Luca's hatred toward Abel grew as she listened to the busy tone on the phone. She had tried to stay away from Luke and carry out Abel's orders, yet Abel was toying with her feelings. Tears of agony flowed down Luca's cheeks. What could she do to free herself from this mess? She knew Luke too well. Luke was not one who would want to seek a relationship with other people. Even though she had been constantly lying to him, he kept on trying to approach her. It only meant that she was somehow special to him… Luca threw the phone on the bed and covered her face. She could not stop her tears from falling. Amur stood outside her room and listened to the sounds from inside. Luca had lost control of her emotions and had spoken a little too loudly, and he had overheard her conversation… 'Abel…' Amur clenched his fists hatefully. He wished that he could claim that man's life. … Meanwhile, after Luke returned to Crawford Manor, he was surprised to see that Bianca was still awake
Bianca pretended to look awkward. "But Grandpa, it's been a long time since I went out with Luke alone…" Old Master Crawford glanced at her. Before he could say anything, Lanie, who had been quiet all this while, said, "Tommy, let's not disturb Daddy and Mommy's date. Let's go and play some video games, alright?" Lanie knew that Luke must have something important to do, and that was why he wanted to bring Bianca and no one else. The reason most likely had to do with the fact that the woman was an impostor. Tommy turned to look at Lanie, then at Bianca. Bianca took the chance to say, "That's right, Tommy. Lanie has a big collection of video games. Don't you want to play with him?" Tommy hesitated. Rainie chimed in too. "Tommy, how about we go to Ms. Luca's house after playing video games?" She suggested that because she knew that Tommy adored Luca. As expected, Tommy chose Luca over Bianca. He nodded and said, "Really? Can we really go to Ms. Luca's house?" "Of cours
After they got out of the car, Bianca took the initiative to hold Luke's hand as they walked into the villa. She displayed her full affection and wanted nothing more but to be as close to Luke as possible.She was too engrossed that she did not notice the gloomy look on Luke's face.Bianca turned her head to look at his handsome face. Her heartbeat sped up inexplicably when she thought about how there were only two of them in the villa. She had to make the best out of this opportunity.Luke keyed in the code on the digital lock. With a click, the door opened.Luke stood aside and looked at Bianca, who had no doubts. He said, "Go in."Bianca thought of what was going to happen in a while and her face turned red. She nodded shyly and walked into the villa.The lamps lit up the place in an instant. When she saw a man and woman inside, she turned around and looked at Luke, confused.At that moment, he walked in and the door behind him was closed."Luke, this is..." Bianca looked
Luke left without looking back, leaving Bianca completely hopeless.Bianca was in tears. Rain looked at her pitiful and seemingly innocent face. It reminded her of the evil people from the Island of Despair. When she thought of them, all her pity for Bianca was no longer there.If the real Bianca were still alive, it was highly likely that she was forced to go through a lot of suffering. Gale looked at the fake Bianca cry and felt no pity for her. Instead, he said to Rain, "I’ll carry her into the room.""Go ahead." Rain nodded. She felt nothing but annoyed listening to Bianca's wails.Luke told her that he wanted the truth no matter what methods they used. He had a reason for keeping her in this villa. This was a private property of his located in the outskirts. The nearby villas belonged to the local tycoons of A City. They bought the villas for vacation, so there were not many people around on a normal day. No one would notice no matter how loud Bianca yelled.Gale carried
Tommy smiled, raised the almost ready dough in his hands, and said, "Look, Daddy. Ms. Luca is teaching us how to make croissants."There was flour everywhere on the table. The kids must have caused this mess. The kids never had to do any housework in Crawford Manor. Although the house was in a mess, Luke felt a strange feeling when he saw how the kids were helping Luca.‘This is how a home should feel like.’He saw the children’s joyous appearance and felt like he was missing out on it. Luke touched Tommy's head and asked, "Why aren’t you using a bread machine to knead the dough?"Luca stood there and looked at him for a while. She then walked to the table, continued to knead the dough, and said, "Manual kneading makes better bread compared to using a bread machine."Rainie listened and had a sudden realization. "No wonder the croissant made by the chef at home is not as delicious as Mommy's."Luca paused. ‘She said ‘Mommy’… Is she referring to me or the fake Bianca?’She unco
The fake Bianca was not involved in any messy relationships, so Luke could manage the Crawford and Norman families with ease."Dad, Rainie and I will keep this a secret, don't worry," Lanie said. The three of them were not close to Bianca at all so it was not too much trouble to fool Tommy.After the two had a chat, they returned to the living room.Tommy waved to them happily and said, "Lanie, come! The show is about to begin."Lanie nodded and sat on the sofa.Luke walked to the kitchen and stood at the entrance. He did not enter and just stood there.The kitchen was indeed very small. If he walked in, it would become more crowded so he just stood there and watched from a distance.Luca's perception was sensitive. She turned her head and saw Luke standing there as expected."Mr. Crawford, are you alright?" She stopped cutting the chocolate in her hand."I’m fine." Luke deliberately glanced around the kitchen and said, "Your kitchen is too small. I assume you like to cook? Do
