Pierre clenched his fists when he heard her mock him. ‘Is she really not afraid or is she putting on an act? She’s still making fun of me in the situation she’s in now?’Pierre felt that he had to teach her a lesson so that she would not think she was on vacation.When he thought of that, he raised his hand and slapped Luca in the face.Luca knew that he was going to slap her so she prepared herself. She could not let herself bang her head on the bed like the night before. Even though she was mentally prepared, Pierre did not hold back and gave her a tight slap across the face.Her neck was twisted to the side. She was in pain.‘Does Pierre want to kill me?’Blood spilled from the corners of Luca's mouth. She turned her head and stared at Pierre. "What do you want from me?"Pierre noticed the wound on her forehead and asked Eric, "You did this?""It was an accident. We didn't mean to do it," Eric explained.Pierre did not condemn them. He looked at the blood spilling from
As soon as Eric heard that, he immediately praised Pierre, "That’s smart! When will this matter end?"Based on the industry standards, they had to complete everything before they could receive any money.Pierre glared at him. "If Luke cares about this woman, he’ll act soon. Why are you in such a hurry?"Eric was speechless when he heard that Luke Crawford was involved.He was not afraid because Luke was involved. There were not many people who could get Luke’s attention. If he compromised because of a threat, he would have to compromise a lot.What worried him was if Luke treasured the woman in the room.The two seemed to be romantically linked… If he and Derek were not able to escape in time, both of them would be sent to jail!"What? Are you feeling dissatisfied? Do you think I’m not paying you enough?" Pierre asked when he saw Eric keeping quiet.Eric wailed in his heart. If he had known that this woman was involved with Luke, he would never have kidnapped her no matter ho
Luca stared at the ceiling and could not think of any ideas.Her only option was to obediently go with their arrangement lest she suffered again. A woman against two men was not a fair fight to begin with. On top of that, her hands and feet were bound.Eric opened the door and walked in. When he saw how desperate Luca looked, he thought about the connections she had.He felt uneasy, so he opened the door and walked in with some medicine."Does it hurt?" He looked at Luca's swollen face. He did not hold back when he slapped her earlier. After all, he did not dare to disobey Pierre’s orders in front of him.Luca glanced at him and said nothing.It hurt for her to open her mouth, let alone speak.Eric was not bothered that she did not respond. He took out the medicine in his pocket. When he went to purchase merbromin and iodophor, the pharmacist recommended it after she learned about the patient’s wound.She told him that if he was unsure of the depth of the wound, it was best if
Luke turned on the camera, and at the same time, the video was done loading. He moved the mouse to the button for it to start playing, and his hands were shaking a little."Luke, calm down." Percy saw the cursor trembling slightly on the computer screen and knew that he was nervous.Luke acted calm but he could never calm himself down whenever the matter involved Bianca.Bianca was his other half. She was his sun and moon. After all these years, she finally came back to him but was forced to go through these hardships all over again. When he thought of that, Luke could not calm down. "Click on it," Percy said.Luke clicked on the video.The video had been edited. What they saw was Luca being slapped in the face by a man wearing a mask. After a few slaps, her face swelled at a speed visible to the naked eye.The loud sounds of slapping came from the stereo, which showed that this video was not faked.Luke could not help but clench his fists when he saw Luca being tortured. He
Luke glanced out the window and said in a confident tone, "It's here."Jason was about to pull over to the side of the road when he heard Luke say, "Go a little farther.""Yes." Jason followed his instructions and drove past two villas before he stopped the car.Luke sat in the car and had no intentions of getting out. He directed the men who were already lurking in the area.He was feeling extra confident since Percy had lent him his men as well.Jason sat in the driver's seat without moving, silently waiting for the next command.Once everything was planned out, Luke opened the car door.When Jason saw that he was about to get out of the car, he quickly asked, "Boss, do you want me to follow you?""Wait here," Luke instructed him with a blank expression. He got out of the car, walked to Pierre's villa, and glanced at the surveillance camera at the door.He did not bother to sneak around because he was not afraid that the people inside would find out that he was here and run
