Lanie sank into deep thought for a while after he heard Rainie's account. It was relatively peaceful when he got home from school, which meant that Old Master Crawford was not angry at Bianca. It seemed that the woman had managed to appease him. "Let's not tell Great-Grandpa for now," he said. Rainie nodded in agreement. "I cooperated with her and didn't call out her lies or say anything that I'm not supposed to. I want to wait until Daddy comes back." Lanie and Rainie believed that Luke was the only person in the family that would be able to help them solve the problem. When Lanie heard that, he took out his phone and sent a message to his father, asking when he would return to A City. After Rainie watched Lanie type the message and send it, she continued asking, "Daddy doesn't know about what happened yesterday, right?" "No, Daddy doesn't know. Great-Grandpa was the one who ordered the search for you." Lanie patted Rainie's head and said endearingly, "I'm sorry that this
Luca sent Sue a copy of the recording. "Actually, Bailey's lackeys have been trying to get you since that day," Amur said. Sue was shocked when she heard that. "How is that possible? Have you been helping me?" Amur nodded but said nothing. Luca explained, "On that day, Bailey found some people to ambush you after you stepped out of the hospital, but he managed to teach those people a lesson. You didn't seem like you'd want to blow up the issue, so we didn't inform the police. I didn't expect that they would come back to cause trouble on the next day." Sue also did not expect that. Even though Bailey's lackeys had been taught a lesson, they continued to harass Sue and her daughters. They were perhaps so brazen because Jason was not in A City at the moment. Sue was grateful to find out that the young man had protected her. She said to Luca, "Thank you so much. Right, Jason will be back in A City in another two days. May we invite you for dinner?" Luca agreed to it, thinking
As she watched the men charge toward her, Luca placed the shopping bags on the ground. Luca had a smaller build than the two men, and they did not think that she posed a threat to them. They raised their fists, thinking that they could settle this through brute force. Soon, sounds of people trading blows could be heard in the narrow alley. A few seconds later, the sounds stopped, following which were the sounds of men panting and groaning. Luca picked up her shopping bags and looked at the two people. The alley was only illuminated by a street light near the exit, and the lighting was extremely dim. Even so, she could tell that the two men were in great agony. One of the men felt great pain in his chest cavity, as though his ribs were broken. He could only make grunting noises, and he did not have the strength to get to his feet. "I'm not as gentle as my younger brother. I'd expect that you've learned your lesson when you tried to abduct my friend, but it doesn't mean that
Two days later, Luke and Jason departed from New York after having resolved the issues that plagued the subsidiary company. Lanie and Rainie knew that their father was coming home today, and they locked themselves in the bedroom for a long time. They even ignored Tommy knocking on the door and making a fuss about wanting to go inside. After coming to a conclusion that they should hand the DNA test report to Luke, they opened the bedroom door. Tommy's ruckus had alerted Bianca earlier. When Lanie and Rainie opened the door, they saw Bianca outside, preparing to knock. "What are you two kids doing inside? Didn't you hear that your younger brother is outside the door? I'm just about to get the butler to fetch the keys," Bianca smiled and said as she looked at the twins. Ever since the previous incident, Rainie had tried to avoid Bianca whenever possible. Bianca was very frustrated that the three children were not close to her at all. "We were reading," Lanie replied. Bianca
After Luke promised them what he would do, the twins exchanged relieved glances. Luke had always carried through his promises. Lanie and Rainie knew that Luke had always loved the real Bianca. The impostor Bianca, who had lived in their house for three years, had never received his love. Rainie yawned and rubbed her eyes. Luke stroked her hair and said gently. "You should go to bed if you're tired." "Alright. Good night, Daddy." Rainie nodded and walked toward the door. Before she left the room, she turned around and said, "Good night, Lanie." "Good night." Luke looked at the two children. It must have been hard for them to keep their discovery a secret. However, he could not expose the impostor's lies before the real Bianca was found, and he was worried that the children might not be able to keep the secret anymore. "I'll handle this. You have to pretend that you don't know anything." Lanie and Rainie understood what he meant, so they nodded. After Rainie left, Luke stoo
Sue and Jason wanted to invite Luca for dinner to thank her. They did not want to make it too restrictive, which was why they had planned for a home-cooked dinner. Now that Luca had come to their house bearing gifts, it felt too formal. It would be rude for Sue not to accept the gifts, so she took the bulging shopping bag from Luca's hands. "Thanks, but you shouldn't have. We should be the ones to thank you." "You're welcome," Luca smiled and said. She saw Jason come out of the kitchen wearing an apron. She smiled and said, "So this is how you look when you're out of a suit, Mr. Doyle." Jason smiled. "Don't tease me, Dr. Craw. Sue, what do you plan to do with the fish?" "How about roasting it with herb stuffing?" Sue said, then turned to ask Luca, "Dr. Craw, do you like roast fish? Let me know if you'd rather eat something else. We've prepared a lot of ingredients today." "I'm not picky. I'd be glad to eat whatever you serve," Luca said. "If that's the case, I'll make you
