It was the first time that Luca had to lie outdoors with no regard to her image. She wondered if she would have to spend the night with Luke here. If the rain continued, it would not be very convenient for Jason and the others to find them… After lying for some time, Luca thought that the hard stone surface was quite uncomfortable. She slowly flipped to the other side and happened to meet Luke's gaze. She was surprised. When did he start looking at her? "Are you uncomfortable?" Luke noticed that she was not lying still. Perhaps it was caused by the injury on her waist. "No, it's just that the surface is quite tiring to lie on. I just wanted to change sides," Luca half-closed her eyes to avert his gaze. Lying on the other side was a little easier on her back, but her clothes were wet, so it was not very comfortable. She did not mind the wet clothes too much, but she knew that Luke was a clean freak.Even though Luke was sitting there calmly, Luca could guess that he was s
Luca had drunk from the bottle earlier… Luca saw that Luke had gulped down more than half of the water in his bottle. She could tell that he was thirsty and tired. She thought for a while and said, "Mr. Crawford, I mixed some glucose in my bottle. Do you want to drink from this?" Luke looked at her and said nothing. "But I already drank from it. It's okay if you mind it…" Luca thought he did not want to drink from the same bottle as her. When she was about to keep it in her backpack, Luke opened his mouth. "You should save it for yourself," he said. He thought that Luca needed more nourishment than him because she was hurt. They only had two bottles of drinkable water between them, and looking at the heavy rain outside, they might have to spend the night there. That was why Luke did not want to take the bottle from her. "Alright then…" Luca thought that he was disgusted by the offer. She did not say anything and put the bottle back into her backpack. The strong wind con
Luke listened to her earnest explanation. It was as if she was trying to cover up something. However, he was not able to verify what she said, so he did not say anything.It was getting darker. Luke glanced at the time on his watch and found that it was already 11 o'clock.Luca’s stomach started to gurgle. He immediately looked at her when he heard the sound.Luca touched her stomach, embarrassed. The sound came from her stomach. She never thought that after a few months of living a comfortable life, her stomach would become so sensitive."You’re hungry?" Luke stood up, wanting to see if he could find anything to eat nearby.There was a lot to eat in the mountains. Before it rained, he did not expect to be trapped here for so long."No, Mr. Crawford. Where are you going?" Luca saw him walk to the pavilion and stood up as well."I’ll head out to have a look. When we walked past the area today, I seemed to see a fruit forest," Luke said.Luca also remembered that there was a frui
Luca leaned against Luke and silently endured the pain she felt in her heart.The scene was what she had dreamed and hoped for countless nights. Now that she was able to curl up beside him, those dreams had come true.However, she was still unhappy.What Luca wanted was not his indifferent attitude. Even though the temperature of his body could warm her body, she was not close to getting the warmth and love from his heart.She initially thought that Luke's concern toward her was real.However, it seemed that it was all fake. His attitude was cold, and she knew she had no grounds to ask him to treat her warmly."Get some sleep. It's going to be dawn soon," Luke said with his eyes closed.Luca did not know how he knew she was not asleep. She leaned against him and closed her eyes.At dawn, the rain stopped.When the rain stopped, the birds in the forest flew out. Luca opened her eyes. When she heard the birds chirping, she knew that the weather was clear.Luca raised her gaze.
This incident was the staff member’s fault, and the manager knew that they were in the wrong. He said with a smile, "Villa Almira takes protective measures as such seriously. These stones are an accident. Don't worry, I’ve already got someone to go down with food and water. They’ll look for Mr. Crawford and the others starting from the fork in the road."Jason showed no reaction toward the arrangement, and the manager was stumped.The manager could only urge the porters to move faster when he saw Jason’s temperamental reaction.An hour later, the stones on the mountain road were cleared. Jason looked at the figures in the distance and hurriedly ran down. "Boss."When he got closer, he realized that Luke was carrying Luca."Dr. Craw, are you alright?" Jason asked with concern. He knew that the situation was bad and Tina was in big trouble."I'm fine," Luca said. She would not have to be carried by Luke if he had not realized that her waist was still hurting.Jason did not know wh
Luke knew that Jason was gone but he maintained the same position. He sat there and stared at the laptop screen.His mind was full of memories from last night and what had happened in the past. They were different things but the memories were overlapping with each other. It was messy.Everyone sang with different vocalization patterns. Different languages would lead to different vocalizations as well.He thought of the tone of the song Luca sang last night. The more he thought about it, the more the tone sounded like Bianca’s vocals.Luke raised his hand to cover his forehead. He was overthinking, and his thoughts were everywhere...If a person deliberately tried to imitate another person, they would try to sound similar to their target. He was confused because with Luca, there were some differences in the similarities."Luca, who the hell are you..." Luke muttered to himself.On the other hand.Luca took a taxi back to the hotel. Tina was still being cautious around her. She w
Hearing that, Luca immediately said, "Don't worry about it. I'll head down for dinner tonight."Tina nodded and repeated the doctor's words. "Alright then, Dr. Craw. Don't do strenuous exercise and rest more so that you don't burden the muscles in your waist.""Mm, got it." Luca nodded.After Tina left, she lay on the bed, put the laptop aside, and watched the tracking program run. She noticed that Amur was headed toward the border.The mission that Abel gave him was probably related to the border trade.Luca thought of the drugs that Abel had instructed Amur to snatch on the black market in New York and how Amur was currently heading toward the border. She knew that there was something illegal going on...She clenched her fists at the thought of Abel putting Amur in danger...If Amur's plan failed, he would be one of the world's most wanted criminals.Luca yawned as she looked at the moving red dots. Amur would not arrive at his destination so quickly, so she could still get s
Luca kept quiet. She noticed Jenni's admiration for Luke.Jealousy arose in her heart because of the admiration, so she spoke without thinking upon being triggered.Luca did not make any comment and continued eating her pasta with her head down.Seeing her act as if nothing had happened, Tina sighed in her heart. Jenni's words were triggering but Luca was still calm. Tina was impressed...She was impressed by her good temper...Luca took a sip of the juice and wiped her mouth."Tina, don't be angry. She won't dare to talk nonsense again after this time." Luca was aware of human nature. Jenni acted out of jealousy but would never dare to gossip about Tina.As for Tina and Jason, she believed that they were innocent.Jason was a wonderful husband who could give Sue a stable and safe life... Of course, the premise of that stable life was that Bailey Quarrington was not present.Luca took a few more bites and felt that she was almost full. Tina saw this and said enviously, "Dr.
“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