"Daddy…" Rainie's eyes were bloodshot. "I trust you, Daddy." Lanie held his sister's hand. "We can take care of ourselves. You must bring Mommy back." Luke crouched down and stretched out the pinky finger of his right hand. That was what Bianca did when she made a promise to the children. "I promise." Rainie made a pinky promise with her father. "Mommy will come back," she mumbled. "Mommy will come back." Lanie also made a pinky promise with Luke. Luke patted their heads and said, "I'll be busy in the next few days. Let Mr. Griffin take care of you, and don't give him any trouble, alright?" "Alright, Daddy. I'll take care of Rainie and Tommy." Lanie took up the responsibility so that Luke would not have to worry about them. Luke saw the determination in his son's eyes. "Brush your teeth and go to bed." "Yes, Daddy." Rainie wiped her tears and went to the bathroom. Lanie also returned to his bedroom. Luke was at ease that his children were so mature. After Lanie and
Hera sat up and chuckled. "That defective baby in your stomach? Heheh, you should thank me instead. If you delivered that baby, I'm sure that the Hiltons will disown you, even if you're already married. Consider this as a blessing in disguise. It's better that you lose the baby before you're married instead of being driven out of the household." Leia clenched the hem of her gown tightly. Her stomach was aching, and she had to sit on the toilet. "You know that I only get to marry Brody because of the baby, Hera. I wouldn't have agreed to help you if I knew that I'd become like this." Listening to Leia's accusatory words, Hera could tell that she would not tell Luke. If Luke wanted to take revenge, Leia would be the first victim. After arriving at that conclusion, Hera said impatiently, "Understand this, Leia, you volunteered to do this. No one forced you." Leia gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. She felt as though she was adrift at sea. She had lost the support of the Hil
"You'd better leave, Wayne. The caretaker might wake up any time…" Leia begged. Her eyes were transfixed on the caretaker on the couch, wondering why she did not notice despite them talking at a normal volume. "I knocked her out." Wayne turned on the bedside light, which dazzled Leia's eyes. He sat down on the bed and looked at her pale face without any sign of care. Leia grabbed the bed sheets tightly. Wayne's gaze slowly shifted down from her face to her stomach. Leia noticed that. She wanted to cover her stomach with the blanket. Wayne's gaze turned vicious suddenly. "How dare you harm my child, Leia!" Leia shuddered when facing his gaze. "It was an accident, Wayne. It's all Bianca's fault. Bianca made me lose the child." Wayne reached out and touched her stomach. Through the hospital gown, Leia could feel the icy coldness of Wayne's touch. She shuddered again and explained, "It's really not my fault, Wayne. Bianca planned all this." Wayne gripped her lower ja
In the western Pacific Ocean, a ship bobbed up and down the waves as it sailed northward through a thunderstorm. Bianca laid on the bed. She had been force-fed multiple times. The area surrounding the bed was indescribably messy, and it was starting to stink. She did not know how many days it had been since she boarded the ship. There was only one door, and there were no windows. Her hands were tied, and her mouth was gagged, though her legs were free. However, she was limited to the cabin, so she did not know if it was day or night. Her stomach churned as the boat swayed. She had the urge to vomit, but the cloth in her mouth made her unable to do so. She turned her head away and took deep breaths to calm her stomach down. She had only met three other people aboard the ship -- Abel and the two mercenaries. They did not care that the conditions of the cabin were deteriorating. The bed was beginning to get moldy, but they had no intention of changing it. That was w
Seeing that he had not rested for days, Old Master Crawford was worried for his grandson. He put a sleeper sofa in Luke's bedroom. Luke turned on the light, sat up, kept the bed, and walked out of the study. He opened Tommy's bedroom door. There was a small orange night light next to the bed. Ever since Bianca was abducted, the usually cheerful and playful boy had fallen silent and easily cried. He used to love to watch cartoons and eat snacks, but those could no longer pique his interest. He would even wake up from his nightmares and look for Bianca. Johann suggested that he put a nightlight next to Tommy's bed to soothe his emotions. After doing so, Tommy rarely woke up in the middle of the night. Luke gently stepped inside and saw that Tommy had kicked the blanket onto the floor. He pressed his lips together and covered him again with the blanket. Bianca used to be the one to do that. Bianca would wake up once or twice in the middle of the night to check on their child
Percy stared at her. Seeing the sorrow and loneliness in her eyes, his heart trembled, and that made him feel uncomfortable. "Luke will find her." Percy was surprised that those words came out of his mouth. He was not used to comforting others. Nina looked at him profoundly. She thought that she had misheard just now. Before she could react, Percy stood up. "Go to bed." Nina chuckled wryly when she heard that command. Indeed, she had misheard. Percy was never going to talk to her like that. Nina could not disobey him. Even though she was not in the mood to sleep, she stood up, went into the bedroom, and lay by his side. After she closed her eyes, her other senses became more sensitive. She could not ignore his breathing after being used to living alone. Percy used to want to make out with her very often, but he did not want to sleep with her, so she had some time for herself. Now, all her private time had been occupied by Percy. Nina sighed, and her mind wandered to
"You’re back." A man was sitting right in the middle of the room with his back facing the entrance and against the light.Abel looked at the medical equipment in the room and walked to that man. He sat down. "Yeah, I'm back.""Did you succeed in taking revenge?" The man glanced at Abel and lowered his head, continuing to read his medical book."I'd say it's a success." Abel chuckled and picked up a glass filled with red wine, swaying it. When he saw it at a distance earlier, he thought it was a glass of red wine. However, now that he had gotten a better look, he realized there was a finger inside the red wine.His face went pale and he placed the glass of wine down while cursing. He called the man a maniac for doing such a thing. ‘Why the f*ck is he using wine to preserve his samples?’"What do you mean by that?" asked the man with a spooky voice. He talked softly as though he did not possess any ill intention."I didn't harm Luke Crawford but I've brought his woman to the island
