The master bedroom was near the stairs. Luca walked in, put down the briefcase, and came out again.She noticed that something was off and turned her head, looking at the guest bedrooms.Previously, she opened all the doors of the guest bedrooms for ventilation. However, all of the doors were closed now...‘Could it be that the cleaning lady and maid closed them after they were done cleaning up?’Luca did not think much about it and did not bother to open the doors. She walked downstairs. She had to prepare dinner for three children and two adults, so there was a lot to do. If she started immediately, she could have some desserts ready for the kids when they arrived. After she thought of that, she rolled up her sleeves and walked into the kitchen to prepare dinner with Leane.Half an hour later, Luca's appetizers were ready and Zander arrived at the villa with the children.Tommy walked into the villa and went straight to the kitchen, shouting, "Ms. Luca!"Luca turned around a
"Ms. Luca, you don't have to worry about me. Daddy said I'm not a kid anymore, I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself." Tommy said while holding the spoon, he could not wait to take his first sip of the soup.Luca looked at Tommy's greedy expression and shook her head helplessly. If she had not known that the Crawford family would never starve Tommy, she might have misunderstood the situation.She put the rest of the soup away. Rainie walked over to the dining table and wanted to take a seat next to Luca but Lanie pulled her away.She understood his actions instantly and chose another seat.Lanie sat next to her.Leane sat between Lanie and Tommy so she could take care of the children during the meal.Luca looked at the remaining two seats. It was clear that they were left for her and Luke.No matter where she sat, she would be next to Luke.She had no choice but to choose a seat near Tommy. When Luke saw that, he sat beside her.Tommy’s round eyes were squinted from the wid
Luca stood by the door and watched as Luke carefully put Tommy on the bed. She glanced around the bedroom and noticed that there was a kid’s table, bedding, and thick carpet. It must have taken a lot of work to prepare all these. She was not angry about it, but the turbidity in her heart became stronger.Luke had confessed to her, and it turned out he had not given up even after not getting the answer he wanted.She was like a fish that unknowingly swam into the trap he set, foolishly thinking that he had given up on her.Luca took another look at the guest bedrooms. There was Lanie’s room, Rainie’s room, and the guest bedroom opposite the master bedroom...She opened the door and saw the black, white, and gray interior as well as the large bed and the office desk. She immediately knew that this was the bedroom Luke had prepared for himself.It was just opposite her bedroom. They would bump into each other when they stepped out of their rooms.Luca shook her head.After Luke
Luca wrapped Lanie in her arms. She understood what the kids were thinking."Do you see me as one of those women as well?" she asked cautiously, worried that she would be hurt to hear from Lanie that the kids did not like her.Lanie raised his head and looked at her with a firm gaze. "No, all of us like you, Ms. Luca. I don't know why but we’ve always thought that you’re affectionate and love us as our Mommy did. If it’s possible, we hope to be able to live with you for the days to come. Ms. Luca, although our daddy seems cold, he treats his lover gently and wholeheartedly. Rainie and I can guarantee it."Luca noticed how Lanie was promoting Luke. She smiled and gently pinched his hand. "You like me but you're still young. You can't tell what kind of liking it is.""We feel that whenever we see you, it’s like seeing our mommy. Ms. Luca, Daddy likes you very much and we like you very much too. Think about it. Don't reject Daddy just like that," Lanie said sincerely.Luca felt disco
The next day, Luca checked her phone as soon as she woke up.She had nightmares the entire night. She dreamt of being forced to separate from Luke and her children. She also dreamt of Nina being brutally abused by Pierre.The dreams made her feel suffocated...Luca looked at her phone. There was a text sent 11 minutes ago. She opened it immediately.Amur had texted her. He said that he found the place where Nina was being held hostage and he was already creating an anonymous phone software. He would notify Percy as soon as he was done.Luca got up immediately and replied: [Have you notified Percy?]Amur responded: [Give me five minutes.]Luca understood that it meant that the software would take another five minutes to complete. Amur could only notify Percy after the anonymous phone software was made so that he would not be discovered.One’s phone number had to be registered with one’s real name. As such, Percy could still find Amur even if he registered for a new number to not
In the villa.Nina was groggy. A needle was inserted into the back of her hand. The nutrition solution was delivered into her body through her veins.She still refused to eat, so she got so weak that she was ill with a fever.After they administered the fever-reducing injection, the female doctor adjusted the speed of the nutrition infusion and looked at the male doctor. "Why don't we leave the needle in? If her fever doesn’t go away, she’ll have to go for an intravenous infusion at noon and another bag of nutrition solution later. I'm afraid the boss won't be happy if we keep stabbing her." The male doctor looked at Nina, then at the maid. He left the decision to her. “Do you think we should leave the needle in?”The maid replied in an indifferent tone, "Do you dare to do so? She’s not a mental patient yet has to be restricted by a straitjacket. After you’re done with the infusion, you have to loosen the straitjacket. Can you guarantee that she won’t hurt herself using the needl
