"Faster," Luke urged because he thought that Johann was too slow. "There's no point in hurrying. A mercury thermometer needs time to work," Johann said leisurely. He shook his head when he saw how anxious Luke and Bianca were. "It's normal for kids to have a fever, especially Lanie, who hasn't fallen sick in a while. It shouldn't be surprising that the fever hit him hard." As the saying went, "Sickness comes on horseback and leaves on foot." Bianca was nonetheless anxious when she heard that. She had been focused on taking care of Rainie and Tommy the night before and had neglected Lanie. She did not even know when he started to have the fever. Five minutes later, Johann took out the thermometer and glanced at it. "103.1 degrees. Don't worry, Lanie is a strong boy. He'll be fine after an injection and an IV drip." "Alright. Sorry to trouble you." Bianca's heart wrenched when she saw Lanie's lips cracking from the fever. She took a cup of water and a straw and said, "Drink som
Johann raised an eyebrow and looked at Lanie's handsome little face. "Why would you want to stay here? I thought you hated hospitals." Lanie glanced at his parents and said, "Daddy and Mommy want to visit Thea. I shouldn't go, in case I pass my germs to her." Johann turned his head to look at Luke and Bianca. "Am I a babysitter too?" "Fifteen minutes," Luke negotiated with him with his glacial demeanor. He meant that Johann would only have to take care of Lanie for fifteen minutes. "That's too long. Ten minutes." Johann did not hate Lanie, but he felt uncomfortable looking at the boy's face. It reminded him too much of Luke. He would try to avoid Luke whenever possible, and looking at a copy of Luke's face would give him a headache. "Twenty minutes," Luke said with finality. He took Bianca's hand and left the room before Johann could say anything. Johann pouted. "What a hard sell. I haven't even agreed to it." Even so, he had no other choice but to take care of the bo
Luke frowned, and his gaze turned sharp. If the signal jammer was in the mansion and close to the cameras, how did the thief manage to sneak it in? Bianca noticed the grim expression on her husband's face and could guess that he was thinking about the incident. She did not want to disturb him, so she said softly, "I'll bring Lanie upstairs." "Mm. I'll get the caretaker to bring breakfast upstairs later." Luke kissed her forehead and went to the couch. Bianca held Lanie's hand and said softly, "Let's go upstairs." "Alright, Mommy." Lanie still looked a little weak. The two of them went up the stairs. After seeing his wife and son go up the stairs, Luke went into the kitchen to tell the caretaker to prepare breakfast for them, then walked around the living room. "Why are you so sure?" "It's like this, Mr. Crawford. The technicians have managed to restore the footage from outside the mansion, but they haven't managed to do so for the footage within the mansion. The footage g
"Mm." Luke turned his gaze back to the computer screen and took out a name card. "Send to my email the restored footage as well as the footage before and after the incident." "Yes, I'll do that right away." The manager replied and handed the name card to his subordinate. "Send the clips earlier to this email address." "Yes." Luke received an email notification on his phone. He added, "Inform the butler if there's any new information." Then, he went up the stairs. The manager watched Luke go up and said to his subordinates, "Keep working, stop daydreaming." Upstairs, Luke saw Bianca and Lanie eating their breakfast in the second-floor hall. "Are the things downstairs settled?" Bianca handed him a bowl of lukewarm oatmeal. "Here, have some oatmeal." "They haven't restored the footage." Luke sat down next to her. He could feel through the bowl that the temperature of the oatmeal was just nice for him, so he took a big gulp. "We should give them some more time," Bianca sa
Allison could tell that Jon was thinking about money. She was worried that trouble would follow once the antiques entered the black market. She said, "No, you can't do that now. Old Master Crawford is very angry that you hurt his precious great-granddaughter, and he'll find out that you stole the antique if you release them into the black market now. Also, your jammer is useless. They're restoring the footage, and I don't know if you've managed to sneak in undetected. No, you'll have to leave A City and lay low for a while." Jon frowned. Things were not that complicated when he first accepted the job! "I don't have money now. I'll only have the money to run away after I sell the antiques," he said while lighting up a cigarette, indicating that he was not going anywhere. Allison took out a fat stack of banknotes from her handbag and handed it to him. "Here's two hundred thousand dollars. I've withdrawn this from my credit card. Deduct this from your pay that I've promised you, a
Luke opened a chat window for Gordan and sent a video chat request. "Are you thinking of asking Gordan for help?" Bianca was surprised when she saw that. "Isn't he in Moscow?" "It doesn't matter where he is as long as he agrees to it." Luke leaned against the couch and held Bianca's hand. Gordan soon accepted the request. He made an exaggerated expression to the camera. "Oh, long time no see! I didn't expect that you'd be looking for me. You're here too, Sis. Do you miss me?" "There's serious business," Luke said brusquely and made his intention known. Gordan raised an eyebrow. He saw Luke and Bianca were holding hands and mocked them, "I didn't expect that you'd be asking for my help! Also, can you two not be so lovey-dovey all the time?" Luke was not going to beat around the bush with Gordan. He said, "Someone stole some things from Crawford Manor. Help me find the thief." "Who would be so daring?" Gordan stretched his limbs lazily. "Give me whatever information you hav
