Chapter 1 - Open the damn door

"If you walk out that door, you are fired," barked Mr. Jones Troy, Joanna's boss in the office.

Joanna, who had almost reached the door, stopped in her tracks. Spinning around, she pushed strands of hair behind her ears with a grim expression, but her voice was soft.

"I just asked for permission to see my mother at the hospital. If it's too much to ask, then deduct it from my salary. All I need is a few hours."

A smirk lined the corner of Mr. Troy's lips. His gaze suddenly lowered as he unzipped his pants. "And I asked you to do one thing." Lust shimmered in his eyes, and Joanna was disgusted. Her gaze darkened, her anger soaring, preventing her from filtering her words.

"You are so shameless. I will report you to HR for sexual harassment."

"Hahahaha," Mr. Troy laughed. "What proof do you have?" He ridiculed her, rising to his feet, unfazed but annoyed that she was the first girl to refuse him.

Slowly, he walked over to her, but since he was shorter, he could only glare at her from below. "It will be your words against mine, and of course, no one will believe a poor girl like you over a CEO like me."

He had always gotten away with this, so sure, there was nothing Joanna could do to him. Most of the employees had equally fallen victim to his cunning ways.

"Be careful, Mr. Troy, don't underestimate every woman. I will go and see my mom." Worry laced her voice at the mention of her mother. The woman was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor but usually never informed Joanna anytime she ran out of medication.

 For her to be rushed to the hospital meant that her condition had worsened.

Before her hand reached the doorknob, her boss quickly rushed past her and locked the door. Joanna fumed.

"Open the damn door."

"Or what?" He swirled the key around his forefinger and asked indifferently. He wasn't going to let her go until he had that satisfaction. "I gave you a simple task. It would bring you a good promotion too."

With time running out, Joanna couldn't waste the little she had left. Red liquid splashed on the floor at a smashing sound, accompanied by broken pieces of glass.

Mr. Troy's eyes were as red as the liquid on the floor. "That is Chateau Lafite 1787 you just broke. Even your annual salary will not be able to pay for it." Anger laced his voice as he thought about how to make her pay but was encased with fear at her response.

"You are concerned about the content, but I'm more concerned about the broken piece in my hand. Open the door or I will attack you with it," she threatened in a calm tone.

Joanna never knew how to yell. Inheriting her mother's calm temperament, no one would notice when she was even upset.

"Mad woman. Get out of my office and don't ever show yourself again. You are fired!" Mr. Troy raged. He opened the door, pushed her out before banging it after her.

"What a crazy woman. She would have enjoyed it and also gotten a promotion, but she decided to act tough." His teeth gritted as he thought about what to do next. Just then, a knock was heard on the door.

"Come in."

One of his staff entered with cleaning equipment. "Sir, the janitor is off duty. I will clean up the mess."

Mr. Troy's attention was drawn back to the expensive wine gifted to him. He wanted to gift it to his wife on her birthday, keeping it in the office until then. Who knew that the crazy woman would destroy it?

Tears stung in the corner of his eyes as he picked up the intercom and spoke to the HR Manager. "Joanna Baker is fired for gross misconduct. She is never to step foot in any of our offices again."

The woman cleaning up the mess had an evil smirk on her face as she bent and retrieved a hidden device, hiding it among the cleaning equipment before scurrying out of the office.

Joanna reached the hospital panting, rushing to the emergency ward. "How is she?" she asked her mother's caretaker.

"Not…" The caretaker was about to give the exact update about the situation when her mother's warm voice countered,

"I'm fine Joanna, the doctor is just about to transfer me to a normal ward."

"What is the issue then?" Joanna folded her arms, not believing her mother. Her caretaker had texted her a few times, informing Joanna about how her mother threw her medicines in the trash because she felt she was being a burden and wanted to die.

"I told you that she needs surgery. The tumor has enlarged and if we don't get this done in a week, she will die," the doctor walked into the emergency room while speaking.

Joanna's mother, Monica, swallowed tightly, guilt welling up in her heart when she saw the pained look in Joanna's eyes.

"I don't want to undergo surgery. I'd rather die." She didn't want to die but felt like she was just a burden for her daughter. The atmosphere tensed as the doctor walked out.

"I will excuse you two."

"Thank you doctor," Joanna acknowledged behind him, leaving her with her mother and her caretaker. Unexpectedly, she wrapped her arms around her mother, and the tears she held on for so long began to flow freely.

"Mom, why do you want to leave me?" She sobbed in the crook of her mother's neck. They were so close, more like best friends. Pain slashed through her mother's heart.

"Joanna, I'm just a liability. My hospital bills are a lot, and now surgery? Please, just let me die. Don't waste any more money on this brain tumor before you become impoverished."

Joanna stiffened slightly. Her job was already lost for now and her savings would also not be enough to pay for the surgery, so she had to come up with something quickly.

Logan, her boyfriend's name flashed in her mind but she shook her head. Their relationship was too young and they never even had a deep kiss. She might just be deemed a gold digger. Logan was not broke but neither was he rich to the level of her knowledge of him.

"No. I will go to Cole. He has to give us some money. He just can't turn his back on us."

Cole was Joanna's father, but he never took interest in her because she was born out of wedlock. Joanna never called him dad because he never played that role in her life. It was always her and her mother all the time.

"Please don't," Monica refused, pulling away, as she stared at Joanna with a sullen look, but Joanna wasn't taking it anymore.

Her father, his wife, and daughter were very snobbish towards her, but Joanna was ready to lower her guard this time, just to get the money.

Also, the company she just got fired from was a subsidiary of her father's company, but he also supported Mr. Troy, not believing that the man would ever harass any woman sexually.

"I will."

Joanna was determined. She never got anything from her father for free, but this time, she needed free money for her mother's surgery.

Monica knew that Joanna would not relent. Sighing, she revealed, "If you must, then tell him to hand over my shares to you."

Joanna was shocked, gawking at her mother. "You have shares in his company?" It was unbelievable because her mother never mentioned it. Monica's eyes filled with remorse and pain, but her tone was soft and calm.

Her façade always made it impossible for anyone to discern that she wasn't well. "It was a long time ago when we were dating."

Joanna still felt like she was being fed half a loaf instead of the full loaf she purchased. "Why did you invest in his company when you were just a mistress?"

Monica smiled bitterly, but the past was in the past, and she saw no reason to dig it out anymore.

"Joanna, some things are better left unsaid. Those shares are worth millions. If there is anything to fight for, then that should be it."

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Joanna was confused, thinking about if her mother still hid more things from her.

"That's because I wanted to let it go, but I can't watch you suffer while your stepsister takes everything. Also, there are some fictitious clauses. At first, I was doing it to protect you, but suddenly lost interest."

Joanna gave her a stern look. "I want to know the details of your, and his, relationship when I get back, and please do not try to lie to me again." Joanna rose up and spun around after saying those words.

Arriving at the Bakers mansion and knowing she won't be let in without her father's consent, she waited until one of the servants was coming out, taking advantage and running into the house with the security behind her, but she shut the main door as soon as she entered the mansion.

Slap!

As soon as she turned around to breathe after escaping the security, her face burned from a slap.