After an hour, the smell of croissants overflowed the kitchen.Tommy was sitting on the sofa, holding a fruit bowl in his hand. When he smelled the croissants, he greedily sniffed it all in and said, "The croissants smell so good. Can we have lunch soon?"Rainie turned around and said with a smile, "Ms. Luca is still in the kitchen. I’m guessing it’ll take some time."Luke glanced at the kitchen, and Tommy immediately said, "Daddy, Ms. Luca is so busy. Why don't you go over and help?""The kitchen is too small, she won't let me in." Luke did not have any intentions to move.Tommy muttered, "Daddy, you're just lazy."Luke raised his eyebrows and did not speak. The kitchen was indeed small, but it was also true that Luca did not want to have too much contact with him.Luca was deliberately staying in the kitchen just to avoid interacting with him too much.After the croissants were baked, she placed the croissants on the plate one by one and then took the plate out.Tommy kept l
Luca ate alone and would not use so many dishes. Amur counted the plates and knew what had happened.He walked out with his tray and asked, "We had some visitors?"Luca paused what she was doing and did not intend to hide anything from him. "Mm, yes.""Is it Luke and the kids?" Amur continued to ask.Luca nodded. After wiping the table, she folded the rag and explained, "No one was free to take care of the kids so they came over, and then two hours later, he came too."Amur put the tray on the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. "Crawford Manor is so big. How could it be that the kids were left unattended?"Luca knew that the kids wanted to be closer to her but she could not turn them down."Amur, they’re my children. I can’t say no to them. Everything I do now is for Nyla. I do all this without complaint because she’s my little daughter, but at the same time, I can’t only love my little daughter," she said.Amur finished the oats and looked at her, saying, "I know, but I
“You don’t need to remind me. I was going to check anyway.” Abel shot Luca a chilling look.She took a step back and stayed silent.Abel turned to the pale-faced Hera and said, “If you’ve got low blood sugar, get up and eat something.”“I’ll eat now,” Hera replied, sitting up.Luca handed her the takeout.Abel glanced at the food and then frowned at Luca. “Why didn’t you make breakfast this morning?”“I was busy,” Luca explained with a calm indifference, her expression unwavering. She showed no fear, even under Abel’s questioning.Hera suddenly found herself admiring Luca. Everyone feared this man, yet Luca remained composed even when facing potential punishment. Not just anyone could pull that off.At the thought of this, Hera opened the takeout and kept quiet.Abel narrowed his eyes, glancing between Hera and Luca. His gaze was not exactly gentle as he muttered, “Stop eating this junk. It’s bad for you.”“I know, babe. Just this once. After this, I’ll have what Luca cooks f
Hera panicked the moment she heard that. “I trust her!”Luca and Shanks were both watching her.Hera repeated herself, saying, “I trust her, okay? What kind of treatment does she need? I’ll cooperate with anything. But what about Abel…”“I’ll tell him it’s just to help improve your overall health,” replied Shanks. Then, he turned around, opened the medicine cabinet, and started preparing the prescription.Hera let out a sigh of relief. As long as Abel did not find out about her health condition, that was all that mattered.If he knew she was unwell, he would send her back to A City. Without free medical help and no way to make extra money, she would be in serious trouble.“Thank you,” said Hera.“Wait outside,” instructed Shanks.“Okay.” Hera carefully stepped out.Luca, however, remained where she was, waiting.While preparing the medicine, Shanks asked, “Do you know which acupoints to target for her?”“Yes,” Luca replied confidently. As long as she checked Hera’s pulse, sh
“There are a lot of issues.” Luca did not hide anything and handed Hera the phone.Hera looked at it and frowned.“I can't understand any of this.” Hera felt dizzy just looking at the text, let alone the long list of medical terms. It was giving her a headache.“Look at these summaries and indicators. Compare the values on top with the normal values at the bottom, and you'll see what I mean,” explained Luca.Hera did not trust her. Therefore, Luca decided to let her see for herself. Seeing it with her own eyes would prevent any doubts later.Luca pointed out how to read the test results, and after a moment, Hera managed to understand the report. Her face turned pale. “How can there be so many problems?”She looked at Luca and questioned, “Did you fake this?”“I don’t have the power to make the medical center fake anything. Besides, the report has the medical center’s official stamp. If you don’t believe me, you can go directly to the medical center and ask for the official cop
