendant in the world. If it had been someone else doing what Nancy had done. Ace would have made sure that person disappeared without a trace!
"Impossible!"
Joanna shook her head and said firmly. "I know Nancy very well. She wouldn't do such a thing!"
"As for me… although I can't wait to see Alice go to prison. I never thought of harming her child. Even if a pregnant woman is found guilty, she won't be put into prison immediately. She'll only serve her sentence after she gives birth and get past the breastfeeding period. The child won't be harmed."
Joanna herself was a mother. There was no way she would be cruel enough to hurt the baby.
Her words made Ace's cold face relax slightly.
He knew Joanna was not as vicious as she claimed. She was just trying to make him mad.
"I believe you and I believe your nanny, so let's put an end to this matter."
Ace once again stated his terms. "You withdraw the charges, and your nanny will regain freedom."
Joanna's expression was one of overwhelming disappointment. She could not help but sneer at the man and said, "How generous of you, Ace. You make it sound like you're such a big man for letting us off the hook!"
"Since you believe that my nanny and I are innocent, why don't you just let her go? Why do I have to withdraw the charges in
exchange?"
"Stop being so stubborn!"
Ace felt that his patience was about to run out.
How did he not realize before how difficult this woman was to handle? She simply would not listen. He did not know how to
deal with her!
"There's nothing that I. Joanna Pierce, hate more than being threatened, yet you're actually threatening me for a bitch like that? Now you've made me really mad!"
Joanna clenched her fists, glared at the man, and spat out some harsh words. "I'll see you in court. Let's see what the judge
decides!"
Once again, the two parted ways unhappily.
After Joanna had calmed down a bit, she called Zackl.
After listening to Joanna's story. Zack said confidently. "Don't worry, boss, I'll take care of this. I promise I'll find a way to get Nancy out, but… I need to see her first to ask for the specifics."
Therefore, half an hour later. Joanna and Zack met at the detention center where Nancy was being kept in.
The prison guard led them to Nancy's cell and said impatiently, "You have ten minutes."
Nancy was in her fifties, about to turn sixty. She was squatting helplessly in a corner, looking particularly feeble.
"Nancy, how are you doing?"
Joanna came to the metal door and cried out through the gap in the metal bars.
Nancy looked up with a jolt and ran over with a worried face. She grasped the metal bars and told Joanna. "What are you. doing here, Miss Joan? The environment and the ventilation here is bad. You need to go back now!"
"Don't worry about me, Nancy. We don't have much time. You have to tell me and Zack everything that happened in ten
minutes."
"But…"
Nancy hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she decided to tell Joanna the whole story.
"So you really did make abortion medicine for Alice?"
Joanna could not believe that Nancy would do such a thing. She asked again just to confirm.
"I did. I hoped that you and Mr. Moran could get back together, in which case, the child could not exist."
Nancy closed her eyes and put on a brave face like she was prepared to die. "As long as you can find happiness. I'm willing
to sacrifice this old life, let alone go to prison!"
"Nancy, oh Nancy, you've made a terrible mistake!"
Joanna's brows furrowed with anxiety, but she could not find it in herself to yell at Nancy.
Zack pushed his glasses up his nose and said with confidence. "The situation's not that bad. There's still a chance we can
win. Leave it to me. It's not a big problem."
Zack's words made Alice heave a sigh of relief.
If any other lawyer said that, they may be bragging or bluffing to earn legal fees, but if Zack said so, he definitely had a way to
win!
"How soon can we get Nancy out? Can we apply for bail?"
Joanna looked at Zack anxiously.
"Judging by the nature of the case, no. We must be patient…"
Zack asked Joanna with raised eyebrows. "Do you want to extend Alice's sentence by three to five more years?"
"I'm not in the mood to mess with her. Right now, I just want to get Nancy out!"
"If you do as I say, not only will Nancy be safe and sound, Alice will also be finished!"
Zack snapped his fingers, as if everything was under control.
Joanna and Zack walked out of the detention center.
Joanna could hardly wait to ask Zack, "You said that there's a way to clear Nancy's name and also give Alice a heavier punishment? What exactly do I have to do?"
"It's actually quite simple."
Zack said, "If Nancy isn't lying, then her subjective motivation to harm Alice Alice cannot be established, and it naturally wouldn't constitute a criminal offense. In that case, she can even sue Alice for defamation."
"If Nancy is in a bad health condition during this period, and it so happens that Alice's slander causes her emotional trauma, then Alice can also be charged with a criminal offense. Under the criminal law, the penalty for emotional trauma is no less severe than physical trauma."
Joanna listened very attentively to every word he said. She instantly asked, "So, as long as I can find a way to prove that Nancy didn't lie, or that Alice lied, we can win the case?"
"Correct!"
Zack continued, "My suggestion is to find evidence that Alice lied, so as to counter sue her for defamation. Although there are those two police officers as witnesses, from a legal perspective, witnesses contain subjectivity and carry less weight than physical evidence. If you can obtain physical evidence, we can definitely win the case!"
"That's easy. I know what to do."
After hearing that, Joanna could not help but give Zack a thumbs up. "As expected of Zack. What a brilliant move!"
She was now really glad she asked for nothing but the Morans & Co. Law Firm when she divorced Ace.
With the law firm's Big Three helping her, she would be able to overcome any obstacles, be in in the administrative, civil and commercial, or criminal field!
The next day.
Joanna arrived at the hospital where Alice was kept in early in the morning.
As usual, there were two police officers guarding her ward.
Alice felt like she was about to regain freedom, so she was humming happily, and so loudly that she could be heard in the hallway.
"Someone seems to be in a good mood."
Joanna's leaned against the door of the ward with folded arms and asked with a weird smile on her face.
Alice was sitting in front of the dressing mirror, putting on makeup on her eyes. When she suddenly saw Joanna in the mirror. she reacted like she had just seen a ghost. Her expression changed sharply as she turned around and asked, "It's you! How did you get in here?"
"Why do you look so scared? We're good friends. Isn't it normal for me to visit you?"
"Stop pretending!"
Alice got into combat mode and glared at Joanna as if Joanna was a ferocious wild beast. She snapped. "We're mortal enemies. One of us will definitely die in the hands of the other. Why are you here?"
"C'mon, it's not that serious. You're Ace's new love and I'm his ex–wife. In ancient times, we would be considered sisters. There's no need to fight all the time! Where's the love?"
Joanna smiled and said sarcastically.
"Hah, love?"
Seeing Joanna being so polite, Alice guessed that Joanna must have come to beg her to withdraw the charges. She said arrogantly. "Now you want to talk about love? Why didn't you talk about love when you mercilessly had me arrested the other day?"
"Are you worried that your horrible nanny might die in the detention center because she's too old, so you've come to beg me
for mercy?"
Joanna smiled and said, "That's not it. I just came out of kindness to inform you that I've found the evidence to prove my nanny's innocence. Your charges now include not only burglary, but also defamation. The result of my nanny's psychological evaluation is out. She has level 3 emotional trauma. If you're found guilty for all the charges, you'll be in jail for at least 5 years!"
"Wh–What?"
Alice's face suddenly turned pale. She stepped back and said, "You're trying to scare me, aren't you? There's no way you have evidence to prove your nanny's innocence. The only ones present at the time were the police officers, and they heard your nanny threatening me with their own ears!"
"You have witnesses while I have physical evidence. From a legal perspective, physical evidence carries much more weight than witnesses."
Joanna seemed very confident.
Alice's face turned even paler. She gulped and asked. "What… what physical evidence?"