Jason had spoken on behalf of Luca. Jenni pouted and did not continue to speak.She was unconvinced. Luca was merely a researcher, yet she was still able to participate in such a big project meeting. If the project succeeded, it would be the largest architectural design project of the year for T Corporation… People who took part in the project would receive a bonus reward and commission when the time came. The most important thing was that one could gain Luke’s recognition…Luca listened to the conversation between Jason and Jenni. She was not bothered by it. What she had in mind was why Luke asked her to attend the meeting.Attending the meeting was equivalent to her being partly involved in the project. Luca switched on her laptop. It had been a long time since she took minutes. She thought for a few seconds, then she opened a folder. Jason placed the recording pen beside her hand and said, “Dr. Craw, you can use the recording pen if you don’t have one.”Luca indeed did
“Yes.” Luke put his hands in his pocket, maintaining a certain distance from Luca. He looked at her beautiful face. He could not imagine what she had gone through for the past three years. Why did she change her looks and return here?She did not acknowledge him when she came back. She still loved her children, but she was willing to treat the kids like how a stranger would.Why did she become like this…Luke wanted to question her so badly, but it was not the time yet. He could only keep her close and figure out who was the mastermind behind her.Even though three years had passed and things were no longer how they used to be, he still believed that the woman in front of him had never changed. She must have a reason for becoming like this. “But my research has reached a critical stage now. I can’t leave…” Luca declined. She had to accomplish the mission, but she could never deceive Luke. Although she had been lying to him all this while, she could not bear to do this to him
Luca did not expose Jason when she listened to his explanation. It would be difficult to change anything once Luke had made his decision. “Mr. Doyle, I’m going downstairs,” said Luca. The office was still in the midst of being cleaned. She had no choice but to head to the office downstairs to organize the meeting minutes. “Alright. They’ll finish cleaning the office today. Dr. Craw, you may come upstairs to work tomorrow morning.” Jason smiled politely. Although he had no idea why Luke made this arrangement, nothing would ever go wrong if he listened to his boss.“Sure.” Luca nodded.She went back to her office downstairs. She received an email from the company after a while.It was her transfer letter.Rhett knocked on the door and entered. He had seen the transfer letter as well and wanted to ask what had happened.“Dr. Craw, are you busy?” Rhett was wondering if he would be disturbing her when he saw her with her earphones on and her fingers continuously typing on the keybo
"Dr. Craw, come over and take a look. The office table is placed here, and the computer is here. Is that fine?" Jason asked when he saw her come in."I'm fine with anything. The sleeping bag…" Luca pointed at the sleeping bag on the couch. It was her first time seeing a sleeping bag in the office. “Oh, about this, you might need to work overtime. You may have to stay in the office when it gets busy. A sleeping bag is a lot more comfortable than sleeping on the couch,” said Jason. He was a detail-oriented person. Luca nodded. She would indeed be busy. However, she would always just rest her head and arms on the desk whenever work got too busy. It was nothing like this. There was even a sleeping bag in her office now.The cleaner left after cleaning up the office. Jason said, “Take a look around. Tell Tina if you need anything else.” "It's well-prepared. Thank you, Mr. Doyle." Luca glanced at the office desk. Nothing was missing. “Don’t mention it. It was the boss’ orders.” J
Luca pushed the car door open. She was still confused as to why he would bring her here to try the dishes.Would it not be better if he brought the old master or his children here? They were a family, after all. They would know what each other’s preferences were. Luke got out of the car and closed the car door. He walked toward her side. He stood tall beside her. It made her feel like she was protected standing next to him. She would be happy if it were in the past, but now she felt stressed standing beside him.She probably felt guilty for lying to him… Luca tried to behave naturally, but she still felt stressed. The man’s aura was too strong. She might just tell him everything right now if he questioned her.Luke shot her a glance and sensed her anxiety.She was probably wondering why he chose to bring her here, right?Before this, she was responsible for organizing Old Master Crawford's birthday every year. The old master loved everything she arranged for him, be it the
Luke picked up the piece of paper with the course meal written on it and glanced at it. He handed it to the manager without making any changes to it. “We’ll pick these for the banquet.”Luca was startled. Had he made his decision? Was Luke not going to consider it again?The manager did not expect Luke to make his decision so quickly. He confirmed with him after glancing at the piece of paper. "Mr. Crawford, are you sure you want this course meal and there are no further changes?"“Yes.” Luke ordered, “Leave the dishes we selected her and take the others away.” The manager replied to him and hurriedly asked the waiters to take the other dishes away.After three minutes, only the dishes that Luca picked were left on the table. This was the first time the manager saw someone picking the dishes so quickly. He said happily, “Enjoy your dinner.”He left the private room with the other waiters.Luca and Luke were left alone in the private room. Luca stopped and looked at the man
If she were some other woman who got kidnapped and was threatened with a knife, she would have been so frightened till she started begging for mercy or she would just pass out. However, Luca was unusually calm. She did not cry or ask for forgiveness even when someone was holding a knife in her face, which was covered by a gunny bag.She was different from the others.The man who held the knife was slightly surprised. He sneered and kept the knife away.Luca could sense that the knife was kept away. She said, "I can't breathe with the gunny bag over my head."“Cut the nonsense. Believe it or not, my brother and I will kill you right now!” Another man was feeling uneasy because of her unusually calm demeanor. He was trying to frighten Luca with his loud voice."I know both of you don't want me to see you, that's why you covered my head with a gunny bag. I’m guessing you're also wearing masks right now. How are you going to explain to the mastermind behind you if I run out of brea
The three of them sat on the rug while staring at Luke. They did not say a word.“I took Tommy’s hair for a DNA test.” Luke nodded and admitted that he took the child’s hair for a DNA test.The three of them suddenly got excited. Lanie asked, “Daddy, did you find out where Mommy was?” “Yes.” Luke’s gaze fell upon the three of them as he looked at their faces one by one. Be it Lanie, Rainie, or Tommy, Bianca had spent a period of time away from their lives. Lanie and Rainie were still fine with it. He raised them all by himself since they were young. Hence, they were only upset after Bianca was kidnapped. It was not hard for them to get used to it.However, Tommy was raised with Bianca around him. He cried so much and it took a lot of time for him to get used to her absence.Luke spent so much time keeping him company to cheer him up.“Is Mommy back?” Tommy looked at him with a look of disbelief. “Your Mommy has always been around you. It’s just that her looks have changed,
“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