The thin man took a sip of beer and looked at him. "What do you have in mind?"The fat man got close to his ears and shared his evil plans.After he heard the fat man’s plans, the thin man smiled grimly, picked up his fork, and got himself a piece of popcorn chicken. "That’s a good plan. We’ll make this woman kneel in front of our brothers and beg for mercy!""That's right, Brother. A wise man does not fight when the odds are against him. It’s just a matter of time before this woman begs for your mercy." The fat man smiled wryly. The layers of fat on his face were squished together. As his smile was too big, his fat face was jiggling.Luca did not notice them and continued to walk forward.When she was tired, she sat at a food stall where she ordered two dishes and a bottle of beer.On the other hand in Crawford Manor.Bianca sat on the sofa in the bedroom. She looked at the photo on the phone and tightened the grip on her phone. Her veins were nearly bursting.She received an
"Even if I already have a godmother, I can still have a few more." Tommy was puzzled."Don’t you think that you’re being too reckless about this? She’s your father's employee. If she becomes your godmother, the hierarchy will be messed up." Bianca resolutely refused, the hostility in her heart growing more intense.Ivana was picking a fight with her. It seemed that she was going to take away not only Luke but also the children.She would never let this happen. If she failed the mission, she would be dead within minutes upon returning to the Island of Despair!Tommy pouted and said in a dissatisfied tone, "Why does it matter? Aunt Nina is my godmother and she’s also Dad’s employee."Luke noticed Bianca's resistance and said, "She has to agree to be your godmother before we can do that. We’ll talk about it later."Tommy pouted and glanced at the photo. He then sat back and replied, "Okay, I’ll ask Aunt Luca when the time comes. I'm sure she’ll agree."Bianca was furious when she h
"It's so late. Why haven't you slept?" Luke crossed his arms and sat in the chair. His expression was calm."I can't sleep." Bianca played with her fingers anxiously. Before he could say anything, she said, "Luke, I overreacted today. I didn’t mean anything else. But if you’re interested in her, I’ll leave. Since Tommy likes her too, you can be one happy family."As Luke listened to her sorrowful words, his expression was flat. Bianca could not see any joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness.Bianca waited for his answer by the door. Seeing how calm he was, she turned from confident to anxious."Don't think too much of it. Go to sleep," Luke said after he did not move for some time.He did not comfort her nor comment further...Bianca was dissatisfied but calmed down a little. At the very least, he was not going to divorce her for Ivana.She nodded. When she was about to turn around and leave, she heard Luke say, "Don’t worry about the reporter.""Aren’t you going to pay him off?" Bia
"Dr. Craw?" Talia was surprised. She could not help herself from talking to Luca again as she walked over. "You’re not an assistant? You’re a professor?""Yeah." Luca did not hide anything from her. Her expression remained neutral as she walked to the elevator with her ID in her hand."You look so young..." Talia could not help but utter what was in her heart. Realizing that she had said something wrong, she immediately covered her mouth and explained, "I’m not questioning your ability, it’s just...""It's okay." Luca did not take her words to heart.It was normal for a young person like her who had just entered the corporate world to be straightforward. It was a great thing that she had yet to be tainted by office politics. Luca thought of the days when she had just returned to the country. Suddenly, she felt a little sad because she realized that it was all in the past. It was difficult for her to live a normal life now.Seeing that Luca did not seem to mind her words, Talia b
Luca noticed that her heartbeat was accelerating. Luke, who used to be aloft, rarely looked at others like this.He did not care about others. Engaging in simple conversations would already be a test of his patience.He had always been someone others looked up to. He never lowered his gaze for anyone.Luke frowned. ‘She thinks she would be disturbed by sending Tommy back?’Luca knew him well.In the past, he would launch a thorough investigation into her life, but now, he had no such intentions."What are you hiding?" Luke put his hands in his pockets, his deep-set eyes staring straight at her."I’m sure Mr. Crawford has had me investigated." Luca's expression was calm. Luke did not suspect a thing."I didn't ask anyone to investigate you," Luke said.Luca was a little surprised, but it was not because she was afraid that he would find out anything about her. After all, Abel got a group of people to work meticulously to make sure that there was nothing about her that would rai
Rhett blushed and retorted, "Stop it with your nonsense. If Dr. Craw hears it, she might misunderstand.""Look at you blushing! Sigh, Rhett, I'm so disappointed in you. However, our company looks at capabilities, not appearance," Mo said. From the moment Luca stepped into the conference room, she noticed that Luke paid more attention to Luca than others.The private conversation they had made her think more of the situation as well.Rhett was reluctant to continue discussing this topic with her. "Let’s stop talking about it. It won't be good if others hear it. I’ve already asked for someone to come to clean up the room. I'll head off now."After he said that, he turned around and left.Mo crossed her hands in front of her chest and watched as he left. She muttered in her heart that all men were the same. When they saw beautiful women, they instinctively wanted to side with them.After Luca dismissed Mo, she closed the door and sat on the sofa again.She held her forehead, sighed
Talia smiled and nodded. "Alright." Luca returned the tray and left the cafeteria. Talia watched as she left and thought to herself, 'Dr. Craw doesn't seem very approachable.' She thought that she would get on her good side so she would have someone to rely on when she changed departments. Judging from the interaction earlier, she realized that it would be difficult to be Luca's friend. She would have to find other connections to get into the Technical Department. Back at the office, Luca switched on her computer and studied Shanks's formulae. It was a new type of antibiotic. If the research succeeded, it would be a blessing to many people. Research on the antibiotic was eighty percent done, so she would only have to complete the last part before they proceeded with the clinical trial phase. Luca dared not run any experiments yet in case there were certain risks. Instead, she decided that she would do the research again. After deciding on that, Luca printed out the form
The next day, news about Luke's scandal appeared on all major papers in A City. There were only two photos, but the reporter had whipped up a fancy story, so the entire A City was talking about it. Old Master Crawford read about the news. His face was ashen and grim as he read the article in the newspaper. He knew that Luke had no relation to the woman in the article, but he was unhappy to see the reporter deliberately tarnishing his grandson's reputation of being a loyal husband. "Mr. Griffin." The old man slammed the newspaper angrily on the table. "Do something for me." "Yes, Old Master Crawford," the butler said courteously. "Find the reporter of this article for me. You know what to do next." Old Master Crawford narrowed his gaze. There was a hint of viciousness in his clouded eyes. He had retired many years ago, but he was still as merciless and assertive as ever. "Yes." The butler nodded and left. Bianca happened to be walking down the stairs when the butler wa
“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