Bianca grinned craftily when she saw the message. "How about getting him a presidential suite? That should be enough for the two of them." "Alright." Luke knew that he could not force Gordan to like Vivian, but getting them a presidential suite was a good idea. It was up to Gordan if he wanted to stay there. Susan came in through the door and saw Luke and Bianca sitting together intimately. She frowned and said anxiously, "Luke, have you found out who hurt Thea?" "Not yet." Luke was not ashamed of displaying his love for Bianca to other people, so he stayed in the same pose. Susan saw that the two were not anxious at all, and her tone of voice instantly became shrill. "I can't believe that you still have the leisure to cuddle with your wife, Luke! Have you spared a thought for Louis? You'll have to find the culprit as soon as you can. That's your grandfather's orders!" She thought that she could intimidate Luke by bringing out his grandfather's name. The atmosphere became ten
Gordan looked at him. "Aren't you going up?" "It's already late. Our children are waiting for us at home." Luke felt blissful as he looked at Bianca. Gordan cringed whenever Luke acted lovey-dovey. He shuddered, clicked his tongue, and said, "Alright. I'll go and look for you at your office tomorrow." He was on a vacation, but he would rather keep himself occupied with work so that Vivian would not bother him. "Mm." Luke and Bianca got in the car. While Luke reversed the car, Bianca could not help but smile as she watched Gordan and Vivian go into the hotel. "Do you think that Gordan will call you?" "Yes, he will," Luke said confidently. He had not driven for half a mile when his phone began to ring. He answered it and turned on the speaker. "#%$#%$% you! Why did you only get one room for Vivian and me?" Gordan was blurting curses over the phone. When the hotel manager brought him and Vivian to the suite and gave them two access cards, he realized that Luke had tricked
“You don’t need to remind me. I was going to check anyway.” Abel shot Luca a chilling look.She took a step back and stayed silent.Abel turned to the pale-faced Hera and said, “If you’ve got low blood sugar, get up and eat something.”“I’ll eat now,” Hera replied, sitting up.Luca handed her the takeout.Abel glanced at the food and then frowned at Luca. “Why didn’t you make breakfast this morning?”“I was busy,” Luca explained with a calm indifference, her expression unwavering. She showed no fear, even under Abel’s questioning.Hera suddenly found herself admiring Luca. Everyone feared this man, yet Luca remained composed even when facing potential punishment. Not just anyone could pull that off.At the thought of this, Hera opened the takeout and kept quiet.Abel narrowed his eyes, glancing between Hera and Luca. His gaze was not exactly gentle as he muttered, “Stop eating this junk. It’s bad for you.”“I know, babe. Just this once. After this, I’ll have what Luca cooks f
Hera panicked the moment she heard that. “I trust her!”Luca and Shanks were both watching her.Hera repeated herself, saying, “I trust her, okay? What kind of treatment does she need? I’ll cooperate with anything. But what about Abel…”“I’ll tell him it’s just to help improve your overall health,” replied Shanks. Then, he turned around, opened the medicine cabinet, and started preparing the prescription.Hera let out a sigh of relief. As long as Abel did not find out about her health condition, that was all that mattered.If he knew she was unwell, he would send her back to A City. Without free medical help and no way to make extra money, she would be in serious trouble.“Thank you,” said Hera.“Wait outside,” instructed Shanks.“Okay.” Hera carefully stepped out.Luca, however, remained where she was, waiting.While preparing the medicine, Shanks asked, “Do you know which acupoints to target for her?”“Yes,” Luca replied confidently. As long as she checked Hera’s pulse, sh
“There are a lot of issues.” Luca did not hide anything and handed Hera the phone.Hera looked at it and frowned.“I can't understand any of this.” Hera felt dizzy just looking at the text, let alone the long list of medical terms. It was giving her a headache.“Look at these summaries and indicators. Compare the values on top with the normal values at the bottom, and you'll see what I mean,” explained Luca.Hera did not trust her. Therefore, Luca decided to let her see for herself. Seeing it with her own eyes would prevent any doubts later.Luca pointed out how to read the test results, and after a moment, Hera managed to understand the report. Her face turned pale. “How can there be so many problems?”She looked at Luca and questioned, “Did you fake this?”“I don’t have the power to make the medical center fake anything. Besides, the report has the medical center’s official stamp. If you don’t believe me, you can go directly to the medical center and ask for the official cop
