Luke was silent. Just like Wanda, he had the same unfamiliar feeling with the woman in the ward. He had been telling himself that Bianca had changed a lot after the trauma she had experienced. Wanda was silent when she saw that Luke did not say anything. "I understand that you have reasonable doubts, Luke. I might be Bianca's aunt, but I won't say anything if you decide to investigate." Luke nodded slightly. "I'll go in and take a look at Bianca." Wanda nodded. "I'll go home first. Bea's grandfather is still waiting. I hope you can give some consideration to what I said." "I'll consider it carefully," Luke said thoughtfully. After Wanda left, Luke went into the ward. The nurse taking care of Bianca nodded toward him, then left the ward to give the married couple some personal space. Luke moved close to the bed and looked at Bianca, who was sleeping soundly. Ever since she was admitted to the hospital, she had been either behaving hysterically or sitting there in a daz
Bianca lifted her head in shock and saw Shanks placing her hair in the sealing bag. "What are you doing?" "Preventing Luke Crawford from discovering that the person is a fake Bianca Rayne." Shanks did not hide the truth from her. Now that she had delivered her baby and her health was recovering, he was not afraid that she might kill herself. He expected that Bianca would be angry after hearing that. However, she smiled mockingly instead. "How meticulous. How else do you plan to torment me?" She asked. As Shanks looked at her mocking expression, his heart stung as though there was a tiny needle pricking it. He picked up his things on the bed and left the room. Bianca's mocking smile faded as she watched Shanks leave the room. She expected that Luke would suspect that the woman was only an impostor and get her DNA analyzed, but she did not expect that Abel and Shanks would think of that too. If Luke performed a DNA test on that woman, they would be swapping her blood and ha
"It's not serious. Don't you trust in Mr. Shanks's skills?" The kitchen lady chuckled when she saw how anxious Eler was. Then, she continued, "It's strange though. The baby has been very difficult, but I've never heard her cry in the lab. Mr. Shanks is either very good with kids, or…" The kitchen lady stopped speaking. Eler did not understand what she was trying to say, so she asked, "Or what, Madam?" "Silly girl! What if Mr. Shanks calmed the baby down with drugs?" The kitchen lady whispered. Shanks was not short on drugs. Surely at least one of them could be used to calm a baby down. Eler was shocked. "Mr. Shanks will never do that!" She said in disbelief. "What do you mean? None of the men on this island would have the patience to take care of a baby!" The kitchen lady said. Eler became even more anxious when she heard that. She was about to rush into the laboratory to check on the baby when Shanks came out while carrying the baby. "Give it to me." He glanced at the fl
With the mercenary's hand on her throat, Eler struggled to breathe. She slapped the mercenary's hand to free herself, but he did not loosen his grip. "I'll spar with you," Bianca said. The mercenary let go of Eler when he heard that. He smiled viciously at Bianca and said, "Alright, let's do it." Eler took two steps back. While she caught her breath, she looked at Bianca worriedly. All the mercenaries on the island had blood on their hands. How would Bianca remain unhurt? Bianca looked warily at the man that would pounce at her at any time. He was like a wolf, while she was nothing more than food. She was not going to be defeated. "Coward," the mercenary muttered. Seeing that Bianca did not take the initiative to attack him, he pounced at her again. He had a complete advantage in terms of size and strength. Bianca nimbly dodged the attack. "Amateur!" The mercenary grunted coldly. He steadied himself before launching at her again. When the opponent got close, Bianca re
Abel chuckled, stood up, and looked at Bianca. She remained impassive, even though he had ended someone's life in front of her. "I'll get you another trainer." Abel turned around and walked away. Eler could not stop shaking as she looked at the dead mercenary. "What do we do, Miss?" "That's just how Abel is, Eler. Try to steer clear of him." Bianca stared at the dead mercenary, whose eyes were still open. She showed no fear even after Abel left. She turned around, went back to the horizontal bar, and continued doing pull-ups. Eler took two steps back and said in a daze, "What about that man…" Bianca struggled to pull herself up the bar while saying, "Abel will take care of that." The mercenary's eyes were wide open, though there was no light in them. He looked at them as though hoping that they would help him. Eler was unnerved. She went toward a corner of the wall. Soon, two well-built men came into the training grounds. They did not say a word as they carried the
"I hate you," Shanks said candidly. He hated Luke Crawford and his family, but that seemed to have changed after he took care of Nyla. He could not get himself to hate that baby at all, even though the baby carried Luke and Bianca's blood. "Why would you grant me my wish then?" Bianca asked. Ever since she carried the baby in her arms, she could not hide her true emotions. "I have no interest in taking care of your baby for you," Shanks said while putting his hands into his pockets. He turned to Eler and said, "She's almost recovered from her stomach flu now, but you'll have to be careful. Also, the baby's necessities are in my lab. Come over and take them away." After that, he turned around and left. Bianca felt a complicated mix of emotions as she watched Shanks leave. If Shanks did not want to take care of the baby, he could have handed it to the kitchen lady or even Abel. Why would he hand the baby to her? Bianca was confused. Eler was delighted. She touched the b
