CHAPTER 653: CHAPTER 653

"Umm... Is the person you’re talking about... that scumbag Ace?" Clara asked carefully.

Joanna smiled bitterly and answered, "Who else could it be?"

Clara frowned contemplatively, wondering if she should tell Joanna the truth. Ace was the most suspicious person in this accident because of his history with Quinton, Shirley’s statement, and connections. However, Clara didn’t have concrete evidence, so she couldn’t accuse Ace of it. Besides, it would only make matters worse by hinting at it; if both parties involved got into a fight again, they would all suffer great losses.

But... What if he did something bad again?

"Joan, you know how shrewd Ace is. I think you’d better not trust him too much..." Clara said finally, hoping Joanna would pick up on the hint.

"Yeah, I know. There are too many obstacles between us. Quinton’s accident is enough for us to be enemies forever, so I don’t want to have anything to do with him. I just want to thank him for helping with this surgery." Joanna glanced at the surgery room worriedly. Although she was exhausted, her mind was still alert.

There was no use thinking about the impossible or overstepping her boundaries. It was best to keep a distance from him; being able to see him was already enough for her.

"That’s not what I meant. I know you won’t get involved with him again. I just want to remind you to be on guard against him because he—"

"Alright, let’s not talk about him. The surgery will be over soon, so we need to be prepared," Joanna interrupted Clara abruptly.

"Okay, I’ll stop." Clara could not bear to continue when she noticed the sadness in Joanna’s eyes. Maybe Joanna knew what Clara meant, but she didn’t want to face it. For the sake of her friend’s sanity, Clara kept silent.

Soon the door of the surgery room opened, and Owen came out.

"Doctor Wagner, how was it? Was the surgery successful?"

Joanna hurried over to him, her eyes watery.

"Of course!" Owen took off his mask, a smug smile on his face. "I never fail. Even the god of death can’t defeat me."

"Oh, that’s great..." Joanna heaved a sigh of relief, and her legs wobbled.

Clara immediately rushed over to support Joanna and asked Owen, "Was it really successful? When will Quinton wake up?

"He’ll wake up after the anesthesia subsides, which should be at around seven or eight o’clock tonight," Owen checked his watch and said with all the confidence of a skilled neurosurgeon.

Clara narrowed her eyes at him. "Okay, but if he doesn’t wake up by then, it’s on you!"

Clara’s words were harsh, but she wasn’t trying to be rude. She just felt that this doctor was probably as bad as Ace since he was recommended by him.

"Lei, be nice to Dr. Wagner—he’s been operating on Quinton for days. If Quinton wakes up, Dr. Wagner will be my family’s great benefactor." Joanna bowed to Owen. "I’m sorry, Dr. Wagner, my bestie can be hot-headed at times. She only says these things because she cares about me, so please don’t take it to heart."

"It’s fine. We doctors are used to meeting difficult family members, so this is nothing." Owen shrugged indiffeJoantly and said meaningfully, "You should be thanking Master Moran. I didn’t intend to take this job, but he was so insistent that I couldn’t say no. He even went fishing with me and defeated me, so I was forced to accept the job."

Joanna averted her gaze. "I know you’re here because of him, so I’ll be sure to thank him properly."

"That’s right..." Owen patted Joanna’s shoulders and comforted her, "Be happy and stop overthinking. Things are never as bad as you think they are, and everything will surely work out in the end."

After that, he went to change out of his surgical gown. It was already four o’clock in the afternoon, and Quinton was supposed to wake up in four hours. Seeing how exhausted Joanna was, Clara suggested, "It’s still early. Why don’t we go grab a bite?"

"I’m not hungry. I just want to wait here until he wakes up; my mind won’t be at ease otherwise," Joanna murmured as she stared at the door of the operating room.

Clara pursed her lips unhappily. "But you’ll exhaust yourself if you keep this up. You’ll function better after some rest."

"I’m not tired, and I don’t need rest... You’re the one who needs rest after such a long journey," Joanna said to Clara with a smile. "I’ll be waiting here. Go ahead and eat first."

Clara finally decided to get takeout from a nearby restaurant, but she suddenly saw Justin walking over with lots of bags.

"Miss Blackwell, you’re here," Justin greeted Clara enthusiastically. "Good thing I bought a lot of food today. This should be enough for the three of us."

"Mr. Baldwin, you’re so considerate. I was worried that Joan would get hungry, so I was about to order takeout, but since you’ve already brought food, I’ll stay." Clara was very impressed with Justin. She knew he had been taking good care of Joanna; her best friend would probably have collapsed from exhaustion otherwise, given how stubborn she was.

That was what Joan needed, rather than a flashy and shallow man like Ace. Men like him would only tire people out.

"Phoenix, I heard the surgery went smoothly. You don’t have to worry now, so let’s go eat." Justin walked up to Joanna and smiled at her warmly.

Joanna looked at him gratefully. "Yeah, I can finally rest easy. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me." He was a rich, young heir but was forced to run around the city every day to buy her favorite foods and gifts to make her happy.

Ace had saved Quinton, but Justin had saved Joanna. Both of them were her family’s benefactors, and she was very touched by everything they had done. They went to the dining area of the hospital to eat, and it was at that time that a figure avoided the surveillance cameras and approached Quinton’s ward...