Percy listened to her screams and hugged her silently. "Don't be scared. We're going to the hospital now. You'll feel more comfortable once we get there."Nina heard his reassuring words and subconsciously grabbed the corner of his clothes. She was scared that he would disappear as soon as she loosened her grip.‘It's not a dream, is it… Percy came to my rescue…’Nina said nothing. Percy hugged her tightly until she arrived at the hospital.Johann had arranged for someone to wait for Nina at the hospital’s entrance. Percy got out of the car and felt Nina grip him tighter when he wanted to place her on the stretcher."Nina, we’re at the hospital now. The doctor will take care of you." Percy noticed her unease and reassured her.Nina shook her head and said, "Don't leave me. I'm scared..."When he heard that, Percy felt as though his heart shattered."Okay, I won't let you go. I'll carry you in." Percy carried Nina in his arms and walked to the hospital.The doctor who was on st
The antipyretic fluid entered Nina's vein little by little.After Johann adjusted the speed of the drip, he looked at Percy and saw how in pain he looked. He joked, saying, "It's just an injection. Her fever is so high that she won’t feel any pain no matter how sensitive she is to it."Percy frowned even more when he heard that.Seeing that Percy was not in the mood to talk, Johann touched his nose and did not continue the conversation. He went through some of the things to be mindful of and left....Luca was in the villa worrying about Nina while taking care of the children.Her refusals about Luke moving in with the three kids had gone unheard.The truth was that she wanted more than anything to live with the children and Luke...The cleaning lady arrived to help take care of the children. As per Luke’s instructions, she bought a bunch of ingredients before she came to the villa.When Luca saw her, she took the initiative to put the groceries in the refrigerator.Lanie and
“You don’t need to remind me. I was going to check anyway.” Abel shot Luca a chilling look.She took a step back and stayed silent.Abel turned to the pale-faced Hera and said, “If you’ve got low blood sugar, get up and eat something.”“I’ll eat now,” Hera replied, sitting up.Luca handed her the takeout.Abel glanced at the food and then frowned at Luca. “Why didn’t you make breakfast this morning?”“I was busy,” Luca explained with a calm indifference, her expression unwavering. She showed no fear, even under Abel’s questioning.Hera suddenly found herself admiring Luca. Everyone feared this man, yet Luca remained composed even when facing potential punishment. Not just anyone could pull that off.At the thought of this, Hera opened the takeout and kept quiet.Abel narrowed his eyes, glancing between Hera and Luca. His gaze was not exactly gentle as he muttered, “Stop eating this junk. It’s bad for you.”“I know, babe. Just this once. After this, I’ll have what Luca cooks f
Hera panicked the moment she heard that. “I trust her!”Luca and Shanks were both watching her.Hera repeated herself, saying, “I trust her, okay? What kind of treatment does she need? I’ll cooperate with anything. But what about Abel…”“I’ll tell him it’s just to help improve your overall health,” replied Shanks. Then, he turned around, opened the medicine cabinet, and started preparing the prescription.Hera let out a sigh of relief. As long as Abel did not find out about her health condition, that was all that mattered.If he knew she was unwell, he would send her back to A City. Without free medical help and no way to make extra money, she would be in serious trouble.“Thank you,” said Hera.“Wait outside,” instructed Shanks.“Okay.” Hera carefully stepped out.Luca, however, remained where she was, waiting.While preparing the medicine, Shanks asked, “Do you know which acupoints to target for her?”“Yes,” Luca replied confidently. As long as she checked Hera’s pulse, sh
“There are a lot of issues.” Luca did not hide anything and handed Hera the phone.Hera looked at it and frowned.“I can't understand any of this.” Hera felt dizzy just looking at the text, let alone the long list of medical terms. It was giving her a headache.“Look at these summaries and indicators. Compare the values on top with the normal values at the bottom, and you'll see what I mean,” explained Luca.Hera did not trust her. Therefore, Luca decided to let her see for herself. Seeing it with her own eyes would prevent any doubts later.Luca pointed out how to read the test results, and after a moment, Hera managed to understand the report. Her face turned pale. “How can there be so many problems?”She looked at Luca and questioned, “Did you fake this?”“I don’t have the power to make the medical center fake anything. Besides, the report has the medical center’s official stamp. If you don’t believe me, you can go directly to the medical center and ask for the official cop