"I'll go and attend to these," Wanda said helplessly and glanced at the patient inside the ward. The nurse had administered a tranquilizer shot to Bianca. Bianca lay there like a wooden puppet while the nurse dressed her wounds. Luke nodded and went inside. "Where is she hurt?" He asked the nurse. The nurse answered Luke's question while dressing Bianca's injuries with a bandage. "Most of the wounds are on the wrists. I've already cleaned them, and she's fine now." Luke felt a dull ache in his heart when he saw the layers of bandages on her wrists. "Right, Mr. Crawford, Dr. Osmond asks you to go to her office," the nurse relayed the information from Bianca's doctor. "Alright, I'll go over now." Luke left the ward and went to Dr. Osmond's office. "You're here, Mr. Crawford," Dr. Osmond said as soon as she saw him come in. Luke sat down opposite her. They had been discussing Bianca's condition like that for some time now. "The nurse said that you were looking for me,"
"Mm." Luke was quite relieved that Johann could connect him with Tia. Meanwhile, Maxine found a way to sneak out of the capital and came to A City. She found out the hospital where the impostor Bianca was, got herself a nurse's uniform, and sneaked inside. The nurse who was attending to Bianca watched as Maxine entered the ward while wearing a mask. "Who are you?" She asked suspiciously. Maxine looked at the woman on the bed and gasped. The woman looked exactly like Bianca Rayne! "Hey, who are you? Don't you know that you can't come in here as you like?" The nurse stood in front of Maxine and blocked her view of Bianca. "I'm sorry. I'm here to give her an injection." Maxine came to her senses and fumbled over her cart. "Injection?" The nurse checked Bianca's schedule and frowned. "All the scheduled injections today are done, and I didn't receive any new instructions from the doctor. What is this injection for?" "Ah!" Maxine exclaimed. The nurse was glaring at her, but
“As long as he stays out of your sight, I won’t make a move,” said Ray.If Gordan were not one of Luke’s pals, he would have been long gone.Anyone who dared to mess with someone Ray cherished would not be let off easily. The only reason Gordan was still breathing was thanks to Luke.“Alright, Ray. Just let it go. I’ve moved on and started a new life. Plus, I’m studying at Capital University. We have mutual friends, so running into him is inevitable. If that happens, we’ll just be strangers. There’s no need to step in for me or act impulsively.” Just as Vivian finished speaking, the doorbell rang.“Is it the clothes delivery?” asked Ray.“No, while you were talking with Mr. Crawford, I asked someone to buy some medicinal cream. The ones here work better than the ones in Russia. A little massage with it should help you heal faster,” Vivian said, grabbing a mask and hat before heading to the door.“Miss, is the boss alright?” asked one of Ray’s subordinates.“He’s fine. Did you ge
When Ray heard that there was a 90% chance of success, he could not help but ask, “Can you walk me through your plan?”“The prison where Kassy is being held actually has an underground passage. I’ve already spoken with the prison officials, and we can use that passage to transport her out. It connects to the sewage system, which leads directly to another detention facility. "The only catch is that this facility’s underground pipes don’t connect to the outside world, so the remaining 10% risk lies in moving Kassy onto the main road and securing her at the new location.“This whole operation can be done without anyone noticing, which is why I’m confident it’ll work.” As Luke explained, he pulled out a detailed map of the sewer system. “Here’s the layout I had someone retrieve. This is the starting point, and this is the destination. If we take this route, we can move Kassy without alerting Abel’s people.”Abel’s men were keeping a constant watch outside the prison now. That was prec
Luke had no idea what kind of mindset the person who poisoned Vivian had. However, he found Gordan’s current behavior quite intriguing.“Luke, what’s with that look?” Gordan felt uneasy under his gaze.“You seem pretty concerned about Vivian,” Luke leaned back on the couch and said thoughtfully.Gordan froze for a moment before laughing it off. “What? No way! Why would I care about her? Come on, Luke, don’t say stuff like that. If she hears it, she might start getting ideas.”Luke could not be bothered to expose his act and got straight to the point. “Why are you here?”“Speaking of that, I almost got sidetracked by that woman.” Gordan quickly pulled out his phone, grimacing. “Man, Ray really didn’t hold back. I need to get some treatment for these bruises later.”Luke took the phone and tried to unlock it. It needed a passcode. He handed it back. “Unlock it.”“All set, boss.” Gordan unlocked the phone and went back to pressing an ice pack against his face.Luke scanned the scr
