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.
From the sound of Xavier's tone, he did not seem like he was joking at all.It was precisely because of how serious he looked that Bianca could feel cold sweat all over her body when she looked at him."You’re the one who took away my grandpa?” Bianca asked.Xavier looked at her eyes that were full of panic and hatred. He answered her seriously, "Duh. Who else would take away your grandfather secretly?”Both of them looked into each other’s eyes.With tears in her eyes, Bianca hit him like a madwoman as she tried to get away from him. "You despicable and shameless man! You’ve committed a crime! You’ve kidnapped a person!”Xavier grabbed her fragile body with his big hands. He no longer allowed her to punch and kick him as she pleased. "What do you know about crimes, little girl? You’re just a little girl who’s still wet in your ears!”When she could not kick or move anymore, Xavier pointed the screen of his phone to her.She watched.A video played on Xavier's cell phone. She
"Aunt Bea..."Bianca heard a voice and looked up.It was Lanie.The Tanner family even invited the Crawford family…The interior design of the private hall was luxurious. The round table was seated fully around. She knew some of them while the others were strangers. The table was also full of expensive dishes and famous wines.Rainie's little pink chubby face emerged from the desserts.Her eyes inevitably swept over to the man’s suddenly darkened face. Bianca immediately felt as if dark clouds were pressing down on her. She lowered her head and tried to pull her hand out of Xavier's big hand.Not only did Xavier not let go of her, but he also pulled a chair out while still having his arms around her. He said, "Sit next to my mom."The colors of the two marriage certificates were dazzling. They were as red as two big pools of mosquito blood."From now on, we’re a family, Bea. Don't be scared. No matter what, I’ll always be there as your mother.”Grandaunt said those words spec
When Luke's eyes fell on her, there were no obvious reactions.Just when she was at a loss and did not know whether to exit or stay, he frowned and put out the cigarette butt in the ashtray. He took his phone, got up, and left the huge conference room.The meeting room had two doors.He walked through the other door.Bianca stood there for a long, long time before she remembered what she was there for.She turned on the machine and turned down the volume. After putting on the headset, she then looked at the meeting content displayed on the projection screen. She jotted down the key points while she watched the recording, her fingers typing away on her laptop’s keyboard in front of her.After recording down the content of the previous meeting, it was already past three in the afternoon when Bianca went back down.Sue had been waiting for her for a long time.When she saw Bianca, Sue thoughtfully placed a cup of coffee on her table. "I heard from Jason that you’ve found your gran
“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