After all, Joanna had never really had a direct confrontation with Janice, so Eric still held some hope that Joanna wouldn't be as stubborn as Dylan. After all, Janice was her own flesh and blood. Although Janice had given up on Dylan, she hadn't completely lost hope on Joanna. Janice nodded. “I want to go back and see Mom's attitude. If she still doesn't approve of me, I don't want to put you in a difficult position, Dad. In the future, I plan to live in the Quirk estate. Grandpa has already agreed to it.” Despite his stoic nature, Eric's eyes instantly welled up with tears. Yet, he didn't bother to justify himself to others. Although Eric loved Joanna, he also cherished Janice. If Joanna truly refused to change her ways, he wouldn't hesitate to divorce her. From then on, Dylan would stay with his wife while Eric would personally take care of Janice. Recalling the initial arguments when he first returned home, there were moments when he would zone out. Was he truly in love with such an unreasonable wife? But for the sake of his family, he had to try his best. When Joanna celebrated her birthday, the rest of the Quirk family naturally attended. Eric had a word with Alexander, explaining that although the guest list for the birthday banquet was limited, many were undoubtedly there for Alexander primarily. Alexander indicated that he understood, but he noticed that Eric seemed rather expectant. Alexander wasn't the type to avoid disturbing others just because they seemed happy. In case a conflict arose, he hoped Eric would remain impartial. Hence, he laid out everything he had discovered so far for Eric to see. Naturally, he wasn't foolish enough to admit that he was investigating Joanna.“Earlier, when you expressed interest in adopting Cecilia, I had someone look into her situation,” Alexander said. Eric simply assumed that Alexander was responsible for assessing whether the candidate was suitable or not. “Since we're not adopting anymore, there's no need to fuss about it,” Eric replied. However, Alexander handed the documents over to Eric and said, “It's better if you take a look.” The documents contained a lot of information about Joanna. In truth, Eric had known for quite some time that Joanna was acquainted with Cecilia. So, it was only natural that his investigation of Cecilia would somehow involve Joanna. Joanna was always involved in charity work, and Cecilia happened to be from the orphanage she supported. Over time, they became familiar with each other as she often provided financial aid. Since she often brought Dylan along, Eric didn't harbor any suspicions. Looking back, the strong bond between Dylan and Cecilia probably stemmed from their childhood connection. Upon seeing the information, Eric frowned. Joanna was indeed actively engaged in charitable work. The records were meticulously detailed, and the amounts were substantial. However, upon scrutinizing the flow of funds, he discovered that almost all of the money ended up in Cecilia's personal account. If things had always been this way, Cecilia would have been wealthy for years. She wouldn't have cared a bit about her house. However, Cecilia didn't have much money, as the funds in her account were regularly transferred to another account after a certain period of time. While the name on the account was unfamiliar, the origin of the person was quite clear. It was another city.Eric was particularly sensitive about that city because Joanna's ex-boyfriend before she married him was from that city. Even before Eric's and Joanna's families met, Joanna and her ex-boyfriend had already parted ways. The man had long since left Yrinas, and Joanna didn't show any signs of being forced into marriage. So, despite knowing this piece of information, he never harbored any doubts. However, with the current coincidence, he couldn't help but grow suspicious. To suggest that Cecilia had done things in secret would be impossible. After all, the money was voluntarily given by Joanna. Since Alexander certainly found it inappropriate to investigate Joanna's finances, Eric had to take matters into his own hands to get to the bottom of things. He needed to see just how the manager, who was specifically assigned to assist Joanna in managing her finances, was handling her charitable accounts. Eric's pride prevented him from overthinking before he could ascertain the full situation. All he could do was accept the information given by Alexander, express his gratitude, and depart. After Alexander emerged, he saw that both Isabella and his siblings were brimming with excitement. Among them, only Isabella had yet to meet Joanna up until that point. Isabella initially felt that Joanna certainly had a lot of secrets. However, Alexander and his family had a hunch that this birthday banquet would be quite the spectacle. After all, when Isabella met Joanna, sparks were bound to fly. The title of Gossip Queen was not earned without reason!