Nina looked at her forearm and began to smile. It was red and hurt a lot, but she did not cry. The pain on her arm was nothing compared to the agony and depression that she had stored in her heart for the past few years. In fact, it made her feel alive. The waitress opened the door to the private room and noticed that Nina was still sitting there. She asked, "Excuse me, Miss, may I take your order?" Nina did not stand up. She spoke to the waitress without turning around. "Yes. Please give me the lunch set." "Alright, coming right up," the waitress replied and closed the door. The noble woman had left earlier and paid the bill. She thought that the other woman would leave too, but instead, the woman ordered something to eat. Nina remained motionless while sitting on the chair. When the waitress came into the room again with her food, she pointed at the mess on the floor. "I accidentally dropped this earlier. Please clean it up. If the cup is broken, add it to my bill, and I'll
Luca was happy that Sue was so hospitable toward her. She took out the ointment from her handbag and asked, "Who's the one who needs medical attention?" "She's a friend of mine. She's sitting inside," Sue said. They went into the living room and saw Nina sitting on the couch. "This is Nina Langdon, my friend and my colleague at work. Nina, this is Dr. Luca Craw." Luca looked at Nina and, for a moment, did not know how to react. She had checked on Nina's condition ever since she returned. At first, she was relieved to find out that Nina was still together with Percy. After all, Percy could protect her. Now that she looked carefully at Nina, she could tell that Nina was not happy. Nina had lost a lot of weight, and she was nothing more than skin and bones. Tears welled up in Luca's eyes as she looked at Nina. "Nice to meet you, Dr. Craw." Nina smiled weakly when she looked at the unfamiliar face. Earlier, Sue had told her briefly about Luca, and she could tell that Sue admire
Percy did not seem satisfied with Nina's answer. "You didn't tell me that." "I forgot," Nina said impatiently. She did not forget, but she did not want to report everything to him. That made her look as though she were his pet. She was human, not Percy Mallory's pet. Percy spoke nothing for the next three seconds. He thought that she was behaving erratically because she had something on her mind, so he said, "Alright, it's good to hear that you're eating your meals. I'll be back late because I have some work to do. Remember to go to bed early. If you can't sleep, take your sleeping pills." Nina was not sure how to feel after hearing his words of concern. "Mm," she replied and ended the call. Luca watched Nina take off her Bluetooth headset. She asked, "Was that your boyfriend?" 'Boyfriend?' Nina was taken aback, then she chuckled self-deprecatingly. Many people thought that Percy was her boyfriend, but he was actually not. What bound them together was a shameful transaction
Luke looked at the photo on his phone. Luca's neighborhood was included in the circle. "Of course, it might only be a coincidence," Jason said. Luke nodded. He would think of that problem later. Instead, he looked at Adrian and said, "Thank you for your hard work." "Don't mention it. You want to upgrade your system, right?" Adrian asked. Luke nodded. "I can help you," Adrian said, offering his services. Luke was Percy's friend and commanded a considerable influence in A City. It would be a good idea if Luke would owe him a favor. Luke could tell what Adrian was thinking. He asked him, "What do you want?" "I don't know what I want yet, but it won't be something major. You don't have to worry about owing me a favor," Adrian gave his promise. Luke thought for a while. Then, he stood up and extended his hand, "Deal." "Thank you," Adrian stood up and shook hands with Luke. "I'll need access to your company's mainframe." "Mr. Doyle will bring you there," Luke said. "Sor
"Get Sean to prepare the car. I'm sending Tommy to the hospital." Luke immediately made a decision. The caretaker nodded hurriedly, turned around, and went to inform the driver. Luke picked Tommy up and went downstairs. Tommy opened his eyes groggily when he realized that he was in Luke's arms. "I feel horrible, Daddy," he said with much difficulty. Luke gently stroked his head and said, "I'm bringing you to the hospital." Tommy nodded and closed his eyes again. Luke brought Tommy into the car and gave Johann a call. After Sean parked the car at the hospital, Tommy was immediately wheeled into the ward, and several doctors and nurses immediately set to work. Tommy's temperature had already reached 104 degrees. The doctors discussed and agreed to Tommy's medication, then took a blood sample for analysis. Johann watched the nurses hook Tommy up to an IV drip and take a blood sample. He asked Luke, "Why did Tommy have a fever suddenly? Did he catch a cold?" "No," the car
Bianca's eyelids fluttered, and she said, "Even if I tell you that I don't know anything, you wouldn't believe me, right?" Luke was furious when he heard that, and he could feel the fires of anger burning in his chest. The woman had deceived him for three years and made him miss so many opportunities to find the woman he loved. "You have your plans, Luke, and I do too. I thought I loved you, but I didn't expect that you're so cruel to me!" Bianca complained as she lay helplessly on the bed. "Give me the whip," Luke said. Bianca shuddered when she heard that Luke was going to use the whip on her. She could withstand normal whipping, but Rain had treated the whip with a particular drug that would cause her veins to hurt and itch. She wanted to scratch her wounds, but she did not have the strength. "Here is it, Boss," Rain said as she handed Luke the whip. Bianca shuddered. She knew that the man in front of her showed no mercy toward her, so she did not try to evoke his pity.
Johann could not yet tell the severity of the child's fever. However, Luke seemed to think that it was a very serious matter. Luke nodded, though he had his doubts. If the impostor Bianca's fever was caused by a special drug from the Island of Despair, and only the Island of Despair had the cure for the drug, how did Luca manage to alleviate the effects of the drug when Bianca was in the hospital? Could Luca be also from the Island of Despair? Luke remembered how she had given Bianca a herbal concoction to suppress the effects of the drug, and he also considered the fact that the hacker's location was near Luca's neighborhood. Whatever Luke was thinking, Johann had also thought about it. However, he was more concerned about Tommy's condition, so he searched the database on his computer for Luca's prescription. Luca had given them two prescriptions, and he had recorded them in his database for future research. He looked at the prescription and rubbed his chin. "This is the p
Luca continued to hold Tommy in her arms until the drip bottle was dry. She did not let go even after the nurse removed the needle. Tommy was quiet in her arms. Under the effect of the sedative, he eventually fell asleep. The caretaker gently reminded Luca, "Ms. Craw, it'll be quite tiring to carry Master Tommy like that. Shall I do it instead?" "I'm fine." Luca felt that her arms were slightly numb, but she insisted on carrying the child. She freed one of her hands to cover him with the blanket. Old Master Crawford rushed to the hospital after he knew that Tommy was sick. He got the driver to fetch him there, and he was surprised to see the scene when he went into the room. "She is…" He had only seen Luca in photos, and he did not immediately recognize her. "Grandfather, this is Dr. Craw," Luke said. "Nice to meet you, Dr. Craw." Old Master Crawford knew that Luca had helped Bianca and Queenie before, and the three children adored her. He was not going to look down on so
“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