He switched positions with Eric, and his knife was on Luca's neck. "Come on, shoot me. I promise that this woman will die if we die. It’s not too bad having a woman with us on the road to hell. Mr. Crawford, what do you say?"Luke’s heart tightened when he saw Luca's pale face and how she was being held against her will by the knife on her neck.She seemed uncomfortable and had some difficulty breathing.When Eric saw the muzzles of the guns aimed at him, he threw caution to the wind. The most important thing now was to escape. The woman in front of them was their only bargaining chip."Yeah, if you dare to shoot us, I’ll stab this knife into her body.”Luca heard their threats, and she winked at Luke. She could not speak, so she could only hint at him.It was time to turn passive into active...Derek said, "Now, get out of the way and get a car ready for us at the door..."Luca twisted her bound hands while Derek was talking and hit the acupuncture points of the person behind
Jason shot her a glance. His boss must never find out what they were talking about. He would probably fly into a rage judging by how much he cared for Luca. He reminded Tina in a soft voice, “Don’t ever let Boss hear this. Otherwise, you and I will get into trouble.”Tina was enlightened after he reminded her. She covered her mouth and looked around her. Fortunately, Luke was not around.Jason headed to the payment counter and said, “Go back to the office first. Handle any tasks in the office, and if you can’t deal with any, leave it for the boss when he comes back.”Luke would not be able to work under such conditions now. It would be better to wait until Luca’s condition had stabilized. “Alright. I know what to do.” Tina nodded.After Tina left, Jason brought Luca's information with him and registered her admission to the hospital on her behalf. Then, he returned to look for Luke.Luca was still undergoing various medical check-ups."Boss, I've registered Dr. Craw," Jason r
He looked at the badly injured Luca. She would not be able to eat anything, not even porridge. With her condition now, she needed someone to feed her little by little.Johann suggested, “I’ll give Dr. Craw an IV drip so she won’t feel hungry. But she’s lost a lot of blood. She needs to restore her nutrition. You can get someone to prepare some oatmeal for her. You’ll have to find a way to make her get used to eating it, or maybe feed her when she’s awake. She must eat something.” "Alright." Luke picked up his phone and ordered Mrs. Nancy to prepare some oatmeal to send to the hospital.Crawford Manor.Mrs. Nancy told Mr. Griffin that Luca was injured right after she received Luke’s order.Previously, Old Master Crawford and Mr. Griffin had already known that Luca was kidnapped. The old master was worried sick, and he even sent his men to look for her.Mr. Griffin told Old Master Crawford about the news immediately after he was informed.Old Master Crawford could barely sit st
“Don’t worry, it won’t affect you in the slightest,” said Abel.The villa was bought under Shanks’ name.So while it appeared to be the Island of Despair’s property, it was, in fact, Shanks’ personal asset.Abel shot a glance at his subordinates, who stood beside him. Without hesitation, they grabbed the doctor and hauled him away.As Hera watched the scene unfold, she felt a sudden pang of unease. She was well aware of Abel's methods. Punishment was never off the table. However, seeing the way things were unfolding, Hera could not shake the feeling that Abel might actually take the doctor’s life.Still, they were in A City, a country with strict laws. Would Abel really go that far?As Abel turned to leave, Hera said almost nervously, “Darling…”“I have some matters to take care of. Be good and stay here. Don’t wander around, okay?” Abel’s mood was apparently lifted by the successful surgery. His voice was unexpectedly gentle.Hera’s unease only deepened. She grabbed the slee
All three of them stepped out of the vehicle.Hera realized that the surgery might already be over and could not wait to hear the results.Abel, equally eager, immediately asked as soon as he saw them, “Is the surgery finished?”“Yes, the surgery was successful. The transplant was completed, and all the nerves we could connect have been repaired. Now, it’s up to the follow-up treatment,” answered Shanks.The doctor who had been kicked out earlier stared in disbelief.They actually succeeded in the transplant? How was that even possible?“Great, fantastic!” Abel let out a sigh of relief before bursting into laughter.What had seemed impossible in modern medicine had achieved a different outcome in Shanks’ hands.Unlike others who might celebrate the medical breakthrough, Abel’s joy came from a more personal place—Kassy would soon return to his side. His delight was unmistakable.“T-This can’t be!” muttered the dismissed doctor, who was still in shock. “A surgery this revoluti
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