Mr. Billionaire, I'm Back!

Chapter 52: Joanna speaks to Vivian About Sarah And Phoebe

At Devine HQ – Ever since Sarah and Susan's arrest, Joanna's workload had been getting bigger and bigger. This was because of Mike. He was anxious about what had happened, and he was taking it out on her. If it were possible, he wanted to drive her out of the company.

All the tough cases and business plans were given to Joanna to take care of, and Mike had determined that if she made a single mistake, no matter how small it was, it would cost her job. Joanna could see through him, though, and she was meticulous about everything she did, no matter how small it was. Thus, she made no mistakes, and it drove Mike crazy.

Everyone could see that Joanna was more than competent. She excelled at everything she did, and her past was quickly blotted out from her co-workers' memories. They no longer cared if she'd gotten into fights or had been arrested for doing drugs. Not only that, but some of them were beginning to see what the Devine family had been doing to her, and they didn't like what they saw. They wanted to know why none of them had helped Joanna after the accident, if they had it out for her, and if Sarah had been trying to frame her – which seemed to be the case.

***

Shortly after lunch, Joanna received a text message from Ben. It said, "Boss, I've found Vivian Smith's address."

Joanna: "Send it to me."

Ben sent the address, and when Joanna got off work, she went there. The address led her to a small ground floor apartment. Joanna went to the front door and rang the doorbell.

After a minute, Joanna heard footsteps approaching the door. There was a pause as Vivian looked through the peephole. When she saw the stranger standing at the door, she frowned and said, "Who is it?"

"Are you Vivian Smith?" Joanna smiled lightly.

Vivian: "Who wants to know?"

Joanna said her name, and when Vivian opened the door, she was startled by the other woman's beauty. She was absolutely gorgeous. "I've heard about you," Vivian said. "You're the one who Sarah set up. How can I help you?"

"How can you help me?" Joanna asked. "I'm here to help you. Hopefully, at least. If you invite me in, I will explain everything."

"By all means." Vivian opened the door to let Joanna in. "Please excuse the mess," she said. "I wasn't expecting company."

"It's fine," Joanna said. She smiled, walked into the room, and sat on the sofa in the living room.

Vivian took out a glass from the kitchen and poured her some water from a jug in the fridge. She put it on the coffee table in front of Joanna and said, "Make yourself at home, and let me know if you need anything else."

"Thank you," Joanna said politely. "But I'm sure I'll be fine."

Vivian sat across from Joanna. "What is this all about?" she asked. "Speak plainly."

"It's about your sister and what happened three years ago," Joanna said. "I hope that it doesn't hurt too much to bring up the past…"

Vivian looked extremely cold suddenly. "Speak plainly," she said again, "and just tell me what this is all about. Can you do that?"

"Of course," Joanna replied. She took a stack of photos from her bag and put them on the coffee table. The pictures depicted images of Phoebe being bullied by Sarah. These actions included Phoebe being teased, slapped, and forced to kneel. There was also a series of violently graphic photos depicting Phoebe being gang-raped.

Vivian's face turned red when she saw the pictures, and she ground her teeth together. She clenched and unclenched her fists in rage.

Phoebe and Vivian had grown up together as orphans, and they'd thought of each other as sisters. Phoebe was older, though, and she'd supported Vivian to the extent that she'd been able. The only reason she'd joined the entertainment industry was to pay for Vivian's tuition. Then, when Phoebe got popular, Sarah began to give her a hard time.

Even before seeing these photos, Vivian had hated Sarah's guts. Now, after having seen the images on the table, she wanted to kill the other woman. Vivian pointed to the pictures of Phoebe being raped. "Who are those men?" she growled.

"It is very likely that Sarah hired the men who did that to Phoebe," Joanna replied.

Tears began to flow from Vivian's eyes. "Why didn't she say something?" she cried. "After that day, she had to face Sarah every day. It's no wonder she fell into such a depression. If I were her, I probably would have killed myself too…

"We can't let Sarah get away with this. I hate her, and I want to kill her, but she is a member of one of the wealthiest families in town. She has all sorts of connections, and she is well protected. Compared to her, I am nothing." Vivian paused as a thought occurred to her. "But you wouldn't have brought these photos to my attention unless you thought there was something that we could do… Am I right?"

Joanna nodded. She smiled and said, "Now we're getting somewhere."

***

Sarah had been less than cooperative when she'd been arrested. Then she'd been downright nasty to the officers who had interrogated her and the psychiatrists who'd questioned her sanity. At the time, Sarah hadn't understood the system or her place in the general scheme of things. Furthermore, she'd been afraid. Thus, she'd lashed out. Things quickly turned around for her, though, when she got to the mental health facility.

Sarah spent the first seventy-two hours there in isolation, in a sterile padded room. During that time, she'd raged almost continuously, sleeping only in short bursts that lasted no longer than an hour or ninety minutes. She had been started on mood stabilizers as soon as she arrived at the hospital, though, and by the time her body was physically spent, she'd begun to see her situation in a new light. And she'd begun to concoct a plan to get out.

On the morning of the fourth day, Sarah had her first meeting with her psychiatrist, a kind woman named Dr. Piercy Elmers. After a brief introduction, Dr. Elmers explained the hospital rules, gave her a short tour, showed her to her room, and introduced her to the nurses and the other patients. Then she was permitted to do as she pleased – so long as she followed the rules and didn't try to escape, which would have been virtually impossible.

On the afternoon of the seventh day, Sarah attended her first group therapy, and that evening she saw Dr. Elmers for the second time. After only a short time, she had made significant progress.

It was easy for Sarah to be successful at the mental health facility. Although she did not believe that there was anything wrong with her, she was a good actor, and the role of the outgoing cooperative patient was not a hard one to master. After all, she'd pretended to be something other than she was all of her life.

Thus, after only a month of treatment, Sarah was allowed to go home.