The door slammed loudly in Luca's face. She wanted to kick down the door in her anger, but she stopped herself from doing so because Luke was just next to her. She turned around and looked at the man leaning against the wall. "What is it, Mr. Crawford?" Her tone of voice changed from agitated to composed in one second. "I'm here to see if you lied to me," Luke said. He could sense the sudden change in Luca's attitude. Luca seemed to be a different person when she stood up for Nina. Bianca was like that too. Whenever she heard that Nina was in danger, she would try to stand up for her no matter how weak she was. Luca also wanted to protect Nina. However, she exuded an aura of might instead. In any case, Luca's fearless spirit when she tried to protect her friend reminded him of Bianca. "I have no need to lie to you," Luca said, wondering if that was the only reason why Luke came to look for her. With Luke's help, it was no wonder that Percy managed to find Nina so quickly.
Luke knew all that, but Luca did not. That was why Luca was doomed to lose right from the start. Seeing how confident Luke was, Luca began to wonder if she had fallen into Luke's trap. If she really lost the bet, what would Luke make her do? Would he force her to tell him all the secrets of the Island of Despair? When she thought about that, she regretted her impulsive decision even more. Just when she was thinking if she should rescind the bet, the room door opened, and Percy stormed out. Luca was shocked by Percy's reaction. She instinctively glanced into the room. Nina was sitting on the couch, and Luca could not see her expression clearly. Percy, standing at the door, shouted into the room. "You'll eventually return to me, Nina Langdon!" Then, he walked away in big strides. Luke also left, following behind Percy. After Luca watched the two men leave, she quickly went into the room and closed the door. In case the two men would return, she also bolted the door firm
Not long after Nina had just entered the bathroom, the doorbell rang. Luca went to answer the door. This time, she cautiously looked through the peephole to check on the situation outside. She only opened the door after making sure that Percy had not returned and it was the waiter who came to deliver food.After the dining cart was pushed in, she requested the waiter to send two ice packs over. She wanted to reduce the swelling in Nina's eyes. “Miss, the ice packs are in the interlayer of the dining cart.” The waiter smiled and replied. Luca raised her eyebrows, opened the interlayer drawer, and glanced at it. There were indeed two ice packs inside. She did not request the waiter for them before this, but they were already prepared in advance. No matter how silly she was, she knew what was going on.Percy knew Nina would cry after he left, so he asked the waiter to prepare these.This man knew Nina well. Usually, a man would only be attentive to the woman he loved. Could it
After Nina heard it, she nodded her head. It was indeed Tia. Was Tia the only beautiful woman? As a woman, looking from an aesthetic perspective, Tia was not that pretty. She was only good at dressing up herself and covering all of her flaws. She was cautious even when she was walking normally, controlling her tendency to out-toe.It was only because Tia was rich, which made her look glamorous in the eyes of others. Who knew if she was good-looking after her makeup was removed?The beautician saw her keeping silent and asked curiously in a soft voice, "Miss Langdon, do you know her?" “She’s famous, everyone knows her.” Nina and Luca exchanged glances and went back to closing their eyes without planning to say anything much. The beautician was someone who knew how to judge situations. When she realized the other party refused to talk about it, she did not continue to ask.Nina and Luca did not continue their conversation, while the chattering next door went on and on. After
Speaking about bubble tea caught Nina's interest. She nodded her head as she walked in the direction of the bubble tea shop arm in arm with Luca. In the beauty salon, Sophia shot a glance at Tia. The look on her face was terrifying.“Ms. Tia…” She reminded her in a soft voice. “The people in the beauty salon are looking at us.”As Tia watched Nina and Luca leave arm in arm, she turned around and asked the staff working in the beauty salon. "They were in the room next to us all along?""Yes, Miss." The beauty salon manager nodded her head and replied. She did not expect something like this to happen and wondered if she should renovate the beauty salon to improve the soundproofing. Tia took a deep breath, suppressing the emotions that were about to explode within her. “When did they start their facial session?” “Probably ten minutes earlier than yours,” the beauty salon manager replied in a soft voice. Tia staggered. Then it mean they had heard everything she told Sophia.Sh
Luca walked in after the door was opened. She was surprised to see Abel sitting on the chair. He was actually in A City…Back then when she was on the Island of Despair, she often saw Abel in A City. The errands were always run by someone else. Ever since she got out of the island, the chances of him being in A City were higher. Sometimes, Luca thought that he did not rebuild the Island of Despair for the sake of money. It was to deal with Luke Crawford. Luke Crawford was a thorn in his heart. He wanted to get rid of it, and she was his tool. "Why are you so late?" Abel complained and glanced at the time. She was half an hour late for the appointment. "Your reckless way of doing things has caused me to be followed closely by his men now. I needed some time to get rid of them," Luca explained with many grievances in her tone. Abel listened to her and chuckled. Then, he made eye contact with his men. His subordinate received his signal and handed the vial to Luca. Luca s
As the agent listened to her concerns, she smiled and explained, "Miss, don't worry. The apartment is located in a high-end residential area. The landlords who can afford the apartment units there are certainly are people with good personal qualities. And the apartment uses an electronic door lock. The password can be reset. Others won’t know the password except for the tenant herself." Luca nodded her head and did not say anything more. It was a steal for Nina to be able to rent an apartment at that price. The agent had explained to them that the landlord was planning to immigrate and thought that it was a pity to leave the house empty, so he wanted to rent it out as soon as possible. That was why the rental was so cheap.It was a reasonable explanation, but Luca had this weird feeling from the beginning. Nina signed the agreement and agreed with the agent that she would be moving in tomorrow. She had been excusing herself from work because of all sorts of matters in the past
Luke walked into the guest room, and Luca was right there lying on the bed.He went closer and reached out to put his hands on Luca's forehead. Her body temperature was burning… “How long has she been having a fever?” Luke asked."She was having a slight fever when it was noon, but I have no idea when her fever got worse," Nina answered helplessly. She believed that Luca must have gotten worse during her sleep.Luca did not even mention it when she was feeling uncomfortable. Luke shot Nina a glance when he heard that and remained silent. Just a glance and Nina knew he was blaming her for being careless. She then said, "I thought she was just tired. I didn't think much about it. And I dared not to wake her up in the afternoon…" Luke threw off Luca’s sheets and carried her in his arms right away.“Are you sending her to the hospital now?” Nina watched him carry her away and asked. “I’ve informed Johann. He’s waiting at the apartment,” Luke replied and carried Luca out of th
“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