Mr. Billionaire, I'm Back!

Chapter 36: A Rebellious Girl

Olivia had been stabbed in the stomach. Her face was swollen, and there were scrapes and bruises all over her body. She looked at Joanna, smiled, and said, "Joanna... I knew that you'd come." And then she passed out.

Joanna began to panic. She ran over to her friend and embraced her. Then she turned to the closest officer and shouted, "Where's the ambulance?"

"It should be here any minute," the officer replied. "Don't worry. Your friend will be fine. I promise."

Joanna barely heard the officer's words. She ran her hands through Olivia's hair and touched her cheeks lightly with the tips of her fingers. "Olivia," she cried. "Come back to me!"

Olivia's eyes twitched and opened slightly.

"What happened?" Joanna whispered. "Can you tell me?"

Olivia hurt all over, and when she spoke, Joanna could barely make out her words. "When I got out of the fitting room," she moaned, "I saw Susan's men... Susan did this to me."

Joanna took Olivia's hand and held it tightly. She said, "Shh, Olivia, we'll talk about this later, okay? The ambulance is here now. Don't talk..."

Olivia smiled, nodded slightly, and held Joanna's hand with all the strength she could muster.

The EMS guys rushed into the room. They helped Olivia onto a stretcher and wheeled her out to the waiting ambulance. Joanna was allowed to ride with her, and when they arrived at the hospital, Olivia was taken to the Operating Room, and she took a seat in the Waiting Room.

Joanna seethed as she sat. Susan's name repeated itself and echoed through her mind, and it seemed like an eternity before she heard any news regarding her injured friend. And all she could think about was how she would get back at her Stepmother for what she'd done.

Olivia was more than a friend to Joanna. She had treated her better than any of her family members ever had, and other than her deceased Grandfather, she was the only person that Joanna fully trusted. If Olivia died, she would be alone. She would have no one.

Eventually, a doctor came out to meet her. "Sir, how is she?" Joanna asked.

"She was cut up pretty bad," the doctor admitted. "Fortunately, her organs were not seriously injured. The operation was very successful, and she is out of danger."

When Joanna heard that Olivia was no longer in danger, she started bowing to the doctor over and over again. There were tears in her eyes, and she said, "Thank you so much!"

The doctor smiled and said, "We will be transferring her to a Recover Room within the hour, and you can visit her when she wakes up."

"How long before she wakes up?" Joanna asked.

"It will be at least a few hours," the doctor replied. "It takes a while for the drugs to wear off."

***

Joanna had several bodyguards placed outside the Operating Room, and they would follow Olivia to the Waiting Room when it came time for her to be transferred. Once Joanna was sure that her friend was safe, she left the hospital and went straight to her Father's home. When she arrived, she barged into the house and made a beeline for Susan, who was relaxing in the living room.

Susan stood up as soon as she saw Joanna. She smiled and said, "My, oh my. Look what the cat dragged in."

"Are you serious?" Joanna shouted as she stepped forward, and then she slapped her Stepmother across the face. The sound of the strike turned Susan's head violently, and the sound of the strike was so loud that it echoed throughout the villa. Susan brought her hand to her face, and as she turned to face forward, Joanna pinched her chin and said, "Susan Brown, what makes you think that you can hurt Olivia and get away with it?"

Susan was terrified. She had no idea how Joanna knew that she was the one who'd set up Olivia. Now that the cat was out of the bag, though, she feared for her life. "Joanna," she cried. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Bullshit!" Joanna hissed.

Susan began to blubber as tears streamed down her face, and snot ran from her nose and into her mouth. "Joanna," she wailed. "Whatever you think I did, I didn't do. You must believe me. I'm just a housewife. I'm the last person in the world who would hurt anyone!"

"Tell the truth and shame the devil!" Joanna roared. She raised her hand to strike her Stepmother again, but before she could follow through, her Father grabbed her wrist. She had been so focused on Susan that she hadn't noticed him coming down the stairs behind her.

Robin twisted Joanna's arm, forcing her to look at him. "What the hell is going on?" he growled. He looked as angry as she'd ever seen him, and she thought she saw a flicker of insanity in his eyes. The expression on his face reminded her of one that she'd seen on Charles Manson in his 1975 interview with Barbara Walters, right before he started to talk crazy.

Even Susan seemed frightened, and Joanna was startled when she said, "It's n-nothing, d-dear. We were j-just t-talking." She turned to Joanna. "W-weren't we?"

Robin didn't buy it, and before Joanna could reply, he twisted her arm a little further. "Why did you hurt my wife?" His tone was even and controlled, but there was a rage behind his voice that could clearly be heard.

Suddenly Joanna's ire rose as she remembered why she'd come here. She thought of Olivia lying unconscious at the hospital and said, "Why shouldn't I hurt her? She is evil, and she deserves to be hurt."

Robin was taken aback by the strength of Joanna's convictions. "How dare you talk to your mother like that?" he shouted.

Joanna laughed scornfully and said, "I would never talk to my mother like that. I will, however, talk to your b***h of a wife any damn way I please!"

Susan tried to intervene. She placed a hand on her husband's shoulder and said, "Careful, honey. You know that it is bad for your health to get riled up like this. Don't let this little s**t get under your skin. As you know, my daughter has always been a rebellious girl."

Joanna glared at Susan and said, "Oh, f**k off! I am not even Robin's daughter, let alone yours."

Susan's brows furrowed. "What are you even talking about?" she asked. "Why are you so angry at your father?"

"Don't play dumb," Joanna replied. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. This man may have provided the sperm that made up my DNA, but he's never been a Father to me. Not only that, but he caused my mother to commit suicide."

"And how did he do that?" Susan scoffed.

"He cheated on my mother almost immediately after their marriage," Joanna replied, "and that was the catalyst for her clinical depression. But why am I even bringing this up? This is all stuff that you already know, and you are equally at fault!" she turned to Robin and scowled. "You don't even feel guilty, do you?"

There was an awkward silence between them that seemed to drag on for a long time, and when Robin finally spoke, it was apparent that he was no longer angry. Not only was he not angry, but he sounded exhausted, as if all of his health problems had finally caught up with him, and even talking was laborious. "That was a long time ago." He sighed and said, "and you misremember how things happened. I know that you are angry. I accept that, and I understand that you no longer recognize me as your Farther, but what I cannot allow is for you to storm into my home and disrupt my life like this.

"Joanna, if you treat my wife or me like this again, I will have you officially dismissed from Devine's."