It was the sound of a body slamming onto the ground.Gordan’s furious curses rang out. “Damn it! You're really going all out, huh? Do you think I'm scared of you?”Another loud thud followed.Vivian frowned. What the hell were they doing? Were they really going to fight until one of them won?Both of them were skilled fighters. If they kept this up, neither would walk away unscathed.“Enough!” shouted Vivian.The two men locked in the fight froze for a moment.“Vivian, stay out of this. I’m beating him to a pulp today,” growled Ray, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He was not in great shape, but neither was Gordan.“Ray, I don’t want to see him,” said Vivian. She did not want Ray fighting him. It was not to protect Gordan but because she did not want Ray getting hurt.Also, she definitely did not want Gordan to see her like this. She could already picture his smug face, his sarcastic remarks and his gloating.“Fine. If you don’t want to see him, I’ll just beat
After returning to the hotel from the hospital, Vivian felt much better.To her, the fact that Ray had taken her to the hospital meant there was hope for the future, which lifted her spirits. She picked up an apple from the fruit platter the hotel had provided and took a bite.“Ray, this apple is really good. Want to try one?” asked Vivian.Ray shook his head. “You go ahead. By the way, can I take a look at the luggage you brought from Russia?”Vivian nodded. “I only hung up my clothes. Everything else is still in the suitcase. You can just take the things out.”Ray walked into the bedroom, pulled out her suitcase, and opened it. Inside were just books and a few other small items, nothing unusual.“You didn't bring any food with you?” asked Ray.“I haven’t really been in the mood, but the food here is way better than Russian food, so I didn't feel the need to bring anything.” Vivian’s tone was lighthearted now that she was in a better mood.“That's true.” Ray agreed, then asked
Ray's tone turned serious. “Alright, I'll make the arrangements immediately. Dr. Craw, once the toxicology report is out, we’ll still need your help.”“For toxicology cases like this, I recommend combining both modern medicine and traditional herbal medicine. Don’t worry, if I can help, I definitely will,” Luca assured him.“Alright, thank you.” Ray expressed his gratitude and ended the call before updating Luke on the situation.Luke reassured him, saying, “If Vivian was really poisoned, don’t worry. Previously, Luca discovered that her biological mother had been poisoned with a slow-acting toxin. She prescribed herbal medicine and used purely traditional herbal medicine to detoxify her. It didn’t take long for all the toxins to be expelled, and her health fully recovered. So, rest assured. If it’s something she can fix, she’ll do everything she can.“Besides, once we identify the exact problem, the doctors will be able to step in and help, right?”“Yes. Thank you both in advance
Gerald walked over. “Ms. Sanchez, what's wrong?”He was eager to get back upstairs and stash his cigarettes before someone noticed and took them.Hera yanked open his bag, glanced at the cigarette brand, and scoffed. “I thought it was some expensive brand. But it's just this? And you’re acting all deferential to her over this?”Gerald was rendered speechless. “I knew Ms. Craw was going out, so I asked her to bring these back for me. This is the brand I’m used to. Maybe it’s not expensive to you, but for me, it’s what I can afford.”Realizing she had misspoken, Hera felt a bit awkward. She quickly changed the topic. “Still, is a pack of cigarettes really worth you being so grateful to Luca? How much could it have cost?”“It’s not about the money,” replied Gerald. “It's just a nice surprise. I never expected to get anything out of helping Ms. Craw, and this kind of unexpected gift has nothing to do with the price. Besides, I'm not being overly grateful. I'm just happy.”He was ba
Luca’s lips were already swollen and flushed from Luke's kisses.That deep shade of red, reflected in Luke’s eyes, was utterly captivating. It tugged at his nerves, stirring an uncontrollable desire within him.At that moment, he had only one thought, and it was to completely lose himself in her.…The two of them stepped out of the bedroom.Vivian quickly turned her back and greeted Luke when he saw him coming out, “Hello, Mr. Crawford.”“Vivian, don’t worry. Everything will get better,” replied Luke.Vivian simply hummed in response.Ray gave them a grateful nod as Luke took Luca’s hand and led her away.It was only after hearing the door close that Vivian finally turned back around.Ray glanced at her and said, “Vivian, they’re your friends. You don’t have to act this way around them. They won’t judge you.”“I know they won’t…” Vivian let out a soft sigh. “I just feel like I look terrifying right now. I didn’t want to scare them, so I avoided facing them directly. But it’
“I once treated someone who had been slowly poisoned over a long period of time. Their pulse was similar to Vivian’s. Given that your family has good genetics, yet Vivian is different from the rest of you, and her skin improved after leaving her original environment, all of this confirms my suspicion.“Could it be that someone in your family has been poisoning Vivian? That would explain why her skin ended up like this.”“If she really has been poisoned, then would staying away from that environment or identifying the person responsible help her get better?” asked Ray.Luca shook her head.“The poison I’ve encountered before was a slow-acting toxin that kept the victim’s skin dark. I don’t know exactly what it was, but long-term exposure to any poison has an effect on the body. It's just a suspicion now. I need to consult someone I know. And honestly, I can’t be sure what’s really causing Vivian’s condition.“Is her skin deteriorating so quickly because she was poisoned once more a