Sue took the tray and started stuffing the fish with herbs and vegetables. She remembered Luke's character and asked Jason, "Mr. Crawford is a picky eater. Is he going to comment on my cooking?" "I don't think so," Jason said after giving the question some thought. He added, "He probably won't touch it." "That'll be so awkward. I don't even know why he wants to come," Sue mumbled. Jason shook his head and continued to help Sue in the kitchen. In the living room, Kari and Teri were holding their dolls in their hands while Luca helped them dress up the dolls and braid their hair. She found the tasks easy because she had played with dolls with Rainie before. Kari smiled sweetly when Luca was done with her doll. "You made the doll look pretty, Ms. Luca," she said. "Yes! That's better than what Mommy can do," Teri said. Luca smiled sheepishly. Sue would not be happy if she heard her daughters say that. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. The caretaker, who had been sitting in the
Luca lifted her head, and the two pairs of eyes met, which caused her to shudder involuntarily. Sue took out a bottle of red wine from the cabinet. She smiled and said, "I'm in the mood today. Shall we all have a drink? I know it's weird to pair red wine with fish, but we're all friends here, and we don't really mind that, do we?" Luca's alcohol capacity was quite high now, and she did not have to drive herself home later, so she had no problems with drinking during dinner. She nodded and said, "Alright." Luke did not voice his opinion. Jason said, "Let's not, Sue. Ms. Crawford drove here. If he drank wine, how is he going to drive home later?" "If he can't drive home, he can spend the night here," Sue said matter-of-factly. "Mr. Crawford, if you don't want to spend the night here, I'll get some freshly-squeezed orange juice for you. That's what the children are drinking too." Luke glanced at the bottle of red wine in her hands. He knew that Jason had bought some bottles wh
However, Abel was not fooled by her words.He asked again, “Who are you looking for?”“Oh, I'm looking for Gerald. I've noticed that most people are here, but Gerald is missing, so I was just curious,” Hera replied honestly, knowing that Abel was naturally suspicious.“I’m starting to feel like you’ve become quite close with Gerald recently,” Abel asked suspiciously.Hera froze for a moment, then laughed and explained, “I often ask him to help with little things. He might not have many qualities, but he’s pretty diligent.”Abel did not respond right away, as though he was considering her words carefully.Hera lowered her voice and teased, “What's the matter? Are you jealous?”Before he could answer, she quickly added, “You’re so outstanding. How could I ever be interested in some ordinary man?”As soon as she said that, a flicker of unease crossed her mind.Abel was far superior to Lucius in looks and wealth. However, she seemed to be more drawn to Lucius.Despite her actions
For Shanks, no matter how skilled the two ophthalmologists were, they could not compare to Luca. The key was their smooth coordination. They were used to working together. If it were other doctors, they would probably start asking questions once they entered the operating room, making it impossible for Shanks to focus and perform the surgery calmly.Shanks believed this was a groundbreaking procedure, not just another teaching surgery for ophthalmologists.Abel understood Shanks’ concerns, but he still insisted, “They’re not just any doctors. They’ve signed agreements, and they won’t interrupt you with questions during the surgery. They’ll cooperate fully.”As Luca listened to Abel, she realized what he was really worried about. Besides the risk of the surgery failing, he was not confident in her.This surgery was important, and Abel was worried she might sabotage it in the operating room.Shanks furrowed his brows and looked at Luca.Luca gave him a faint smile. Whether or not
As Gerald shook his head furiously, it was not difficult for Luca to figure out what was going on.She glanced at Hera's irritation and figured it all stemmed from Luke being reassigned. Not being able to see him was clearly driving her to act like this.Luca secretly let out a sigh. They said women were the cause of trouble, but honestly, men could just be the same.Even with Luke disguised as an ordinary man, his cold and commanding air still captivated Hera.She glanced at the bowl nearby. The food Gerald brought Hera was barely touched.It seemed like she was so consumed with thoughts of Luke that she had lost her appetite...Luca’s expression remained unchanged. She was long accustomed to keeping her emotions in check around others.“Ms. Sanchez, you’ve misunderstood. I’m not close with Mr. Lucius, so I don’t have his contact information.” Luca kept her face impassive.“You’re lying!” Hera narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “You’re so close to him. How could you not have it?”
