Bianca searched for Grandpa for nearly an hour.However, she still could not find him anywhere.She started panicking.After she went back upstairs and looked around the empty rental place, she found that Grandpa had completely disappeared.Grandpa's cane was gone as well. ‘Could it be that he was walking with his cane when he went downstairs?’However, Bianca knew that Grandpa did not normally use his cane unless he was traveling long distance and needed it for support.Dispirited, Binaca walked into Grandpa’s bedroom.She remembered that before she went on the date with Brayden, Grandpa was fine.However, during dinner time, Grandpa had said earnestly, "Sometimes I can't help but think that it's not good to live too long. I’m getting older by the hour and becoming more of a burden to you..."‘Could it be that Grandpa ran away from home?’Bianca shook her head. Grandpa would never do such a thing.When she opened Grandpa’s closet, Bianca took a closer look. She was not sure
When she got out of the elevator, the property’s service personnel behind her said to the man by the door, "I'm very sorry, Sir. She said that she knew you."Luke nodded.The property’s service personnel then left.As she looked at the man by the door, Bianca asked with reservation, "Did you see my grandpa?"She was the one who said she wanted to be out of his life, but now, she was the one who came to his door late at night to ask him things.Bianca could not help but be reserved and feel awkward. However, she had no choice but to go through with it so that she could find Grandpa."What happened to your grandpa? Is he not at home?" Luke initially had his head low as he tied his night robe. When he heard her words, he raised his head and asked her.Bianca observed his expression and eyes. She realized that he looked genuine about not knowing where her grandpa was.The sudden drop of her heart made her feel at a loss. She shook her head and pressed the elevator button with tremb
Bianca's cheeks were flushed.The atmosphere in the car became quiet and filled with tension.She was huddled up in the passenger seat of his car. For some reason, when he was around, Bianca felt much more at ease.After thinking about it for a long time, Bianca attributed the source of the sense of security to their blood relationship.Staying by her brother's side allowed her to feel grounded. That logic did not sound wrong because that was normal among siblings.Gradually, Bianca fell asleep.She was relieved that she finally found a place where she should be. From a psychological point of view, she regarded him as her brother. That way, when the two of them were alone, it would not be weird morally.Luke drove to a toll booth. When he passed the toll booth, he turned his head and glanced at the woman next to him who was huddled up in the passenger seat. In the past few days, she was not able to eat well, sleep well, and even fainted. Finally, she could take a rest.The blac
She cried in Luke's arms for a long, long time until the surrounding crickets quieted down. Bianca had tired herself from crying and felt a faint soreness in her lower abdomen and lower back.It was a feeling that she had for years which she experienced once every month.Only this time, it seemed to have come many days in advance.When a woman’s body did not get enough rest, the body would react abnormally, and that included having irregular periods.Bianca withdrew from his arms. She was anxious and embarrassed. She squeezed out the warm tears from her eyes.When Luke’s chest suddenly felt empty, he looked sadly at her and asked, “Should we head back to A City or continue looking around the town? Does Grandpa have any relatives in town?”He would respect any decision she made."Grandpa doesn’t have any relatives in town..."Bianca suddenly thought that if Grandpa really ran away from home, he would never return to town.When she thought about it, she started worrying about Gr
Bianca slept until seven o'clock in the morning.Mornings in the small town were no better than mornings in A City. Since the main street was only a few meters away from the guest house, it was very noisy.The sound of people selling things early in the street naturally floated toward Bianca's ears.After she slowly woke up, Bianca saw that she was in the guest house’s tiny room. It was mostly empty except for the narrow bed she lay on. The windows were open and the air conditioner was turned off.Although her body was uncomfortable due to her period, she was able to get one of the most peaceful nights of sleep last night in recent days.Bianca got up, took the phone next to the pillow, and looked at the time. It was already past seven o'clock.Where did Luke go?When she left the room to change her pads, the lady owner passed by her and said to Bianca, "You’re up early. Your husband is outside having a smoke.”Bianca nodded blankly.The husband she mentioned was obviously ref
"Two? That's fast! You guys have already given birth twice…" The child's mother looked at Bianca with shock. "You don't look like you've been pregnant before! I would've never guessed it! A mother of two!" Bianca smiled awkwardly. After chatting for a while and before leaving the town, Luke called his ex-classmate to talk between the two of them. Luke looked very serious as he said something to his ex-classmate. The ex-classmate who was carrying the child listened seriously, then nodded his head before nodding again. On their way back to A City, Bianca did not ask him about anything. In a daze, she slept in the car again. When they were back in the city center, the road was stable again. Luke also drove slower because he was afraid that she would wake up. In the end, she slept all the way until they reached the apartment. She was slowly woken up by her period cramps. When Bianca opened her eyes, she forcefully took a few breaths. She pressed her lower abdomen with both
