It was Vivian’s full name too.Besides, Gordan could recognize that it was Vivian’s signature with just a glance. Her handwriting was beautiful. There were few people who could control their strength so well to write down such beautiful words. …Gordan suddenly realized that apart from Vivian’s ugly looks, she seemed to be a nice woman. It was just that the appearance of a woman was important for Gordan. Ray looked at Gordan, who was lost in thoughts. Gordan was expressionless and did not say a word. Ray finally lost his temper and said, “Are you happy now?”Gordan looked at the divorce papers and quickly read them through. He was surprised that the ugly woman would give up all her entitlements. Did she think that he would care about this villa?If it were not for her and Ray restricting him, he did not care where he would stay. He only chose a villa that he liked to make him feel more comfortable when he spent his days being deprived of his freedom. Hence, he did not nee
Not to mention that Gordan had enough money even if he did not have the villa. Even though he had been kept by Vivian’s side in the past few years, he still took up jobs. Many underworld organizations in Russia needed foreign aid to help them to handle some troublesome matters. Gordan had skills, and he did things efficiently. He was able to complete the missions he was assigned to. However, he did not have many resources when it came to searching for someone. He was too lazy to look for Vivian, that ugly woman, himself. That was why he asked someone to look for her."Mr. Norton, that's very straightforward of you. I'll arrange it now." The man on the other end of the line was not even concerned that it was in the middle of the night. He did not think about waiting for tomorrow. As long as the money was in place, they would be ready to work anytime.“As quickly as possible,” Gordan urged them. Since Vivian was asking for a divorce, he had to seize the chance so that she would n
“I’ll call him later. Gordan is still in bed at this time,” Luke glanced at the time and said. Ray was trying his best to look for Vivian, but Gordan would not do so. Luke was pretty sure that Gordan was still lying on his bed, snoring loudly in his sleep.There was a reason why Luke would ask Gordan instead of asking Ray directly. Luke was closer to Gordan. It was much easier to open up to a closer friend. Luca understood why Luke made such arrangements. She nodded and did not say anything more.Luke looked at Jason and said, “Follow me.” “Alright, Boss.” Jason followed behind Luke and left the dining room.Luca watched the two of them head to Luke’s room. After she placed the plates in the kitchen sink, she returned to her room too. There would be professional hotel cleaners who would come to clean the place up. Luca sat on the sofa and glanced at the time. It was still early…The private clinics nearby would still be closed if she went out now.There was no place fo
"I love Gordan very much. I fell in love with him at first sight." Vivian clasped the cup in her hand tightly and took a deep breath.Luca nodded without interrupting her.“I never thought that the man I fell in love with at first sight would be interested in me. Gordan came up to me and struck up a conversation with me. He has a fine sense of humor, and he didn’t despise me for my ugly looks. Even though it was unbelievable, I fell even deeper in love with him when I met him for the second time. But later I learned that Gordan was only teasing me when he said he liked me. Still, I didn’t mind. I’ve never asked for anything in my whole life. I’m ugly, so I don’t have the right to speak. But when Gordan told me that he didn’t like me and he was just fooling around, I came up with an idea.” Vivian did not know Luca was actually Bianca. That was why she summarized it and explained her past as well as how she met Gordan.“You kept him by your side?” Luca asked. She had heard about their
Vivian frowned. When she heard Luca say so, she thought it must be the kind of medicine that was hard to purchase.There were two types of medicines that were hard to find in the market. One was prohibited drugs, while the other were medicines used to cure extraordinary diseases. Vivian looked at Luca and thought she was probably not looking for the prohibited drugs. Besides, she would have her own reason for needing this medicine…“I can help,” said Vivian. She knew people who could get such things because of Ray. Luca shook her head and replied, “I can find them myself.”“You’re worried that someone will find out about it, right? Don’t worry. You’ve been listening to me all day today. I’m thankful. I’ll help you look for the medicine, and I’ll keep it a secret at the same time,” said Vivian. Although she still felt down, she was doing much better now after pouring her feelings out. Luca thought to herself that since Vivian had promised not to tell, then Luke would not be a