“I heard from the boss that he's coming because of Vivian.” Gale paused for a moment before adding, “But never mind, you don't seem interested in her affairs anyway. I'm just letting you know he's on his way.”Gordan frowned. Ray was coming for Vivian?What could that ugly woman possibly need?“What do you mean by that?” asked Gordan.Gale smirked. “If you and Ray meet, that’s bound to end in a fight. And since you can't win against him, you might want to mentally prepare yourself, or better yet, find somewhere else to stay. It’d be safer that way.”Gordan's expression darkened. “If you have nothing nice to say, just zip it.”Gale grinned, clearly pleased with himself like he had just hit a sore spot.Gordan exhaled sharply. “Of all times, why is he coming to A City now? He’s just making things worse.”“It can't be helped. Vivian's situation is urgent.” Gale covered his mouth mockingly after he said that. “Oh, right. I forgot you don’t like hearing about her.”Ray wanted to br
Luke sat in the villa, staring at Luca’s message.He was worried.For a moment, he considered calling her, but then he remembered that there were surveillance cameras everywhere on her side. He dismissed the idea immediately.Her safety came first.Luke reminded her: [Take care of yourself. Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything. Just focus on keeping yourself safe.] The worry in his heart refused to subside, but at this moment, there was no better solution.“Boss, you’re worried about your wife, huh? If you really can’t stand it, we can sneak you in again during the next shift change, just like last time,” said Gale.It had been his idea last time.Now, the real Lucius was still locked up in the basement of the villa.It had been nearly a month. Luke had forced him to take the antidote Luca had recreated. The man was still alive, proving the antidote worked perfectly.“That plan is too risky.” Luke put his phone away. His gaze was dark and thoughtful.“Risky, sure. But at lea
Luca had not expected Abel and Shanks’ relationship to be like this.It seemed Abel still did not trust Shanks.Shanks continued, “Abel isn’t someone who trusts people easily. He doesn’t trust anyone. You think he’s devoted to Kassy now, right? That’s just his obsession. He's allowing Kassy to receive my treatment, but if it were him… No matter if he were blind or crippled, his safety would always come first. If he were seriously injured, maybe he’d accept treatment, but he definitely wouldn’t do it right away.”Luca stayed silent. Shanks really understood Abel well.Abel did not trust anyone—not even Kassy.Calling him paranoid would not be an exaggeration.Luca felt like they were getting off-topic, but she had never seen this side of Shanks before.In her mind, he was always buried in his work at the lab, only leaving for meals and sleep. Other than that, he was practically never outside.The lab was like his home…“Are you troubled by Hera’s situation?” Luca asked directly
Hera was startled by Luca's words.The refusal that had been on the tip of her tongue suddenly got stuck in her throat.“I…” Hera hesitated, feeling conflicted. Leaving Abel might not be such a bad idea. At least she would not have to live in constant fear.She was finally realizing how unpredictable his moods were. At first, she thought it did not matter as she could still look at other men. She just had to ensure there was no physical contact. In reality, even if she so much as glanced at someone, Abel's expression would darken with anger.It was frustrating. Now, the only person she was allowed to look at was Gerald. Still, what was the point of just looking at Gerald?At that thought, she lifted her gaze to Luca.Luca added, “I’ll give you five minutes. If you refuse treatment after that, I’ll take the medicine back to Mr. Shanks and won’t try to convince you again.”Hera's heart tightened. She did not even need five minutes. She had made her decision within 30 seconds.“I’
“If Abel finds out that Hera's body isn't suitable for organ donation to Kassy, what do you think he'll do?” asked Shanks.He already knew the answer, but he still wanted to hear Luca’s thoughts.“He has invested a lot of time and money in Hera. If he gets nothing out of it, he won’t let her off easily,” Luca said bluntly.Luca and Shanks were on the same page.They did not have a good relationship with Hera, but they had no intention of ruining her either.Hera’s personality was unpleasant, but that was not enough for them to hate her so much that they wanted to see her suffer.“What methods do you think he’ll use?” Shanks asked again.Luca was silent for a long moment.Shanks already knew the answer, yet he still wanted her to say it out loud.After thinking it over, she finally said, “There are plenty of ways he could go about it, but no matter what he chooses, Hera’s fate is sealed. She’s as good as dead…”She lowered her gaze, her tone firm and certain.Shanks nodded.
Hera heard that Luca had returned and immediately went to find Shanks. She narrowed her eyes.That woman went to see Shanks. Could she be talking about her?The thought made Hera uneasy. She had a nagging feeling that something was wrong with her medical report.However, when they left the medical center earlier, Abel asked Luca when the report would be ready, and she said it would be available tomorrow.Hera turned to Gerald and said, “Take these back for me first.”“Alright.” Gerald carried the bags as he walked away. He could not help but wonder what exactly Hera bought. These bags were really heavy!Only after Gerald went upstairs did Hera slowly make her way up as well. Her room was on the third floor, but she stopped when she reached the second floor. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching before heading toward the laboratory.The door was closed.Instead of knocking, Hera pressed her ear against it, trying to eavesdrop.However, the laboratory was special