Eler saw that Bianca had woken up. She took out a thermometer and stuffed it under her armpit.Bianca opened her mouth and noticed her mouth was no longer stuffed with anything. She tilted her head only to see an unfamiliar Western-looking face. She then asked weakly, "Where is this place?""I can't tell you that." Eler shook her head, her blue eyes glinting with terror. She was not born and raised here but brought captive to this place.Bianca glanced at the surroundings and noticed she was still locked up in a room with only a door and no window.She wanted to sit up, but when she supported herself on the bed, her body felt weak and she quickly fell onto the bed.Eler quickly discarded the towel that was drenched in alcohol aside and came over to check whether Bianca was injured. "Are you alright?"Bianca ignored her and insisted on sitting up.Eler came over to help her up. "Miss, you're still having a fever. Please refrain from moving about."Bianca looked at the young lady
As Gerald shook his head furiously, it was not difficult for Luca to figure out what was going on.She glanced at Hera's irritation and figured it all stemmed from Luke being reassigned. Not being able to see him was clearly driving her to act like this.Luca secretly let out a sigh. They said women were the cause of trouble, but honestly, men could just be the same.Even with Luke disguised as an ordinary man, his cold and commanding air still captivated Hera.She glanced at the bowl nearby. The food Gerald brought Hera was barely touched.It seemed like she was so consumed with thoughts of Luke that she had lost her appetite...Luca’s expression remained unchanged. She was long accustomed to keeping her emotions in check around others.“Ms. Sanchez, you’ve misunderstood. I’m not close with Mr. Lucius, so I don’t have his contact information.” Luca kept her face impassive.“You’re lying!” Hera narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “You’re so close to him. How could you not have it?”
As soon as Luca returned to her bedroom after dinner, she received a video call request from the kids.It had been a long time since she last saw them. When she saw the call request, she locked the door, put on her headphones, and immediately answered.“Ms. Luca!” As soon as the call connected, the faces of all three kids appeared on the phone screen.“Sweethearts!” Luca blew them a kiss.“Ms. Luca, we miss you so much!” Tommy was the first to express how much they missed Luca.Luca's heart stirred with waves of longing when she heard them. She had been so busy recently, hoping to finish everything here quickly so that she and Luke could reunite with the kids. That was why she had not contacted them much.Plus, with Old Master Crawford taking care of them, she felt at ease.Now that Luca saw the faces of the three kids, her longing for them instantly surged and overwhelmed her.Her eyes reddened. “I miss you all so much too.”Rainie, always the thoughtful one, noticed her em
The men in the room were wincing in pain, but when they heard Gerald’s words, they were so furious they almost wanted to lash out at him. However, all their strength had been sapped by the excruciating pain, so they could only groan helplessly.As Shanks made his way upstairs, he paused halfway up the staircase and asked, “Is Luca cooking?”Gerald glanced at the kitchen and replied, “Yes, Mr. Shanks. It’s their fault. Ms. Craw was delayed in making dinner because of them.”Shanks' expression remained unchanged as he simply said, “Let me know when it's ready.”“Yes,” answered Gerald.After Shanks went upstairs, Gerald hesitated for a moment but decided to help the men to their feet, placing them one by one on the couch or chairs. As they slouched, groaning in pain, Gerald shook his head. “Do you guys now understand what happens when you mess with the wrong woman, especially Ms. Craw?”One of the men winced and asked, “Why did she have to be so brutal when throwing down?”“She
Lucius was different.He did not care about getting close to anyone, whether man or woman. Even when Hera’s attempts to seduce him were blatantly obvious, he still remained unmoved and even showed signs of rejection.Gerald could not help but marvel at Luca’s sharp observations and incisive remarks. He could not help but clap his hands lightly, genuinely impressed.“Lucius truly is exceptional,” said Gerald.Luca came downstairs.When she took the last step off the stairs, the men in the living room immediately fell silent.They held their breath as they watched the woman in front of them. Her hair was straight, not like their boss' companion.The men's gazes grew intense.Luca’s expression darkened.Gerald stood beside her and said, “See, I told you—you’re like a piece of meat dropped into a pack of wolves. Be careful.”One of the men heard Gerald and asked unhappily, “Hey, kid, what are you saying? What wolves? We’re gentlemen. We’d never dream of doing anything inappropr
When Gerald heard this, his face fell. “Huh? Ms. Craw, you're not cooking anymore?”Luca said nothing. Luke had already left with the others. She turned her gaze back before walking inside.Gerald realized that Luca had only been cooking breakfast because of Lucius. The thought puzzled him. Had they taken a liking to each other from the very start? That did not seem right.In this fast-paced modern world, even if they had, using something as old-fashioned as cooking to win someone over did not add up.Still, the timing was too coincidental to ignore. Luca started cooking for everyone when Lucius arrived, and she stopped as soon as he left. That realization gave Gerald an eerie feeling.Thinking they might have known each other back on the island, it all suddenly made sense. Of course! They must have met before. How else could this all line up so perfectly?With that thought, Gerald quickly caught up with Luca. “Ms. Craw, my cooking is terrible. Why don’t you keep doing it?”