Bianca entered the subway.On the way from Luke's apartment to the subway station, she did not look back, but she knew that Luke was following her the entire way quietly. He was still worried about her.The train moved, and after many stops, it finally arrived at her destination.Bianca went down and walked toward the exit.…Her neighborhood.Bianca saw the police and Jason.She walked toward Jason. After Jason saw her, he stopped smoking and turned around to look at her. Initially, he thought that she was with Mr. Crawford."Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Doyle. Go back and rest," Bianca said gratefully and sincerely.Jason knew that his job was to do things for other people. However, it was the first time someone had verbally thanked him, so he could not help but be a little embarrassed. "It's fine. If you want to thank someone, thank Mr. Crawford."He would never forget to give credit to his boss."Bea!" Sue got out of the car with a laptop in her hands.Bianca raise
There were faint red marks on Bianca's face which were particularly eye-catching.Sue sat in front and was nearer to the boss. She held a signing pen and did not dare to look her boss in the eye, even more so than usual.The air-conditioning in the conference room was on full blast, but when their boss’ face darkened, the room felt colder. It was as if the air had condensed into an invisible layer of ice, freezing everyone's expressions."What's happened to your face?"In the silent atmosphere, the boss suddenly asked calmly.No one dared to answer.Since the head of their department had not arrived yet, as the team leader, Sue had to put on a bold face and tell her boss in detail, “A male colleague suddenly went crazy and grabbed a bunch of folders to hit Bianca in the face."It was a serious meeting and not a private one. Bianca looked up and said, "It's nothing. Thank you for your concern, Mr. Crawford."When Sue heard that, her heart cracked!Bianca was acting too distant.
Luca also reminded Luke to tell the kids not to contact her during this period. The device could not be removed. If it was, Abel would definitely notice. Rather than making him suspicious or prompting him to install even better devices, it was better to just leave this one in place.Luke quickly replied: [Got it.]Luca put on a faint smile and began narrowing down the search, trying to figure out where that man had installed the device.If it was just for listening, she did not care. It could stay. However, if it was a surveillance camera, she needed to be more cautious. In the end, she found the device under the bed.She did not bother checking whether it was for listening or monitoring. After all, if it was placed there, the only possibility was that it was an audio bug. A camera in that spot would not capture anything useful.Anyone trained on the Island of Despair would not make such a rookie mistake.After a quick wash-up, Luca went to bed.The next morning, she receive
“Babe, don’t listen to her nonsense. She’s just trying to drive a wedge between us,” Hera said gently, hoping to earn Abel's affection.Abel did not take Hera’s words seriously. Instead, he picked up his phone and made a few inquiries.After checking with multiple sources to confirm where Lucius and the others had gone, the person on the other end of the line reported that Lucius had not left home in the past few days.As Luca listened to the voice on the other end of the phone, her expression remained calm.Gerald let out a sigh of relief but was also puzzled. He had always felt there was something going on between Lucius and Luca, yet unexpectedly, Luca’s outing this time had nothing to do with Lucius.Hera’s face turned pale. So, it really was not because of him.In that case, she…Hera instinctively looked at Abel, only to find that he was already staring at her. Their eyes met, and Hera could not help but shudder. Abel’s gaze was terrifyingly cold.Just when she thought he
“Oh? What made you so happy? Spill the tea.” Hera’s curiosity grew. Whatever it was that had Abel smiling like this had to be something big.The last time she was with him, he had closed a billion-dollar deal over the phone, but his expression had remained indifferent. It was like it was just another ordinary day at the office.However, he was currently grinning from ear to ear. Could it be something even bigger than that?Abel set down his unlit cigar. His fingers lightly traced along Hera’s cheek before resting on her eyes.“Your eyes… They’re beautiful,” murmured Abel.It was not the first time he had complimented her eyes.Hera had gone for the perfect foxy-type eyes, and every man she met would gush over how stunning they were.However, Abel was different. Other men would say her eyes were beautiful and then follow it up with praise for her face, her figure… The whole package.Yet Abel? He never mentioned anything else but just her eyes. It was as if her face and other par
