Luca held her phone in her hands after hearing the beeping sound. She glanced at the time. It was still early. She put down her briefcase and looked at the messy apartment. Then, she started cleaning the place up. An hour later, Luca had already finished cleaning up the apartment, but Amur was still not home yet. Luca had no idea if he was on a mission, so she dared not to call him again lest she disturbed him. She picked up a piece of paper, left a note for him, and left the apartment.After she left the apartment, she hailed a taxi to go back to the villa.It was already 11 o’clock at night. Luca walked into the living room. No one was there. She figured that the children must have gone upstairs to sleep at this hour, but Luke…She bent down and changed into a pair of slippers. Then, she crept her way up the stairs. As expected, the second floor was quiet as well. Luca walked to her bedroom door and glanced at the room opposite her. The door was closed tightly. She could
“I drank some when I was on the mission.” Amur found an excuse to cover up the fact that he was drowning himself in alcohol. He had been going out drinking for a few nights now.He could not calm himself down at the thought of Luca staying with Luke, and he had never stopped thinking of bringing her back to his side. However, Luca would not allow him to do so. Therefore, Amur had no choice but to drink his sorrows away. Luca frowned as she listened to his hoarse yet slightly slurred words. “Amur, is something bothering you lately?” Amur remained silent for quite some time.He so badly wanted to tell her that she was his biggest worry, but how could he say something like that to her?Luca only saw him as her younger brother. “No. Stop overthinking.” Amur looked down. He dared not to say anything like that to her.If Luca knew he had feelings for her, she would convince him to forget about her and return to the Island of Despair.Now that she was surrounded by danger, he co
They would still suspect her when the time came.Although Luca felt embarrassed, she still agreed to it and said, "Alright. I'll be there at noon." "Alright. Then I'll leave you to it." Queenie sounded happy when Luca agreed to it as though the matter would be settled once the two people met each other.Luca was an outstanding woman, and the man Jack recommended was a fine, young man. When the two of them met each other, they would certainly catch each other's eyes.Moreover, Luca agreeing to go on a blind date indicated that there was probably nothing going on between Luca and Luke. After Queenie hung up the call, Luca put her phone aside.Luca thought they were just testing her, but she did not expect that they would really make arrangements after she agreed to their suggestion. She thought her parents were not the kind of people who enjoyed arranging blind dates for others. However, they were doing it to her now.Perhaps they were worried that she would steal someone's hu
Luca nodded. She knew Luke was in his office based on what Jason had told her. He was not planning to go down for lunch.That would be great. That way, he would not find out that she was going on a blind date. Jason and Luca got into the elevator together. He pressed the button for the first floor and asked Luca, "Dr. Craw, where are you going for lunch? Would you like to join us?" “I have a lunch date.” Luca shook her head and rejected Jason’s offer.Lunch date? Jason raised his brows. Luca was only closer to Tina in the office, and she was considered a lone wolf. Who could she possibly have a lunch date with?Could it be that younger brother of hers? It would be a disaster if Luke found out about it. A jealous man was the scariest. When Luke got jealous, that was even more terrifying. “Are you having lunch with your younger brother?” Jason asked immediately.Luca shook her head and replied, “No.”“I see…" Jason still wanted to ask her who she was having lunch with, but s
If Jason told Luke about it, normal employees like them would probably have to deal with a hot-headed boss for the whole day…However, if Jason chose to not tell Luke, what should he do if some other man was stealing the lady boss from Luke?Jason was in a dilemma. He ran into Tina when he entered the office. Tina was carrying a lunch box. It seemed she had gotten a takeaway as well. “Tina, you didn’t dine in for lunch?” “I was late when I came down. There wasn't a seat left in the cafe next door, so I ordered takeout instead,” Tina said helplessly. “You ordered takeout at the cafe next door?” Jason glanced at the takeout packaging she was carrying. It was indeed from the cafe next door."Yes. I even saw Dr. Craw's date just now. He's quite handsome. If someone introduced me to such a cute guy for a blind date, I wouldn't have to be pressured by my parents for not getting married yet." Tina put on a love-struck expression on her face. She had been sizing Luca's date up when sh
Enoch nodded his head understandingly. “Oh, I’m sorry.” "It's alright. You work in a different industry, so it’s normal for you to be unaware of some practices here. Anyway, I’ll head back to work now.” Luca let out a sigh of relief when Enoch did not insist on sending her upstairs. Queenie did not say anything either.Luca had no idea how she was going to reject Enoch if he insisted on sending her there. However, he seemed like a generous man. He would not do things abruptly. Luca would just distance herself from him after this. Enoch would understand what was going on even if she did not spell it out for him.Luca accepted Queenie’s arrangement, but there was nothing Queenie and Jack could do if Luca and Enoch did not click well with each other. “Sure. I’ll keep in touch with you through Facebook,” Enoch added. It had been such a long time since he met a woman who caught his eyes, and that was why he wanted to go for it. Luca nodded, turned around, and left. Queenie smile
Luca shook her head. What would happen if Luke found out about it?If Luke was really bothered about her blind date, then everyone in the office would get into trouble…Luca glanced at the time. There were two minutes left until lunch break was over. She trotted over to clock in.Luke walked out of his office and saw Luca clocking in. Then, he walked toward her.Luca turned around and saw the man in front of her. She could not help but be startled for a moment. She lowered her head unconsciously, avoiding his gaze. She had no idea why she had this guilty feeling when she saw Luke…It was as if she had done something wrong and was caught…However, she was Luca now, not Bianca. The identity Abel had given her was a single, unmarried woman, not a married woman…“Mr. Crawford, I’m going back to work now,” said Luca.Luke frowned when he noticed Luca was running away from him like a mouse running away from a cat. He asked, “Why are you so late?” “I was having lunch just now and
Sue could not hold back when she saw her in this state. “That’s right. She’s fine. You don’t need to be worried.”“How can I not be worried…” Nina was still in shock as she lifted her head to look at her best friend. “If anything were to happen to her, I can forget about living a good life.”Sue felt a pinch in her heart. No one would have thought that Madison would attempt suicide. Looking at her trembling made Sue utterly heartbroken. She hugged her tightly and comforted her, saying, “This has nothing to do with you. She was the one who isn’t in her right mind, causing her to take the wrong path.”Nina was in Sue’s arms and thought of Percy. If it were not because he wanted to be with her, he would not have caused so many problems without her knowledge and even gone against the Johnston family.Despite knowing that the Johnston family had been having problems for a long time and it was only a matter of time before they would be targeted by others, it remained a fact that Madison
“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