Kassy’s eye donor was Hera, the one Abel had brought over.Even though Hera’s eyes resembled Kassy’s, they did not meet the criteria for a transplant. However, Hera’s blood type matched Kassy’s exactly.Hence, Abel decided to use Hera’s eyes. His belief was that her eyes were specifically meant for Kassy.Shanks knew he would not be able to change Abel’s mind, so he did not try. Abel’s stubbornness was something even Kassy herself could not sway.Luca remained silent for a while, not saying anything further. She understood that using a cadaver was the best option as it would not harm anyone.However, the eyes Abel wanted for Kassy were not from a cadaver. He intended to take them from Hera.Luca certainly would not participate in such a surgery. It was too cruel.“What are you thinking?” Shanks suddenly asked.Luca shook her head. “I’m just thinking about the volunteer’s situation.”“You’re wondering if this solution will be marketed, aren’t you?” Shanks suddenly asked.L
“I’m still a bit worried. Let me take a look in your room and change the dressing while I’m at it.” Luca knew Luke would not want her to worry. Therefore, she needed to see for herself that everything was fine before she could feel at ease.“Alright.” Luke knew she was worried about him, so the two of them headed into the room.He took off his shirt, revealing the bandage wrapped around his torso.Luca could not help but chuckle at the sight. The wrapping was done by Gerald, and it was hilariously sloppy. It was haphazardly bound—overly tight in some places and entirely uneven. It looked like it was just meant to cover the wounds, with no thought for neatness.“Stop laughing.” Luke was clearly rendered speechless by Gerald’s lackluster bandaging skills as well.If it were not for the fact that it was difficult to bandage himself, he would never have let Gerald do it.“With it wrapped like this, how are you supposed to sleep at night?” Luca asked as she began unwrapping the ba
Abel chuckled. His voice was low and gravelly.“Hera, let’s agree on something. Don’t use threats of leaving to manipulate me anymore, or I won’t be happy,” said Abel in a low voice.What might have sounded like a plea or a compromise came across to Hera as a veiled threat.The cool sensation of his fingers brushed against her eyelids, and she could not help but shiver. His touch felt as cold as death itself. She could not feel a trace of warmth.Her hands clenched tightly together. The tension in her grip was the only thing keeping her from trembling further.“Alright,” Hera murmured obediently.Abel withdrew his hand. Hera opened her eyes. A strange unease stirred within her. For reasons she could not quite explain, Abel’s behavior filled her with an unsettling dread…“Will you stay at the hospital with me tonight?” Hera could not help but crave some semblance of comfort.Abel frowned slightly. “Stay here with you? And what about Luca?”“You could just send her home. I onl
Luca's expression was serious, and Hera realized she was not just trying to scare her. Ignoring her warnings had already caused her to suffer once.Unwillingly, Hera sipped on the cereal. Her resentment was evident in every movement.Luca noticed it was not difficult for her to handle. She quietly sat down and ate her own bowl of cereal.Hera did not have much of an appetite.Hera took a couple of bites before growing bored. She glanced at Luca and asked, “How did you end up working for Abel?”Luca did not respond. She calmly blew on her cereal and ate in silence, showing no intention of engaging in conversation.“I’m talking to you. Are you deaf?” snapped Hera.Luca lifted her gaze briefly and replied, “You should finish your cereal before it gets cold.”“I’m not even hungry.” Hera really had no appetite and was not planning to eat the cereal.“It’s still better if you eat something. Otherwise, when hunger strikes later, don’t expect me to help you,” said Luca, “I’m only he