“Alright. Ouch, it hurts when you flick me, Lanie!” Tommy pouted.“Don't cry. You were just saying you’d protect your sister, and now, you’re crying? What’s going on?” Lanie rubbed Tommy’s forehead. “Alright, I’ve rubbed it. Stop crying.”“Heh, Lanie, you're the best to me!” Tommy immediately beamed with happiness.“The whole grandma situation is over. From now on, let’s just behave ourselves and wait for Daddy and Ms. Luca to come back,” Lanie told his younger siblings.Even though their parents were not around, he had taken on the responsibility of being the elder brother. Despite being the same age as Rainie, he was much more mature.“Yes, I’ll listen to Great-Grandpa and you, Lanie!” Tommy nodded eagerly.…After Jason hung up on Allison, he let out a deep sigh.Sue walked over with a plate of fruits and placed it beside him. “What’s with that look? Have some fruits.”Jason picked up a toothpick, speared a piece of fruit, and brought it to her mouth.Sue opened her mouth
“Good evening, Madam Allison.” Jason quickly answered the phone.Allison wasted no time and demanded, “Why did you only send me such a small amount of money?”“It’s Mr. Crawford’s decision,” replied Jason, “If you suspect I’m withholding anything, you may ask him directly…”He reckoned that Allison might not be able to get in touch with Luke, so he added, “Or I could show you the chat records.”By now, Allison could not really doubt him anymore.However, with frustration in her voice, Allison asked, “Why is it so little? How am I supposed to live in A City on this?”“Mr. Crawford said that you have no extra expenses. You’re not shopping, so a hundred thousand dollars should be enough,” Jason relayed Luke’s words.A hundred thousand dollars was an amount that the average working family could not even earn in a month.Allison could not go out shopping right now, and she was not making any other extra purchases while staying at home every day. Why would it not be enough?Sophian, who over
“She's busy, so use something else. I’ve got stuff to do. I’m hanging up now.” Luke did not want to hear her rambling.Allison quickly added, “Wait, there's one more thing.”Luke frowned in annoyance.“I don’t have any money left. Send me some,” continued Allison. She was worried he might refuse. “It’s been over a month, and you still haven’t sent me my living expenses.”“Don’t worry, Jason will transfer it to you in a bit,” replied Luke. It had indeed been a month. However, he had been too busy to remember.“Alright.” Allison was about to say more when Sophian called out sweetly, “Mr. Crawford…”Before she could finish her sentence, Luke hung up the phone.Allison stared at Sophian. “What did you say that for?”Sophian was confused. She had only said a word, and the call was already disconnected. Was it her fault?“I just wanted to talk to him…” replied Sophian.“You didn’t have to say anything. I wasn’t done talking yet, and you made him hang up.” Allison was furious. She k
“As long as what Lanie wants to do isn’t illegal, I’ll support him.” Old Master Crawford rose to his feet with the help of his cane after saying that.He had known all along Allison would not have come here for anything important.This conversation was so dull.If it were not for her pestering Lanie with questions, Old Master Crawford would have pretended he did not know she was here and let her do whatever she wanted.The three kids had overheard the whole conversation between their great-grandfather and grandmother around the corner of the stairs.Once they sensed that the discussion was wrapping up, Lanie made a hand gesture to his younger siblings.Rainie and Tommy understood the gesture and nodded, following their brother upstairs.Lanie waited until he was sure no one downstairs could hear them before asking, “Why were you two eavesdropping?”“You were listening in, so why couldn't we?” Tommy grinned. He understood most of what they had talked about. What interested him m
“It looks like you're completely clueless,” scoffed Old Master Crawford. “If it weren’t for your return, do you really think Luke would've sent the kids to Crawford Manor?”Allison was not convinced and was about to argue that it was not because of her.However, before she could speak, Old Master Crawford cut her off with a blunt remark that left her speechless. “Have you looked in the mirror? With the way you look right now, just walking around at night would be enough to scare the kids. And you still think you can help take care of them? If my precious great-grandchildren see you like this, they’ll have nightmares. If it weren’t for the kids’ well-being, Luke wouldn’t have sent them here in the first place.”Allison felt a deep sense of humiliation. Being criticized like this in front of Sophian and Mr. Griffin, she felt as if her dignity had been completely shattered.Yet the worst part was that Old Master Crawford was absolutely right.Her face really was terrifying.“I can
Allison caught the disapproval in Old Master Crawford's gaze and could not help but snap at Sophian, “What are you talking about? What does this have to do with you?”Sophian met her gaze and suddenly realized that the best thing to do now was to stay quiet and lower her presence. In an instant, she regretted her impulsive words. She was so eager to leave a good impression on Old Master Crawford, but instead, she had made things worse.Now, all she could do was apologize. She pressed her lips together and bowed sincerely to Old Master Crawford, saying, “Sorry, Old Master Crawford, I couldn't hold back.”Old Master Crawford, with his strong mental fortitude, did not get angry at the gesture.“You really…” Allison was speechless. What was she even doing? Why was everything Sophian did so laughable?!She turned to Old Master Crawford and said, “Father, this woman hasn't seen much of the world. Please don't blame her.”Old Master Crawford ignored Allison’s comment and stared at S