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
Old Master Crawford frowned, and he said worriedly, "The IV drip won't supply as many nutrients as food does. She should take the oatmeal while it's still warm." Luca was still asleep, and Luke could not bear to wake her up. He glanced at the thermos flask on the coffee table and reminded the old master that the oatmeal would not get cold that easily. "The oatmeal is in the thermos flask." Old Master Crawford cleared his throat. He was so worried about Luca that he forgot Mrs. Nancy had kept it in a thermos flask that could keep the food inside warm for six to seven hours.After a while, Jason entered Luca's ward along with the printed document. Then, he handed it to the old master respectfully.Old Master Crawford took it from him and read the information that they had found out. Indeed, Pierre had established a company of his own. He had raised quite a huge amount of funds, and his company was even listed on the market in New York. "Good gracious. I thought he was a good-for-
“What do you mean? He just wants to run a business of his own. What can he do with such a small amount of money? Just get over it. There’s no need to ask him to come back.” Old Master Mallory refused to believe that Pierre had his eyes on T Corporation. Therefore, he had no intention of asking Pierre to come back.After all, he was surprised to know that Pierre had started his career now. "Hah, I've seen a lot in the business world after all these years. I wouldn’t be mad at Pierre if he goes after T Corporation and tries to steal my business if he were truly capable. That could only mean that Luke isn’t capable enough. And I don't mind him destroying our business partnership that has lasted for years, but Pierre is playing dirty to force Luke to give up the project in Europe. Tell me, does that make any sense? Not only is he ruining the relationship between our families but he’s not even taking other people’s lives seriously. I'm not going to let him get away with this." Old Ma
Luke could hear sounds from the ward bed, which made him stand up unconsciously before heading over. When he saw Luca slowly opening her eyes, there was a piercing pain in his heart as if someone was hitting it with a wooden stick. The woman he cherished a lot had encountered such misfortune…Luca opened her eyes and saw the man who was staring at her. She could not stop her eyes from being filled with tears.Luke saw her reddened eyes and he thought her face was hurting. He asked, “Do you want the nurse to give you another injection to relieve your pain?”Luca shook her head. She was able to endure the pain.She looked around her and realized she was in the hospital. Luke had rescued her out of Pierre’s villa and sent her to the hospital. She was safe now…Luca did not expect him to be able to find her so quickly. He even went there personally to save her. Could this mean that she was important to him?She felt a hint of sweetness at the thought of this even though she was
After Johann left, Luke opened the thermos flask and poured the oatmeal into a bowl.The oatmeal was still warm as it was cooked not long ago. He placed the bowl on the table to let it cool down for a few minutes. Then, he grabbed a spoon and walked to the bedside. “Have some oatmeal, okay?”Luca nodded.She was well aware of her current condition, so she knew that she could not behave unreasonably. She should eat more if she could. Luke picked up the spoon, sat down on the chair beside the bed, and fed her with the spoon. Luca tried to open her mouth. She could only manage to open it slightly wider. Her cheek muscles seemed to burn. It was as if they were protesting against her trying to open her mouth.Luke could not bear to see her in pain when he realized she could not open her mouth. He picked up the spoon and said, “Do you want to try using a straw?” Luca nodded. It would be easier for her.Luke picked up a clean straw and put it in the oatmeal, then he moved it closer
When Luke noticed that Nina was not speaking for a while, he spoke again, “Is there anything you want to say?” “Aren’t you too concerned about Luca?” Nina narrowed her eyes and asked. She admired Luca very much and treated her as a friend. However, Bianca was her friend too.Therefore, she could not accept that something was going on between Luca and Luke.Luke raised his brows and asked, “Why do you ask?”“You’re a married man. Although Bianca is abroad now, you can’t do such terrible things to her because of that. Do you understand?” Nina warned him.As Luke listened to her defending Bianca, he wondered what her reaction would be if she knew that Luca and Bianca were the same person.However, he could not tell her about this now.Luke replied, “Mind your own business.”“I don’t mean to mind your business, but Luca is a good person. I don’t want you to approach her too closely and get blamed for it.” Nina clenched her fists. She was worried about Luke’s mischievous attitude
Nina put her phone back in her bag.She took the initiative to take care of Luca because she saw that Luke was here and she wanted them to keep a distance from each other.After she decided to stay here and look after Luca, she realized that she had not prepared anything.Nina thought for a moment and took her phone out again. She thought of asking Sue to bring her necessities over when she got off work. That way, she could visit Luca at the hospital as well.She saw a friend request when she opened her Instagram.Nina was startled for a while. It was a friend request from Percy. She deleted him when she ended her toxic relationship with him back then. She did not block him as she thought he would not be shameless enough to pester her. However, he had sent her a friend request now. Did he have anything to tell her?Nina looked at the friend request. She thought it was probably nothing important since there was nothing written in the message box. She did not approve or rejec
Besides, although Percy was his biological elder brother, he was obviously closer to Luke.Hence, Pierre was not counting on Percy to help him. “I have to stay here for another night. Clean your room. I’m not used to staying in a messy room,” Pierre ordered Liam like a boss.Liam responded and stood up to clean up the master bedroom for Pierre. It was all for the sake of his business. Pierre snubbed out the cigarette and took his time to make a call to Old Master Mallory.The call was answered, and the old master immediately snapped at him from the other end of the call. “Pierre Mallory, where the hell have you been?”“Grandpa, I’m drinking at a friend’s house. Why? Did someone piss you off?” Pierre pretended to sound like he was tipsy and asked lazily.The old master listened to him and spoke in a serious tone, "Who's that friend? You're hiding from the police now, aren’t you? Come home now!" “What did I do that I should hide from the police? I can’t go back after drinking.
“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