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
Tommy listened to the conversation between the adults and came to assist, saying, "Daddy, Ms. Luca, don't worry. I promise that I’ll be good and listen to the cleaning lady, Lanie, and Rainie. I’ll be waiting for you to come home!"Luca nodded and said, "Okay."Luke walked into the opposite room and said, "Give me five minutes. I have to change.""Mm." Luca nodded.Tommy took her hand and whispered, "Ms. Luca, you have to follow closely behind Daddy when you’re out.""Why?" Luca was intrigued. She crouched down and looked at the child."It's dangerous and there are many people out there! Only by following Daddy closely can he keep you safe!" Tommy touched the top of her head as she did to him previously. "Ms. Luca, you’re my favorite person. You have to keep yourself safe.”Luca was not sure how to feel. Tommy was so young but he already learned to say such things. She looked at the serious look in his eyes and nodded. "I will."Luke changed his clothes, opened the bedroom door
Percy looked at Nina, who lay peacefully on the hospital bed.She nodded and spoke in a low, gentle voice, "Go. We’re in the hospital. Nothing will happen to me."When he heard her, Percy stood up and walked out of the ward with Luke.Luca approached the hospital bed and looked at Nina's thin face. It was pale and ashen. "You've lost a lot of weight.""I couldn't eat when I was there, so naturally, I lost weight." Nina looked at the person in front of her. She could not stop crying when she thought of how Percy was right in front of her as soon as she woke up. When she saw Luca, she was completely relieved and knew that she was truly safe.Luca sat on the chair beside the bed and held Nina's frail hand. "After you’re discharged, you need to make up for the weight you’ve lost and eat more food so that you can get back to how you were before.""I’ll eat more if you’re the one cooking for me!" Nina was more relaxed when Luca was around. She did not want Luca to worry about her, so
Nina took the peeled grapes and said, "Some of your habits are very similar to mine.""Isn't that normal? After all, we’re good friends." Luca smiled. She then lowered her head and continued to peel the grapes for her.Outside the ward.Percy and Luke each had a cigarette in their hand."How's it going?" Luke asked. If Percy was willing to make a move on Pierre, he would be more than happy to help.Although Pierre had not made any big moves now, they all saw his ambition.Right now, he was only afraid of the two old masters from the Crawford and Mallory families. After a few years, no one would be able to control him when he grew stronger. As such, it was necessary to deal with a hazard like Pierre as soon as possible."Those involved have been taken to the police station. Pierre should know that I’ve rescued Nina by now." Percy took a deep breath and blew out some smoke circles.In front of Nina, all he could do was to take good care of her and show her his gentleness. In plac
Nina noticed the worry in his eyes and said softly, "Are you struggling with what to do with Pierre?"Percy looked at her. After she was rescued, she no longer resisted him. Her tenderness was hard-won as the price was for her to experience those terrible things.He would rather she did not experience them and for her to see his love for her bit by bit through his hard work so that it would hurt her a lot less."No, don't read into it." Percy put his hand on her forehead and removed it only when he felt that her temperature was normal."Don't lie to me. Pierre is your younger brother. If you go after him for my sake, you won't be able to explain it to your family. Since I've woken up, your phone has rung three times and you didn’t answer a single call. It’s someone from the Mallory family who’s calling you, no?" Nina hated Pierre, and she did not want to let the matter slide.However, she could not deal with this mad man alone. She could only do it with Percy’s help...If Percy s
At that moment, the two acted like shrews who were fighting in the market square.When Allison saw Luke, she knew that her support had arrived. Before Susan could say anything, she cried out, "Luke, I don’t feel welcomed in this house! I don’t want to live anymore!"Luca listened as Allison cried about her misery. It was made clear that she wanted Luke to step in.Nevertheless, Luke was the kind of person who sided with reason. He did not side her blindly. Instead, he asked, "What happened? Your quarrel is scaring Thea."Thea planted her bum on the floor all of a sudden. Thea covered her face and cried so hard as if she was going to be out of breath at any moment. Luca could not bear to leave her as such, so she walked over, took her hand, and comforted her softly. "It’s okay. Everything is okay. Don't cry."Thea continued crying although she was being comforted.Susan noticed it and pulled Thea to her side. She scolded Allison dismissively, "If you don't want to live, I'm all fo
Louis immediately grabbed Susan and walked off. "Okay, Mom, that’s enough. The villa is almost ready. You can move in with us when the time comes."When Susan heard that, she scolded, "Bastard! I told you that I won’t move out! You’re not allowed to move out as well. This is your home!"Louis was not bothered. He went upstairs with her.Luke stood downstairs, deep in thought. Allison and Susan were incompatible with each other so he had expected them to fight.He knew that he could not postpone his plans any longer."Young Master Luke, are you moving out for good with Young Master Tommy and the others?" the butler asked."Mm, I won't be moving back for the time being." Luke nodded. He did not want the kids to be affected by their infighting.Aside from that, he had not returned to Crawford Manor often because he was occupied with work. It was a better option for him and the kids to live in the villa and have them get closer to Luca so that she would open up to them about her tru
“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