“I heard from the boss that he's coming because of Vivian.” Gale paused for a moment before adding, “But never mind, you don't seem interested in her affairs anyway. I'm just letting you know he's on his way.”Gordan frowned. Ray was coming for Vivian?What could that ugly woman possibly need?“What do you mean by that?” asked Gordan.Gale smirked. “If you and Ray meet, that’s bound to end in a fight. And since you can't win against him, you might want to mentally prepare yourself, or better yet, find somewhere else to stay. It’d be safer that way.”Gordan's expression darkened. “If you have nothing nice to say, just zip it.”Gale grinned, clearly pleased with himself like he had just hit a sore spot.Gordan exhaled sharply. “Of all times, why is he coming to A City now? He’s just making things worse.”“It can't be helped. Vivian's situation is urgent.” Gale covered his mouth mockingly after he said that. “Oh, right. I forgot you don’t like hearing about her.”Ray wanted to br
Luke sat in the villa, staring at Luca’s message.He was worried.For a moment, he considered calling her, but then he remembered that there were surveillance cameras everywhere on her side. He dismissed the idea immediately.Her safety came first.Luke reminded her: [Take care of yourself. Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything. Just focus on keeping yourself safe.] The worry in his heart refused to subside, but at this moment, there was no better solution.“Boss, you’re worried about your wife, huh? If you really can’t stand it, we can sneak you in again during the next shift change, just like last time,” said Gale.It had been his idea last time.Now, the real Lucius was still locked up in the basement of the villa.It had been nearly a month. Luke had forced him to take the antidote Luca had recreated. The man was still alive, proving the antidote worked perfectly.“That plan is too risky.” Luke put his phone away. His gaze was dark and thoughtful.“Risky, sure. But at lea
Luca had not expected Abel and Shanks’ relationship to be like this.It seemed Abel still did not trust Shanks.Shanks continued, “Abel isn’t someone who trusts people easily. He doesn’t trust anyone. You think he’s devoted to Kassy now, right? That’s just his obsession. He's allowing Kassy to receive my treatment, but if it were him… No matter if he were blind or crippled, his safety would always come first. If he were seriously injured, maybe he’d accept treatment, but he definitely wouldn’t do it right away.”Luca stayed silent. Shanks really understood Abel well.Abel did not trust anyone—not even Kassy.Calling him paranoid would not be an exaggeration.Luca felt like they were getting off-topic, but she had never seen this side of Shanks before.In her mind, he was always buried in his work at the lab, only leaving for meals and sleep. Other than that, he was practically never outside.The lab was like his home…“Are you troubled by Hera’s situation?” Luca asked directly
Hera was startled by Luca's words.The refusal that had been on the tip of her tongue suddenly got stuck in her throat.“I…” Hera hesitated, feeling conflicted. Leaving Abel might not be such a bad idea. At least she would not have to live in constant fear.She was finally realizing how unpredictable his moods were. At first, she thought it did not matter as she could still look at other men. She just had to ensure there was no physical contact. In reality, even if she so much as glanced at someone, Abel's expression would darken with anger.It was frustrating. Now, the only person she was allowed to look at was Gerald. Still, what was the point of just looking at Gerald?At that thought, she lifted her gaze to Luca.Luca added, “I’ll give you five minutes. If you refuse treatment after that, I’ll take the medicine back to Mr. Shanks and won’t try to convince you again.”Hera's heart tightened. She did not even need five minutes. She had made her decision within 30 seconds.“I’
“If Abel finds out that Hera's body isn't suitable for organ donation to Kassy, what do you think he'll do?” asked Shanks.He already knew the answer, but he still wanted to hear Luca’s thoughts.“He has invested a lot of time and money in Hera. If he gets nothing out of it, he won’t let her off easily,” Luca said bluntly.Luca and Shanks were on the same page.They did not have a good relationship with Hera, but they had no intention of ruining her either.Hera’s personality was unpleasant, but that was not enough for them to hate her so much that they wanted to see her suffer.“What methods do you think he’ll use?” Shanks asked again.Luca was silent for a long moment.Shanks already knew the answer, yet he still wanted her to say it out loud.After thinking it over, she finally said, “There are plenty of ways he could go about it, but no matter what he chooses, Hera’s fate is sealed. She’s as good as dead…”She lowered her gaze, her tone firm and certain.Shanks nodded.
Hera heard that Luca had returned and immediately went to find Shanks. She narrowed her eyes.That woman went to see Shanks. Could she be talking about her?The thought made Hera uneasy. She had a nagging feeling that something was wrong with her medical report.However, when they left the medical center earlier, Abel asked Luca when the report would be ready, and she said it would be available tomorrow.Hera turned to Gerald and said, “Take these back for me first.”“Alright.” Gerald carried the bags as he walked away. He could not help but wonder what exactly Hera bought. These bags were really heavy!Only after Gerald went upstairs did Hera slowly make her way up as well. Her room was on the third floor, but she stopped when she reached the second floor. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching before heading toward the laboratory.The door was closed.Instead of knocking, Hera pressed her ear against it, trying to eavesdrop.However, the laboratory was special