After Tia closed the bedroom door, she sat down on the couch and waited for Bianca to wake up. She felt quite bored. She looked around the room and chuckled slightly. Nothing in the room indicated that Luke stayed in the same room as Bianca. Tia was quite happy to find out about that. As loyal as Luke might be, he would not be able to accept the woman with such a tarnished past. It was a miracle that Bianca remained in the Crawford household despite what she had been through. After all, her existence was a humiliation to Luke. The more Tia thought about it, the more indignant she got. Bianca, lying on the bed, did not hear any movement and decided to be done with her act. She slowly opened her eyes and groaned in pain to tell Tia that she was awake. "Ugh…" When Tia heard that, she stood up and looked at Bianca on the bed. "You're awake, Mrs. Crawford." She might have utter contempt for Bianca, but she did not show that on her face. Bianca sat up and looked at Tia. She
Luca went to the kitchen and made dinner for Tommy. She did not have many food ingredients left, so she had to be extra creative with the eggs. She remembered that Tommy was not very fond of eggs, and she had to be very meticulous so that Tommy would eat. An hour later, the fragrance of food wafted out of the kitchen. Tommy wore the slippers that Luca had prepared for him and ran toward the kitchen. He stood at the door and blinked. "It smells really good, Ms. Luca." Luca was wearing an apron. She turned her head and smiled. She was standing in front of the window, and Tommy could only see her silhouette because of the lighting. Tommy was stunned. 'Why does she look so familiar…' Luca did not notice the change in his expression. She said, "Go and wash your hands, Tommy. Dinner will be ready soon." "Yes, Ms. Luca!" Tommy's eyes were like crescent moons when he smiled. He bumbled over to the bathroom and washed his hands. Luca brought the food out of the kitchen. Tommy wa
Luca came out of the kitchen with a plate of sliced apples. Tommy was sitting on the couch wagging his legs while watching the cartoon on the television. He behaved as though he was at home instead of a stranger's house. Luca smiled and put the plate on the coffee table. "I only have apples in my fridge. I'll go to the supermarket tomorrow and buy your favorite fruits." "Thank you, Ms. Luca!" Tommy said. He picked up an apple slice with a toothpick but did not eat it. Instead, he handed it to Luca. "You should eat some too!" Luca smiled sweetly seeing how sensible Tommy was. She took the toothpick and said, "Thank you, Tommy." Tommy could see the warm glow in Luca's eyes and could not help but lean closer. "Ms. Luca, can I lean on you?" Luca was taken aback, but she soon knew what Tommy wanted. She smiled and nodded. "Of course." Tommy inched closer to her carefully in case she was uncomfortable. Luca ate the apple and picked him up with both hands. "Come and lean on me
Tommy did not get a response from her. He asked again, "Ms. Luca?" Luca came to her senses and made up an excuse. "I'm sure that a cute boy like you must have a godmother. Any woman would want you to be her godson." Tommy grinned. "Why don't you be my godmother, Ms. Luca?" Luca did not know how to react to that. It was quite ridiculous to think that her biological son would become her godson. "You'll have to ask your parents about that," she tried to stall with an excuse, hoping that Tommy would forget about the issue in a couple of days. "Alright, I'll ask Daddy about it then." Tommy nodded and committed it to heart. The woman in front of her gave her an inexplicable sense of familiarity. He wanted to see her more often. Luca pinched his plump cheek. "Didn't you say that you're sleepy? Why aren't you sleeping yet?" "Good night, Ms. Luca." Tommy curled up in Luca's embrace and closed his eyes. Luca did not move. As she heard the child's breathing become calm and rhyth
The footage from the surveillance cameras showed that Tommy was seen in the area. Jason had brought the bodyguards from Crawford Manor to look for him. After Luca walked far away, she turned around to look at Jason and the bodyguards busy at work. She turned away and hastened back home. Back at the apartment, Tommy had already woken up and washed his face. He was sitting in the living room, waiting for Luca to return. When he saw Luca come in through the door, he exclaimed in surprise, jumped off the couch, and ran toward her. "You're back, Ms. Luca!" Luca was holding things in both of her hands, and she had to close the door with her foot. Her heart warmed when she saw that the child was so excited to see her, and she led Tommy to the dining table. "You must be hungry. I bought a little bit of everything, so you can eat whatever you like." She could not tell what Tommy liked to eat, so she took the extra effort to make sure that he received enough nutrition. "I'll eat anyt
"I love them!" Tommy nodded his head. Luca smiled and patted his head. She was Tommy's birth mother, and it was not surprising that they loved the same things even though it had been so long. Luca brought the shopping cart to the checkout counter. She had a shopping bag in each of her hands, while Tommy also carried one bag. The two people left the supermarket. "Where are we going now, Ms. Luca?" Tommy asked. His shopping bag was not heavy, and one of his hands clung to the hem of Luca's clothes in case he wandered away. "We're going home." Luca saw that his eyes were the only facial feature that was not covered. She was worried that he might not be able to take the late morning heat. "Okay!" Tommy smiled and nodded. The supermarket was a short walk from Luca's apartment. They arrived at the gate after walking for five minutes. Luca saw several men in black suits interrogating random people not far away. She felt nervous and lowered her head to look at Tommy. Tommy a
Tommy looked at the snacks in his hands and pouted. "Ms. Luca, after I go home, will I ever get to see you again?" Luca thought for a while. She wanted to meet the child in the future too. She took a piece of notepaper and wrote her phone number on it. "This is my phone number. If you miss me, you are welcome to call me any time. We can also have a video call. What do you think?" "This is great!" Tommy grinned. He had a phone, but he did not bring it in case they were able to track his location with it. Luca was reluctant for Tommy to leave, and she knew that her reluctance was growing by the minute. She opened the door and said, "Let's go." Tommy held her hand, and the two people went downstairs. When they stepped out of the elevator, Luca noticed the bodyguards in black suits. She asked Tommy, "Is that one of your Daddy's men?" Tommy could recognize a few of them. He nodded and said, "Yes!" "Go then. Be a good boy, alright?" Luca could guess that his father would scold
Tommy lay on his bed. He was on a video call with Luca. Luca looked at Tommy on her phone screen, wishing that the joy she experienced in the past two days could last forever. However, she was now Luca and not Bianca. She could not be by her children's side for too long. Seeing that Tommy was yawning, Luca said softly. "It's getting late. You should go to bed." "I hope that I can sleep with you, Ms. Luca," Tommy pouted and said coyly. He remembered that he had slept soundly by her side the night before, and he wanted to experience that again. "You're a big boy now. You have to be independent," Luca said. She also wished that she could be by her children's side, but that was an impossibility for now! Tommy blinked and looked at her gentle demeanor. "Ms. Luca, when I decide to forgive Daddy in a few days, I'll let him know that I want you as my godmother!" "We'll talk about this next time. You still have school tomorrow. You'd better sleep soon," Luca said. Tommy nodded
“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