Luca frowned when she saw the mercenary who was walking toward her. ‘Sure enough, Abel is here.’He even knew that she was coming so he asked a mercenary to bring her to him.Luca followed the man without any hesitation.After they arrived at the top floor, the mercenary said, "The boss is in the innermost room."Luca walked over and found that the door of the suite was unlocked. She did not bother to knock before storming in.She followed the sound of glass clinking and found Abel on the balcony."You’re here." His tone was eerily calm.Luca frowned and wanted nothing more than to smash a bottle on his head when she saw how casual he was acting. "Why did you do what you did on Sunday night?" She resisted her impulse and knew that it was not worthwhile to pick a fight with him now.Abel looked up and finished the red wine in his glass. "I was giving you and Luke an opportunity. How did it go? You got what you wanted on Sunday night. Are you happy? You should be thanking me."
On the other end, Luke received a text from his subordinates on his way back from Norman Residence.While he was waiting for the traffic light, he clicked on the text and saw that Luca was in the photo. The photo was taken on that same day. She was dressed exactly the same as early that night.Luke called Zander and asked, "Did you send Luca back?""Mr. Crawford, I sent Ms. Luca back but she got off at an intersection in front of her apartment. She told me that she wanted to get something and asked for me not to wait for her." Zander did not dare to miss any details and told Luke everything that he remembered.Luke responded, "I see."After that, he cut off the call.He glanced at the photo again. ‘Luca lied when she told Zander she wanted to buy something. The truth is that she was going to the Westin Hotel. What was she doing there?’Luke thought back to the time when Luca told him that he would not be able to find anything when he wanted to dig into the matter. ‘How did she
‘Does he have too much time?’After Dr. Cole finished speaking, Luke also said a few words. He mentioned that the spots for the off-site training were limited and the opportunity was rare. He wanted them to discuss who should go.Everyone looked at each other. ‘Does he want us to sell our work and fight for the chance?’Luca continued looking down. Most of these so-called off-site training was for people to go have fun, which to her, felt meaningless.That was why she kept quiet when everyone started the discussion.When everyone was trying their best to put their names forward, Dr. Cole noticed that Luca had been quiet so he asked her, "Dr. Craw, what do you think?"Luca looked at him suspiciously, then glanced around and noticed that everyone was looking at her. ‘What do I think? I have no opinion.’"I’ll go along with the company’s arrangements," Luca said.Luke's expression was stern. Her reply had everyone’s gaze shift toward him.Dr. Cole nodded and looked at Luke as w
"No, but I feel a little thirsty and want to drink some water," Bianca said and looked at the maid.The maid nodded and poured a glass of water for her immediately.The nurse stepped forward with a smile and said, "You can drink water after your blood is drawn. If you have the appetite, you can also have some oats. Try to eat something light for the next few days."Bianca looked at the needle and became alert. "Why do you want to draw my blood?"She remembered that Abel said not to go for blood tests because her blood type was different from the real Bianca.Luke was a smart man. There was a higher chance of her getting exposed if she went through with the blood test. Seeing her strong reaction, the nurse explained patiently, "You’ve been hospitalized for 24 hours, but the high fever is recurrent. We need to do further examinations to find out what's going on with your body."Bianca shook her head and turned her down. "I'm fine now. It's okay, I don’t need to go for a check-up
After Rhett left, Luca continued to browse the net and read the news.She thought of Amur when she saw the news of a wealthy businessman who was brutally murdered in his villa. She took out her phone and called him.However, it seemed that his phone was turned off.With no other choice, Luca had to put down the phone. She thought that Amur should have arrived at the Island of Despair by now, but for some reason, her heart just could not settle down.Luca’s expression turned solemn when she thought of what Abel said.The phone rang. Luca picked up the phone and glanced at it. It was a call from an unfamiliar number based in A City.Luca picked it up and a kiddish voice sounded from the other end of the call. "Ms. Luca, I'm Tommy!"Of course, she knew who was on the other end of the phone.Luca chuckled softly, and the sadness in her eyes melted away when she heard Tommy’s voice. "I know. Why did you call me? Isn't it time for school?""I borrowed the teacher’s phone to call you
Luca knew that several of them were looking at her but she walked out of the laboratory with the documents in her hand without a care in the world.Rhett quickly grabbed the other documents and followed her.After they walked out of the laboratory, Rhett looked back at his colleagues who were working overtime. He could not help but whisper what he was thinking about, "Dr. Craw, you’ve been acting a little abnormal today."In the past, Luca was the most diligent and serious in the Technical Department.When the researchers were lazing around in their office, she was spending all her time in the laboratory doing experiments and running comparative analyses of various data."Is that so?" Luca knew what he meant by that."Yes." Rhett touched his chin. There was no one around him, so he could speak whole-heartedly. "Dr. Craw, I’ve asked around and it seems that the other professors’ research progress is pretty good, especially Dr. Cole’s... "Although the other professors had no sens
Lanie and Rainie came to see what kind of person it was who could make Tommy talk about her cooking non-stop. They also wanted to see if the other party wanted to use Tommy to approach their father.After all, there had been quite a few women like that over the years.Luca's eyes were filled with tears when she heard the kids greeting her. She was moved when she saw how tall Lanie and Rainie had become. "Hello, come in."She reached her hand out to both of them.Rainie felt inexplicably affectionate toward Luca and held her hand. "Okay."Lanie felt the same way as her sister but chose to nod coolly. They then walked into the apartment together.Zander smiled and said, "Ms. Luca, thank you for the trouble."Luca was surprised. "Zander, won't you come in and have dinner with us?""I don't have time. I have to send documents to the boss," Zander shook his head and said.Luca was surprised. Luke must have agreed to him leaving the children here to send the documents to him.‘He a
Rainie noticed the change in Lanie's expression and asked in a confused tone, "Lanie, what's the matter with you?""Rainie, I think you’ll like it," Lanie said as he put another piece of fluffy cake in his mouth. Even though he was surprised, he still ate it like a gentleman.Rainie looked at the cake and was debating internally on whether she should try it or not.After she thought about it for a while, she picked up the fork, took a small piece, and put it in her mouth.Tommy blinked and asked with a smile, "Rainie, how is it? Isn't it delicious?"Rainie showed a shocked expression as she uttered, "This cake..."She did not continue talking. It may have been a long time but the taste was exactly the same as what she remembered. It was even more delicious than the ones the chef at home prepared.Tommy noted their expressions and proudly stood up, saying, "I knew that you’d like the cakes made by Ms. Luca!"Rainie had a complicated expression on her face as she looked at Blanch
“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