Percy asked Luke to send him the evidence of Pierre plotting schemes behind their backs…Luke fell silent for a few seconds when he looked at the message. Then, he replied to him: [Okay.]After Pierre threatened him to quit the tender by kidnapping Luca, Percy and Luke had been digging deeper into Pierre’s past deeds.Pierre was currently expanding his company, and his ventures overlapped with their two families’ corporations. On the surface, it did not seem that Pierre intended to steal their business. However, it was just a front and something Pierre did to impress the Mallory family. After all, the Mallory family had to stand up for their family members for the sake of their reputation. If they found out that Pierre's company was affecting the interests of their family business and the Crawford family’s business, they would have certainly stopped Pierre instead of supporting him.Pierre was just putting a front for others to see.He had been secretly doing things that were
He could help Pierre grow, and he could also tear him down. It was just a matter of time.Percy still considered the Mallory family as his family, but from the moment Pierre made a move on Nina, he had stopped thinking of him as his brother.The nurse walked in with the receipt and saw the two of them holding hands tightly. With envy in her eyes, she said, "Mr. Mallory, Ms. Langdon's discharge procedures have been completed. This is your credit card, and these are the discharge documents from the hospital.""Thank you," Nina reached her hand out, taking the receipt and the credit card. She put the receipt in her pocket and handed the credit card to Percy. "Here.""This is yours to keep." Percy did not take the card."Uh..." Nina looked at the black card in her hand. ‘How generous of him. There’s no limit to the black card. Isn’t he afraid that I’ll squander his money?’"You’re my lover and soon-to-be Mrs. Mallory. My assets should be managed by you," Percy said.Nina laughed o
"If you don't like him, why won’t you let him go? Didn't I give you a sum of money? You don’t want it anymore? Or… do you think it’s too little? That sounds about right. A woman like you would only approach my son to get to me. Tell me, how much do you want this time?" Madam Mallory despised Nina. She took out the checkbook from her handbag and was about to write Nina a check."I don't need money. I didn't need it before, I don't need it now, and I won't need it in the future." Nina held Percy's hand tightly. She initially planned to stand aside and let him solve the matter on his own. However, she could not keep quiet any longer.Since she loved him, she was willing to share weal and woe with him. They would get through hardships together. That was what true love was.She would never back down because she was afraid."What do you want?!" Madam Mallory was fuming from what she said and threw the checkbook on the sofa."I didn’t know how I felt before, so I told you that I had no i
Percy held Nina's hand tightly. He was beside her, so she had nothing to be afraid of..."No matter what the consequence, I want to spend the rest of my life with her. She’s my soulmate. No one can change my mind about that."The corners of Nina’s eyes were moist when she heard how unyielding his tone was.No matter what she had to endure in the future, what Percy just said was enough to sustain her through it all. There would be no more misunderstandings and differences moving forward because she realized that this man loved her as much as she loved him."What if you had to give up everything that comes with being a Mallory?" Old Master Mallory was cross seeing how determined Percy was.The Mallory family was the source of all his glory. The old master did not think that Nina would still opt to be with Percy if he lost everything.Percy did not waver. "Even if you take everything from me, I still want to be with Nina."Old Master Mallory slammed his cane hard on the floor. ‘Doe
Pierre did not expect Percy to have found out about everything.Moreover, Percy had already completed the investigation a while back and had been hiding it from everyone. He only opted to uncover all that he knew at the perfect timing. It seemed that they had been keeping a close eye on his whereabouts for some time now..."Enough with the hogwash. Today is about you wanting to be with Nina. Don't get me involved in this mess." Pierre refused to talk about it.Madam Mallory said, "Yeah, be careful with what you’re saying. Even if Pierre is ambitious, he won't put the Mallory family in such a situation.""If this information is released to the public, how many people do you think will come to pick on the Mallory family?" Percy asked in a low voice.Madam Mallory shut up.She had not seen the evidence, so she did not know how serious things were. Nevertheless, she had a rough idea based on Old Master Mallory's expression. Hence, she did not dare to answer Percy's question."Ah..."
Based on what Percy knew about Old Master Mallory, he would soon be looking into the authenticity of the document.The elevator doors slowly opened, and Nina walked in holding Percy’s hand.Percy took care of her every step of the way. After he pressed the button to go down, he stood guard in front of her while she stood in the corner of the elevator."Enough about him. What are you going to do?" Nina looked up and saw his chin. He had a five o'clock shadow after spending the whole night taking care of her in the hospital. Percy would always keep himself neat. However, he did not ask anyone to bring his daily necessities over, so he looked out of the ordinary.He appeared sexy and lazy."I'll be fine." Percy patted her head to comfort her.Nina rested her head on his shoulder, knowing that he only said that to keep her from worrying.‘Are things really going to be fine?’If Percy left Mallory Corporation, he would have to start over from scratch.She did not have any doubts ab
Pierre kept silent for a moment and chose to believe her.All along, Madam Mallory had cared more for him than Percy. However, their grandfather, Old Master Mallory, had always favored Percy. He knew that the only one who could help him was his mother.He told her everything he did.After Madam Mallory heard everything, she shook her head and shouted, "Pierre, how could you do such a thing?!""If I’m not lying here now, I could have done more and they still wouldn’t have found anything." Pierre gritted his teeth. He thought of Luca and did not expect that she could be so terrifying.With only her bare hands, she hurt him so badly that all he could do was lie here. Even the doctor could not figure out what was wrong.He had no direct evidence, so not only could the police not help him but even the doctors and nurses in the hospital thought that he was addicted to painkillers..."They won’t be able to verify the document in a day and a half. Have you ever thought about the consequ
"Stop it. Stop teasing me." Nina's words showed the pamperedness of a woman in love. "It's obvious that I don’t hold a place in your heart, so you didn't come to the hospital to pick me up.""If I had shown up, wouldn’t it ruin your fun time with Mr. Mallory?" Luca listened to the tone of Nina’s voice and knew that something must have happened.Otherwise, Nina would not be speaking in this tone.Her words seemed to be covered with honey, which made Luca both relieved and envious.Nina snorted and said, "I don't care. I was discharged from the hospital today and you didn't come to pick me up, so you must accompany me for dinner.""Now?" Luca glanced at the time. It was not too late."Of course, there's no time like the present. Today's Sunday. I’ve informed Sue and booked the restaurant. The two of you must have a meal with me today." Nina shared her ultimate goal.In the past few years that she and Percy were on and off, Sue and Bianca were the ones always by her side. Later, Bi
“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