Even though Luca's research team had moved to T Corporation, they soon knew what happened at Watson. A researcher told Luca that Talia had passed out and was sent to the hospital by an ambulance. She stopped working and turned her head to look at the researcher. "Talia Sullivan? Is that Dr. Kidman's assistant?" "Yes. The people in the company chat group are all talking about it. They said that she passed out in Dr. Kidman's office. Before that, they seemed to be arguing about something," the researcher said. Luca raised her eyebrows. She was not interested in company gossip, and she had left her phone in the office. She turned around and continued her research. "Dr. Craw, do you know why they were arguing?" The researcher asked. "How would I know?" Luca said, though she guessed that they must have had a disagreement. She swirled the test tube in her hand and said, "How would the people there know that they were arguing? Dr. Kidman's office should be soundproofed." "Well…"
Luke looked at Luca, who was deep in thought. He did not know what she was thinking. Ding! The elevator arrived at the basement parking lot. Luca came to her senses. She wanted to refuse Luke's offer, but Luke had already walked away. She had no other choice but to walk behind him. She could not treat Luke like how she treated other men. Those tricks did not work on Luke. Luca eventually caught up to Luke, and they walked to Luke's car together. She was about to open one of the doors at the back and sit inside when Luke said, "I'm not your driver. Come and sit next to me." Luke had interrupted her before she could open the door. She felt a little dejected, but this was not the time for her to hesitate. She did not want anyone else to see her, so she lowered her head, went to the side passenger seat, and sat down. She had just fastened her seatbelt when Luke started the car and drove away. It was the evening rush hour. If they were unlucky, their car would have to stop e
Tommy was too young to tell that Luca was only giving him a non-answer. He clapped his hands happily and said, "Really? Rainie will be happy to hear that!" Luca felt a little guilty for making Tommy so happy. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep your hopes up. I want to tell you that I'm your real mother and shower all my love on you, but I'm not strong enough to do that.' Luke drove to Luca's neighborhood and stopped near the supermarket. Luca unfastened her seatbelt and said, "You can wait for me in the car, Mr. Crawford. I'll be back soon." She did not expect that Luke would be coming for dinner, so there was not enough food in the fridge. Luke nodded. Tommy wanted to go to the supermarket with Luca, but Luke stopped him from doing so. He could only sit and wait in the car. In the car, Luke and Tommy stared at each other. "Daddy, why am I the only one who gets to eat dinner at Ms. Luca's house? Lanie and Rainie want to come too," Tommy said. Luke looked at his young
While Luca prepared the dining table, she noticed that Luke was checking Tommy's homework. Instinctively, she took care not to make too much excessive noise. Tommy was sprawled on Luke's back, looking at his father going through his homework. Luke found a small mistake on the last page, and he got Tommy to correct it. After Tommy did so, he signed on the last page of the workbook. He looked up and noticed Luca was looking at them. He wondered if she had been watching them. The gaze in her eyes was gentle and elegant. Luca felt the atmosphere become tense when their gazes met. She quickly turned away, placed the dishes on the dining table, cleared her throat, and said, "Dinner is ready." "You're the best, Ms. Luca! I'm so hungry!" Tommy cheered and clapped his hands excitedly. He stood up and went to wash his hands. Luca watched the boy enter the bathroom, then turned to look at Luke. Luke was still looking at her. "Mr. Crawford, would you like to have some soup before d
Luca did not have any children, but she prepared those cupcake boxes… It was as though she was doing that for Rainie. Luke did not voice his thoughts. Looking at the clock, he stood up. Before he said anything, Luca picked up Tommy's backpack. "Ms. Luca?" Tommy did not understand what Luca was doing. At the same time, Luke also looked at her. Luca felt a little awkward being stared at like that. She handed the backpack to Luke and cleared her throat. "It's getting late, Mr. Crawford. Tommy needs to go home." "But I want to watch the cartoon before I go, Ms. Luca," Tommy said as he looked at the clock on the wall. It was only eight o'clock, which was one hour earlier than the usual time. Luca thought for a while and said, "The cupcakes won't be as nice if you eat them later." Tommy thought that it made sense. He knew that Lanie and Rainie wanted to taste Luca's cooking again, but only he had the chance to do so. He nodded, took the backpack, and waved his hand reluctantl
"Great-Grandpa! I'm back!" Tommy greeted the old man first and skipped up next to him. Old Master Crawford smiled at his great-grandson. He was not happy that Luke had arranged for Tommy to go to Luca's house to have dinner every night. After all, they had a competent cook at home, and he did not understand why Tommy needed to have dinner at an unrelated woman's house. Moreover, that woman used to be Luke's rumored mistress… He was impressed with Luca's work capabilities, but he was not happy with Luke's arrangement. It felt as though Luke was trying to get close to her. Old Master Crawford looked at the grin on Tommy's face. Every time Tommy came back from Luca's house, he would always be so happy. Other people might even think that Luca was Tommy's mother. "How was dinner today?" Even though Old Master Crawford was not happy about the situation, he cared for Tommy's well-being. Tommy grinned and nodded. "Ms. Luca cooked so many amazing dishes today. I'm so full!" "M
Old Master Crawford nodded, satisfied with how Luke handled the matter. He knew that Luke was loyal to the real Bianca. Now that Luke found out that the woman was an impostor, he would be looking for the real Bianca once more. It would be very difficult to succeed in that task, now that three years had passed. Moreover, no one knew where the base of operations of the Island of Despair was. That added to the difficulty of the task. "Luke, there are some things that I believe you know without me spelling it out. If you can't Bianca anymore, I hope that you can find your happiness elsewhere. Some things just can't be forced. Do you understand what I mean?" Old Master Crawford said. Naturally, Luke understood. "I won't give up on finding Bea, Grandfather." Old Master Crawford sighed. He did not know why his grandson was so loyal and determined. If only Luke's father were also like that. That would have prevented a lot of family drama. Even though Allison was already put in
Tommy understood what Luke meant when he said that she was not their mother. Tears welled up in his eyes as he jumped out of bed and walked to Luke's side. He held Luke’s hand and asked, "Daddy, that's not our Mommy. Is Mommy in the hands of the bad guys?""Perhaps." Luke did not provide him with 100 percent certainty.He would give his all to look for Bianca. However, he could not promise the kids whether he could find her and how long it would take."Daddy, I’m sure you’ll find Mommy." Tommy held Luke’s hand tightly with his tiny hands as though he was comforting Luke."Do you miss her?" Luke tried his best to hold back the tears in the corners of his eyes when he saw how sensible Tommy was being. He knew that Tommy did not want him to worry.Tommy was the youngest in the family. He loved to fool around but when he showed his sensible side, he was no different from Lanie and Rainie."Yes, I miss her but Mommy has been gone for so many years. Tommy knows better than to make you
After returning to her room, Luca told Luke about the surgery that day.She explained that she had not been able to participate in the operation and was uncertain if Abel would prevent her from being involved in the future. If she was not allowed to take part, she might lose her excuse to stay here. Also, she would not be able to help with what was to come.Luke replied to her message quickly, assuring her that everything was already planned out and she did not need to worry.Luca frowned slightly as she read his message. She wanted to ask about his plan but hesitated for a moment and decided against it. Knowing too much about Luke's men might backfire.Luca deleted their chat history but soon received another message from him.He told her that T Corporation had successfully won the bid and that he had already found someone to replace Lucius’ role.Luca let out a sigh of relief. Finding a replacement for Lucius meant that he was out of danger for now. The worry that had been we
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