“I wasn’t feeling well, so I didn’t get to finish my work today,” Luca smiled and explained. “It’s just some translation work. It’s not a big deal.”Nina shook her head and muttered, "Translating is one of the most nerve-racking jobs. It’s a shame I don't know how to speak Russian. Luca, you're amazing." "When you live in an unfamiliar environment for a long time, you’ll naturally pick up the local language,” Luca said as she opened the document and laptop. Luca did not undergo any systematic training. She just learned the language herself during her three years on the Island of Despair. During that period, she often asked Eler and Amur to teach her Russian. Luca knew very well that mastery of language was an essential skill to survive in such a horrible environment. She had to know what the others were talking about behind her to be able to have the chance to survive.That was why she spent a year mastering basic Russian phrases. She then spent two years constantly picking up
Luca could clearly hear the voice that came from the other end of the phone call. She said immediately, “It sounds serious. You’d better get going.”“What about you…” Nina was worried about leaving Luca alone at home.“I’m fine. Look at me. I was fine last night, so nothing else will happen tonight. Don’t worry. Family is most important.” Luca convinced her. Nina pursed her lips. Something might happen to Jean at the hospital if Nina did not show up.She had no choice but to head to the hospital. “I’m going to the hospital, then. Remember to call me if anything happens here.” “Don’t worry. Nothing is going to happen. Oh, you’d better inform Mr. Mallory about this.” Luca reminded her. “Percy is someone with high social status. The hospital and police officers will cut Jean some slack even if something has happened.”"I got it," Nina replied. Then, she turned around and left. Luca slowly walked toward the door. She watched Nina leave the villa through the glass window, and she
"Ms. Luca, I like you as much as Tommy and Rainie do. I want your concern and love as well," Lanie said in a serious tone when he noticed Luca's guilty expression.Lanie was not always a light sleeper.Lanie’s sleep quality became poorer and poorer after Bianca’s impostor moved to Crawford Manor. Back then, the impostor was trying to play the role of a good mother.However, there were no blood ties between them. No matter how hard Lanie tried to convince himself, he always felt that something was wrong. That was why he would wake up whenever the impostor tried to enter his bedroom to tuck him in. He would also often hear loud noises in the middle of the night back then. That was when his sleep routine underwent a drastic change. Luca blinked her eyes. She was a little surprised. Lanie’s personality resembled Luke’s. He normally would not say such things. Luca walked toward Lanie’s bed and sat down. “Lanie, why?”“It’s because you’re a gentle person. We can feel the warmth o
Nina could not help but stagger when she heard what the nurse said. Nina did not give a damn about the medical bills. However, she was worried about the man who was injured by Jean.Jean would be held liable if anything happened to him…Anna would not be able to accept the fact if she found out about it.Nina took a deep breath. All those unfamiliar legal provisions were running through her mind. What kind of sentence would Jean face if he accidentally killed someone?Nina dared not to think about it anymore. As she watched the nurse walk back into the emergency room, she stepped forward and said, “Please, you must save that person.” “Of course, we’ll try our best to save him. Now, you just have to wait for his family to arrive,” the nurse replied. Nina watched the nurse walk back in and pull the curtains. She paced around restlessly. After a while, one of the police officers brought Marie over and said to his colleague, “This is the woman whom the two men were fighting ove
The nurse frowned when the man spoke in a loud voice. “Sir, you’re in the hospital. Please lower your voice.”After the nurse said that to the older man, he lowered his voice and said, “He injured Tyrone, so he’ll have to be responsible for Tyrone's medical bills. Is there anything wrong with that?”The nurse glanced at Nina. The older man looked in the direction where the nurse was looking and saw Nina. “Are you the woman who stirred things up?” “I’m Jean Langdon’s family member. It’s Jean’s fault, so I’ll be responsible for Tyrone's medical bills. Please give me your ID. I’m going to pay now,” Nina said frankly. “So, you’re the one who’s going to cover Tyrone’s medical costs, right? Good. Let’s go and pay!” the man said. He was about to tug at Nina’s sleeve. Nina was so shocked that she took a step backward. She said, “Just pass me the ID. I’ll go and pay.”“Pass it to you? What if you run away with the ID? What should I do if I can’t complete the admission procedure and I
Larry looked at his brother with a disappointed look on his face. Keith was not bothered about it. He walked toward Nina and sat down beside her.Nina did not look up. She moved to another empty seat beside her. Keith noticed it and did not lean in closer to her. He continued to talk to her, “Hey, my brother is seriously injured. Your brother will have to go to prison if we make a big deal out of it.” "Don't worry. We'll take responsibility for this.” Nina lowered her head. Although she was stubborn, she was secretly praying for Tyrone and hoping that he would be fine. "Of course. Your brother will have to pay for the medical bills and compensate Tyrone as he won’t be able to work during this period. But I think we should discuss how to handle this and how much you have to pay. Do you get me? Although the one in the operating room is my cousin, I'm the only educated person in the whole family. Everyone listens to me, so I'll be the one in charge of this matter." Keith hinted a
Three hours later, Johann and another doctor walked out of the operating room. The nurse beside them called out, “Is Tyrone’s family here?”Keith and Larry helped Aunt Jenny up. They brought her to the door of the operating room. Nina stood up too when she heard it, and she came forward. Johann glanced at Percy and Nina. He slightly nodded his head to greet them.Nina looked at Johann’s expression, unable to figure out whether or not the surgery had succeeded. She was so nervous that she squeezed Percy’s hand.“Tyrone’s surgery was a success. We successfully extracted the glass shards out of his brain while removing the blood clots. But the patient’s wounds are complicated. We still need to transfer him to the ICU for another 24 hours of observation. We’ll only transfer him to the general ward if there’s nothing wrong with him,” said Johann. There was no expression on his face when he said that.After becoming a doctor for such a long time, Johann’s face was expressionless even
The two words said by the police scared Jean and diminished his arrogance. The food in his hand fell back onto his plate.He fumbled about and asked Nina, "Tyrone is dead?”“You injured him so badly. Even the glass was smashed into his head. What did you think would happen?” Nina got mad when she saw Jean’s terrified expression. She had never asked for him to be rich. Actually, as long as he took things seriously, he would not have a problem earning enough for his living expenses. However, he had disappointed her. "What's wrong? Are you scared now? Why didn't you think of the consequences when you smashed his head so forcefully back then?"Suddenly, Jean's eyes became red. Tyrone was dead. Even if he was willing to pay the compensation, he would not be able to escape from the law…"It wasn’t my intention to hit him so hard. It was Marie. She kept inciting me.” Jean wanted to push all the blame on Marie.Nina got even angrier when she saw Jean's childish behavior. He even mentioned
“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