"A secluded little town… A single man and a single woman… burning with passion and desire…" Each phrase that Yvonne mentioned led Allison toward far-fetched thoughts! When Allison thought of that, she realized that she had to stop something from happening! It was a well-known fact that even the greatest hero would eventually stumble when faced with the allure of a beautiful woman. History had proven that fact time and time again. It did not matter whether Bianca was objectively beautiful. She was a beautiful woman in the eyes of her son Luke, and that had clouded his judgment! Allison was once young. She knew that the passion between a man and a woman could flare with a single stray thought. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She lifted her fist and continued to pound on the door. The sounds of the knocking reflected the increasing anger in Allison's heart, from "knock knock knock" to "bang bang bang"… "Bianca, if you're at home, stop hiding from m
Outside the door, Allison's gaze moved from the phone screen back to the door. Her feminine instincts told her that something was not quite right since the morning. 'Bianca called me but did not say a word… 'What is she trying to do? 'Also, I thought I heard… soft moans? 'Were they from Bianca?' A chill went down Allison's spine when she thought of that! "Open the door now, Bianca! Open the door!" Allison could not wait to see who the other adulterer was. Before she got there, she had given a call to her brother to confirm that Xavier, their son, was still sleeping upstairs. Allison also knew that it was impossible for her son to be in the house. Jason had said that his boss had worked overtime for the past two days. After work, he would sleep in the office. According to Jason, Luke worked overtime so that he did not have to bring any work to the small town and could give all his attention to Bianca. Allison was resentful. Since when had she, Lanie, or Rainie, e
Luke was caught by surprise. Any lucid person capable of reason could understand what was going on from the conversation. "Don't think that I don't know what you're doing inside, Bianca! Let me tell you, I'll be waiting for you in front of the door today! I won't leave unless you open the door! If you want to sneak away, you'd better grow a pair of wings and fly out of the window!" His mother yelled those words while he was making out with Bianca. At that volume, it was impossible for him to ignore it. He did not stop his actions because he thought his mother wanted to stop her son from making out with his cousin's wife. After all, that was against all social norms. However, after his mother stepped into the house, she had said, "Not bad. Did you manage to lure in a bigshot?" Luke knew that something was amiss from those words. He could not exactly tell what was wrong, but he knew that his mother came to Bianca's house for a totally different reason than what he expecte
Allison did not like Bianca. She hated her ever since she knew that Bianca was a Rayne and was Kevin Rayne's daughter. Any other woman could marry Luke and be her daughter-in-law, but absolutely not Bianca! She had concealed her true sentiments about Bianca out of consideration of her son's feelings and the family's harmony. Instead, she plotted covertly to keep her away. She felt a little guilty looking at how angry her son had become, but at the same time felt that she did not need to keep up with the act. She would openly and brazenly keep that woman away from him! Even if she would burn bridges with Luke, they were nevertheless mother and son. That was a relationship that no one could write off for the rest of their lives. "You want an explanation? About what? About how I've gone with that scumbag Kevin Rayne after I was dumped by your father?" Allison confessed, considering her son's intelligent and relentless temperament. As expected, Luke looked extremely shocked.
The caretaker immediately did what she was told. Her fingers were trembling as she dialed Luke's number. No one picked up the first call, and the second call was also unanswered! However, the call went through every time. After countless calls, the call was eventually picked up. "Sir, Old Master Crawford had a heart attack and is not in the hospital. Please go and visit him!" The caretaker said hoarsely. … A City Hospital. Old Master Crawford lay on a bed. The doctors managed to resuscitate him, and his vitals were returning to normal. Allison was sitting on a chair next to bed, guiltily wiping away her tears. Susan and Louis were informed about the news and got to the hospital as quickly as they could. As Zachary's second son, Louis had a deep affection for his grandfather. After all, he had spent most of his time as a child with Old Master Crawford. Old Master Crawford might be strict, but he was a responsible grandparent. In fact, he was closer to his grandfa
Old Master Crawford lay on the bed with his eyes closed, listening to the conversation between his daughter-in-law and his grandson. In that half a minute, Allison had found an excuse to shift the blame to Susan. "I've never known that you've suspected me so much… I would tell you if you asked, but you've never asked!" Allison revealed a pained look, as though she struggled to recall her insufferable past. She started sobbing again, soaking the napkin with her tears. "I was forced out of A City when I had to leave your birth father. What else could I do when you were so young? I could only hide in the remotest towns. Susan Armstrong was relentless. She and her minions could find me no matter where I went! "Back then, Susan was childless. You should know how much importance a woman married into a wealthy family places on providing an heir, and you too, Old Master Crawford! And I had to give birth to a boy! "I don't know if Susan knew that I had given birth to a boy, so I had t
After the explanation, the colleague went downstairs. On the second floor, Bianca opened the door with the key. It was a room of about three hundred square feet. The floor was covered in light-colored wooden tiles. In the apartment were a single bed and a simple closet. Before she managed to unpack her luggage, another colleague from another department appeared at the door. It was a young male colleague in his late twenties. He stood outside of the apartment without going in. "You're Bianca Rayne from the design department, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Joe Carlson." "Nice to meet you. I'm Bianca Rayne." She greeted the colleague. Joe pointed downstairs and said courteously, "Everyone hasn't had lunch yet. We went to the restaurants in town, and the conditions were… less than ideal. Some of the girls who are used to living in the big city could not accept it. I heard from my department lead that you grew up here, so I thought I'd ask if you could bring everyone around to fam
After successfully raising a ruckus in the Tanner family, Allison went home. Back at the hospital, Allison did not see Susan and Louis. Old Master Crawford was lying on the bed while Luke was sitting next to him. She could see that her son was very concerned about his grandfather's condition. Looking at the scene, she mouthed a silent prayer that Old Master Crawford would recover slower. If his condition worsened, her son would have to stay by his side! That way, the eldest grandson of the Old Master would not be able to leave for the small town! Otherwise, constrictive social norms would label him as an unfilial grandson! Allison felt as though she was losing her humanity in her attempts to separate Bianca from her son. She had no other choice. If Luke married Bianca, her life would turn into a living hell. Bianca seemed like her nemesis! The caretaker in charge of Old Master Crawford's diet arrived to deliver lunch. Allison took out the lunch boxes from the bag. "Fa
“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