“I heard from the boss that he's coming because of Vivian.” Gale paused for a moment before adding, “But never mind, you don't seem interested in her affairs anyway. I'm just letting you know he's on his way.”Gordan frowned. Ray was coming for Vivian?What could that ugly woman possibly need?“What do you mean by that?” asked Gordan.Gale smirked. “If you and Ray meet, that’s bound to end in a fight. And since you can't win against him, you might want to mentally prepare yourself, or better yet, find somewhere else to stay. It’d be safer that way.”Gordan's expression darkened. “If you have nothing nice to say, just zip it.”Gale grinned, clearly pleased with himself like he had just hit a sore spot.Gordan exhaled sharply. “Of all times, why is he coming to A City now? He’s just making things worse.”“It can't be helped. Vivian's situation is urgent.” Gale covered his mouth mockingly after he said that. “Oh, right. I forgot you don’t like hearing about her.”Ray wanted to br
Luke sat in the villa, staring at Luca’s message.He was worried.For a moment, he considered calling her, but then he remembered that there were surveillance cameras everywhere on her side. He dismissed the idea immediately.Her safety came first.Luke reminded her: [Take care of yourself. Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything. Just focus on keeping yourself safe.] The worry in his heart refused to subside, but at this moment, there was no better solution.“Boss, you’re worried about your wife, huh? If you really can’t stand it, we can sneak you in again during the next shift change, just like last time,” said Gale.It had been his idea last time.Now, the real Lucius was still locked up in the basement of the villa.It had been nearly a month. Luke had forced him to take the antidote Luca had recreated. The man was still alive, proving the antidote worked perfectly.“That plan is too risky.” Luke put his phone away. His gaze was dark and thoughtful.“Risky, sure. But at lea
Luca had not expected Abel and Shanks’ relationship to be like this.It seemed Abel still did not trust Shanks.Shanks continued, “Abel isn’t someone who trusts people easily. He doesn’t trust anyone. You think he’s devoted to Kassy now, right? That’s just his obsession. He's allowing Kassy to receive my treatment, but if it were him… No matter if he were blind or crippled, his safety would always come first. If he were seriously injured, maybe he’d accept treatment, but he definitely wouldn’t do it right away.”Luca stayed silent. Shanks really understood Abel well.Abel did not trust anyone—not even Kassy.Calling him paranoid would not be an exaggeration.Luca felt like they were getting off-topic, but she had never seen this side of Shanks before.In her mind, he was always buried in his work at the lab, only leaving for meals and sleep. Other than that, he was practically never outside.The lab was like his home…“Are you troubled by Hera’s situation?” Luca asked directly
Hera was startled by Luca's words.The refusal that had been on the tip of her tongue suddenly got stuck in her throat.“I…” Hera hesitated, feeling conflicted. Leaving Abel might not be such a bad idea. At least she would not have to live in constant fear.She was finally realizing how unpredictable his moods were. At first, she thought it did not matter as she could still look at other men. She just had to ensure there was no physical contact. In reality, even if she so much as glanced at someone, Abel's expression would darken with anger.It was frustrating. Now, the only person she was allowed to look at was Gerald. Still, what was the point of just looking at Gerald?At that thought, she lifted her gaze to Luca.Luca added, “I’ll give you five minutes. If you refuse treatment after that, I’ll take the medicine back to Mr. Shanks and won’t try to convince you again.”Hera's heart tightened. She did not even need five minutes. She had made her decision within 30 seconds.“I’
“If Abel finds out that Hera's body isn't suitable for organ donation to Kassy, what do you think he'll do?” asked Shanks.He already knew the answer, but he still wanted to hear Luca’s thoughts.“He has invested a lot of time and money in Hera. If he gets nothing out of it, he won’t let her off easily,” Luca said bluntly.Luca and Shanks were on the same page.They did not have a good relationship with Hera, but they had no intention of ruining her either.Hera’s personality was unpleasant, but that was not enough for them to hate her so much that they wanted to see her suffer.“What methods do you think he’ll use?” Shanks asked again.Luca was silent for a long moment.Shanks already knew the answer, yet he still wanted her to say it out loud.After thinking it over, she finally said, “There are plenty of ways he could go about it, but no matter what he chooses, Hera’s fate is sealed. She’s as good as dead…”She lowered her gaze, her tone firm and certain.Shanks nodded.
Hera heard that Luca had returned and immediately went to find Shanks. She narrowed her eyes.That woman went to see Shanks. Could she be talking about her?The thought made Hera uneasy. She had a nagging feeling that something was wrong with her medical report.However, when they left the medical center earlier, Abel asked Luca when the report would be ready, and she said it would be available tomorrow.Hera turned to Gerald and said, “Take these back for me first.”“Alright.” Gerald carried the bags as he walked away. He could not help but wonder what exactly Hera bought. These bags were really heavy!Only after Gerald went upstairs did Hera slowly make her way up as well. Her room was on the third floor, but she stopped when she reached the second floor. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching before heading toward the laboratory.The door was closed.Instead of knocking, Hera pressed her ear against it, trying to eavesdrop.However, the laboratory was special