The moment Joanna returned to her apartment, she immediately pulled out her laptop. With just a few clicks, she disabled the virus planted in the Moran Group system, allowing it to return to normal.
The negative remarks on the internet soon came to a half, and Moran Group's stock price slowly regained stability.
"Boss, what are you doing? We're just getting started, why did you disable the virus all of a sudden?" Liam sounded agitated over the phone. He called as soon as he caught wind that Moran group was recovering,
"Didn't you say you'd focus on your career now? And that you'd be targeting Moran Group? Don't tell me you've started to feel bad for Ace. Do you still like him or something?"
For the past few days, the malware in Moran Group's system resulted in a massive leak of their client's information. A few of their partners ended their contracts with Moran Group out of anger and turned to work with a new company instead.
On the surface, this company was run by Liam, but it was in fact Joanna's. It was already starting to take shape within the industry as well.
No doubt, his one and only goddess had decided to show mercy to the bastard Ace.
'Why else would she stop the operation when she could gain more?' he thought.
Joanna swirled her coffee mug, stared out the window, and replied dismissively, "I've already got what I wanted, there's just no reason to continue to attack."
"Just say you feel bad! You don't have to act tough!" Liam sighed pitifully." It's only normal that you haven't moved on from a man you've loved for three years."
Joanna fell silent. She was indeed not a stone-hearted person. The fact that Ace got hurt while protecting her earlier made her feel bad.
"You can feel bad, but don't forget the pain he inflicted on you. Remember this, okay? Men suck! The better you treat him, the worse he'd hurt you in return."
"You may have let him off easy today, but… he might not do the same for you." 1
Liam sounded quite rational, pausing for a brief moment before saying, "I heard that man has placed a $80 million bounty on your head. Countless professionals are out for you. Even 'Vernom', who has retired for years, announced his participation in the witch-hunt!"
"What do you think Ace Moran would do to you when he finds out you're ' Cyber Queen'? You know how he holds even the smallest grudges!"
"Oh really now? Vernom is interested in joining the search too?" Joanna asked calmly.
She took a sip of her coffee and raised an eyebrow. "Let's see how this goes then!" 1
After her call with Liam ended, Joanna caressed her stomach, whispering." Don't worry, my darlings. I swear I'll get enough money to raise the two of you before you even arrive in this world!"
Joanna had been waiting for Ace to mail the divorce papers back to her. The sooner he signed those papers, the sooner she'd gain ownership of Morans & Co. Law Firm.
Some of her plans could only be set in motion after she had achieved that. However, it's been half a week, and she had yet to receive anything in the mailbox.
Since they were both in the same city, it should take less than a day for any mail to arrive. It became clear that Ace didn't care about the divorce papers. For all she knew, he could've even thrown it into the trash.
Time didn't wait for anyone, and Joanna could tell that her baby bump was growing day by day. She simply didn't want to just sit there and do nothing.
With that, she called for a cab and headed straight for the Moran Group headquarters.
"Welcome, Mrs. Moran!" The employees had no idea that the two were divorcing, and proceeded to greet her warmly as usual.
"Good morning," Joanna replied with an awkward smile.
Back when she was head-over-heels for Ace, she would occasionally bring him lunch or a cup of homemade coffee. That explained why the staff recognized her immediately.
However, she had always done this in secret. In order to keep the other employees from gossiping about their relationship, she would bring along extras for them as well, so everyone was rather fond of her.
Within minutes, Joanna reached Ace's office without much hindrance.
"Mrs. Moran, why did you come all of a sudden?" asked the secretary nervously.
From her memory, Joanna would always leave her gifts at the reception counter, and she refused to visit his office for some unknown reason.
'Why is she here now? Did something happen?' the secretary wondered.
"I'm just here to see Ace Moran, is he inside?" Joanna glanced at the office door.
This made the secretary even more uncomfortable, which resulted in her stuttering awkwardly. "He is… but… uhm… It might not be… a good time to visit."
Joanna directed a reassuring smile at the secretary.
"Don't worry, I'll be able to handle it"
After that, she lifted her chin and strode confidently into Ace's office. Just as she expected, she found the little mistress, Alice , in there.
The woman was sobbing in Ace's arms but quickly moved away as soon as she saw Joanna enter the office as if she had been caught red-handed doing something bad. i
"Miss Pierce, please don't misunderstand, we were just…"
"Save it." Joanna put up her hand. Turning to Ace, she said, "Sorry for interrupting your date, Mr. Moran, but I'm here for the divorce settlement. I'll leave once I've obtained your signature."
Ace rested his arms on his desk and without a hint of emotion on his face, he responded, "Oh that… do you really need it in such a hurry?"
'What the hell is he saying?' Joanna thought as she suppressed the urge to beat him up. Through gritted teeth, she growled, "What do you think?!"
'There's still twenty days till we are legally divorced. I think it's fine to wait it out." Ace said with a deadpan expression.
Joanna clenched her fists tightly. Never in her life has she felt the urge to punch him more.
'Did that thug really hit him that hard in the head?!'
'So he's not in a hurry to settle things now? He was the one who handed me divorce papers, and kicked me out on the same night! All this, just so his mistress could move in with him!'
"Mr. Moran, are you trying to be funny here? Is this a joke?" Joanna asked as she pointed to Alice's belly.
"Take a look at her belly. It looks like it's gonna explode any minute now! You may not be in a hurry, but she is, and the baby is too. For their sake, you should just sign it now."
Ace chuckled coldly and replied sarcastically. "I never realized how considerate my future ex-wife is. Why should I be in a rush to let go of someone amazing like you?"
Hearing this, both Joanna and Alice started to panic.
"What the hell do you even want, Ace Moran?" yelled Joanna, whose patience had finally run out.
'He wanted a divorce, but now he's refusing to sign the papers? Why is he the one making decisions here? Does he think he's some kind of god?'
Does he think he makes the rules?'
Alice chimed in too. "Ace, I might not be in a hurry to marry you, but look at how panicked Miss Pierce seems. I'm guessing she has a new boyfriend… Why don't you sign those papers now? Let her go sooner, so both she and her boyfriend feel reassured."
Suddenly, the atmosphere became extremely cold, as if they had teleported to the North Pole. Ace pressed his lips together, clearly displeased.
Joanna initially wanted to respond to the accusation, but she figured that it was a convenient reason to convince Ace to sign the papers anyway. Hence, she kept quiet, pretending as if she was guilty of such a thing.
Alice took a cautious gulp and continued. "Since you don't have a relationship to begin with. Isn't it better to let each other go, so that you two can pursue the love you both deserve?"
"Exactly!" Joanna agreed.
Although it hurt to hear Alice say that, this was the truth, and she simply couldn't bring herself to disagree. Ace didn't love her, not in the slightest, which was why she didn't understand why he was being so difficult.
'Is he trying to toy with me now?'
"Leave for now," Ace said coldly.
Upon hearing this, Alice turned to Joanna with an almost unnoticeable smirk on her face. "Yeah, you should leave for now, Miss Pierce. You know how Ace is, I'll convince him for you, okay?"
To their surprise, Ace spoke up, "Alice, I'm asking you to leave."
"Oh…" Alice stammered as her face turned bright red.
"Have a good talk then, I'll be off now."
Ace and Joanna were now the only ones left in the large room.
The man rose from his seat and made his way toward Joanna slowly and steadily.
Joanna was alarmed by his actions.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
Ace trapped her in between him and his desk, growling. "So tell me. Are you really in such a hurry to have me sign these papers because you have someone new?"