As soon as Luca returned to her bedroom after dinner, she received a video call request from the kids.It had been a long time since she last saw them. When she saw the call request, she locked the door, put on her headphones, and immediately answered.“Ms. Luca!” As soon as the call connected, the faces of all three kids appeared on the phone screen.“Sweethearts!” Luca blew them a kiss.“Ms. Luca, we miss you so much!” Tommy was the first to express how much they missed Luca.Luca's heart stirred with waves of longing when she heard them. She had been so busy recently, hoping to finish everything here quickly so that she and Luke could reunite with the kids. That was why she had not contacted them much.Plus, with Old Master Crawford taking care of them, she felt at ease.Now that Luca saw the faces of the three kids, her longing for them instantly surged and overwhelmed her.Her eyes reddened. “I miss you all so much too.”Rainie, always the thoughtful one, noticed her em
The men in the room were wincing in pain, but when they heard Gerald’s words, they were so furious they almost wanted to lash out at him. However, all their strength had been sapped by the excruciating pain, so they could only groan helplessly.As Shanks made his way upstairs, he paused halfway up the staircase and asked, “Is Luca cooking?”Gerald glanced at the kitchen and replied, “Yes, Mr. Shanks. It’s their fault. Ms. Craw was delayed in making dinner because of them.”Shanks' expression remained unchanged as he simply said, “Let me know when it's ready.”“Yes,” answered Gerald.After Shanks went upstairs, Gerald hesitated for a moment but decided to help the men to their feet, placing them one by one on the couch or chairs. As they slouched, groaning in pain, Gerald shook his head. “Do you guys now understand what happens when you mess with the wrong woman, especially Ms. Craw?”One of the men winced and asked, “Why did she have to be so brutal when throwing down?”“She
Lucius was different.He did not care about getting close to anyone, whether man or woman. Even when Hera’s attempts to seduce him were blatantly obvious, he still remained unmoved and even showed signs of rejection.Gerald could not help but marvel at Luca’s sharp observations and incisive remarks. He could not help but clap his hands lightly, genuinely impressed.“Lucius truly is exceptional,” said Gerald.Luca came downstairs.When she took the last step off the stairs, the men in the living room immediately fell silent.They held their breath as they watched the woman in front of them. Her hair was straight, not like their boss' companion.The men's gazes grew intense.Luca’s expression darkened.Gerald stood beside her and said, “See, I told you—you’re like a piece of meat dropped into a pack of wolves. Be careful.”One of the men heard Gerald and asked unhappily, “Hey, kid, what are you saying? What wolves? We’re gentlemen. We’d never dream of doing anything inappropr
When Gerald heard this, his face fell. “Huh? Ms. Craw, you're not cooking anymore?”Luca said nothing. Luke had already left with the others. She turned her gaze back before walking inside.Gerald realized that Luca had only been cooking breakfast because of Lucius. The thought puzzled him. Had they taken a liking to each other from the very start? That did not seem right.In this fast-paced modern world, even if they had, using something as old-fashioned as cooking to win someone over did not add up.Still, the timing was too coincidental to ignore. Luca started cooking for everyone when Lucius arrived, and she stopped as soon as he left. That realization gave Gerald an eerie feeling.Thinking they might have known each other back on the island, it all suddenly made sense. Of course! They must have met before. How else could this all line up so perfectly?With that thought, Gerald quickly caught up with Luca. “Ms. Craw, my cooking is terrible. Why don’t you keep doing it?”
Kassy’s eye donor was Hera, the one Abel had brought over.Even though Hera’s eyes resembled Kassy’s, they did not meet the criteria for a transplant. However, Hera’s blood type matched Kassy’s exactly.Hence, Abel decided to use Hera’s eyes. His belief was that her eyes were specifically meant for Kassy.Shanks knew he would not be able to change Abel’s mind, so he did not try. Abel’s stubbornness was something even Kassy herself could not sway.Luca remained silent for a while, not saying anything further. She understood that using a cadaver was the best option as it would not harm anyone.However, the eyes Abel wanted for Kassy were not from a cadaver. He intended to take them from Hera.Luca certainly would not participate in such a surgery. It was too cruel.“What are you thinking?” Shanks suddenly asked.Luca shook her head. “I’m just thinking about the volunteer’s situation.”“You’re wondering if this solution will be marketed, aren’t you?” Shanks suddenly asked.L
“I’m still a bit worried. Let me take a look in your room and change the dressing while I’m at it.” Luca knew Luke would not want her to worry. Therefore, she needed to see for herself that everything was fine before she could feel at ease.“Alright.” Luke knew she was worried about him, so the two of them headed into the room.He took off his shirt, revealing the bandage wrapped around his torso.Luca could not help but chuckle at the sight. The wrapping was done by Gerald, and it was hilariously sloppy. It was haphazardly bound—overly tight in some places and entirely uneven. It looked like it was just meant to cover the wounds, with no thought for neatness.“Stop laughing.” Luke was clearly rendered speechless by Gerald’s lackluster bandaging skills as well.If it were not for the fact that it was difficult to bandage himself, he would never have let Gerald do it.“With it wrapped like this, how are you supposed to sleep at night?” Luca asked as she began unwrapping the ba