In the hotel.Vivian was drinking water after she swallowed the pill Luca gave her. Then, she was getting ready to rest. The doorbell rang when she had just sat on the bed. Vivian frowned. Could Luca have left her belongings behind, so she came back for them?Vivian headed to the door and remembered what Luca had told to her. The underworld scene in Russia was chaotic now.Ray's group was formidable. A big tree would attract the woodman's ax. A few smaller groups were green with envy over their family’s success. However, they always had bodyguards with them, and that was why they had been safe.Vivian was also under Ray’s protection. She never went out alone as two bodyguards would always follow her. Hence, nothing had ever happened to her.Now, Vivian was here alone. Perhaps those groups had received the news and they were planning to do something bad to her.Vivian was alerted. She did not open the door right away. Instead, she chose to take a glimpse through the peephole o
Russian food tasted bland to them. Hence, Luca's home-cooked meal smelled so good that it made them hungry.Jason was looking forward to it too.Luca walked into the kitchen and took the plates and cutleries out. Then, she placed them in front of Luke and Jason. She said, “There aren’t many ingredients and spices available here, so the food might not taste as good.”Spices such as oregano, rosemary, and thyme were not available in the hotel.Luca tried using Russian ingredients to prepare Western food.There were four dishes and soup on the table. Jason swallowed his saliva and suppressed the urge to immediately pick up his spoon to grab some of them.After all, Luke was still here. He should not be in a rush.Luca filled their bowls with soup for them. Just then, Luke’s phone vibrated. Luke picked up his phone, glanced at it, and said, "They’ve already decided on the meeting time."“Boss, when is it?” Jason asked. They had been communicating with the office in the Capital fo
Gale had some influence in Russia and knew that Ray was in search of Vivian.Hence, when he was reporting Luca's whereabouts, he reported about Vivian as well.However, Luke did not immediately tell Ray about it. After all, it was Ray's family issue. Previously, Ray did not talk much about that incident, so Luke did not think that he should comment too much about it either. Ray believed in what Luke said, and neither would Luke lie to Ray. Hence, Luke immediately made a call to his subordinates. He got them to head over to Ostin Hotel to look for Vivian."I didn't expect you to once again do me a big favor," Ray expressed his gratitude."My subordinate just happened to bump into her." Luke did not claim all the credit. If Ray really wanted to thank someone, it would have to be Luca.If it were not for Luca being nearby, she would not have bumped into Vivian.He recalled that even in the past, Bianca was never bothered about Vivian’s ugly appearance. She even treated Vivian with
“No.” Shanks’ tone was cold and firm with no trace of hesitation.Abel still looked doubtful.Shanks added, “Would you like to see her medical report?”Abel was startled for a moment. How did Shanks know he had been thinking about that report?Now that Shanks brought it up, the idea lost its appeal.Abel shook his head. “Even if you showed it to me, I wouldn’t understand it. Shanks, Kassy’s life is in your hands. If you can give her a second chance, I’ll provide as much research funding as you need."Shanks remained silent. He could save Kassy. In fact, his research had always been for Kassy.However, he did not expect Abel to be so ruthless as to insist on using a living person as a donor for Kassy. That was something he could not accept.Kassy’s condition could be treated with organs from a brain-dead patient. Why destroy a perfectly healthy life?Shanks was not acting out of mercy. He simply refused to go against his medical ethics.He was not someone who had to save lives
“You don’t need to remind me. I was going to check anyway.” Abel shot Luca a chilling look.She took a step back and stayed silent.Abel turned to the pale-faced Hera and said, “If you’ve got low blood sugar, get up and eat something.”“I’ll eat now,” Hera replied, sitting up.Luca handed her the takeout.Abel glanced at the food and then frowned at Luca. “Why didn’t you make breakfast this morning?”“I was busy,” Luca explained with a calm indifference, her expression unwavering. She showed no fear, even under Abel’s questioning.Hera suddenly found herself admiring Luca. Everyone feared this man, yet Luca remained composed even when facing potential punishment. Not just anyone could pull that off.At the thought of this, Hera opened the takeout and kept quiet.Abel narrowed his eyes, glancing between Hera and Luca. His gaze was not exactly gentle as he muttered, “Stop eating this junk. It’s bad for you.”“I know, babe. Just this once. After this, I’ll have what Luca cooks f
Hera panicked the moment she heard that. “I trust her!”Luca and Shanks were both watching her.Hera repeated herself, saying, “I trust her, okay? What kind of treatment does she need? I’ll cooperate with anything. But what about Abel…”“I’ll tell him it’s just to help improve your overall health,” replied Shanks. Then, he turned around, opened the medicine cabinet, and started preparing the prescription.Hera let out a sigh of relief. As long as Abel did not find out about her health condition, that was all that mattered.If he knew she was unwell, he would send her back to A City. Without free medical help and no way to make extra money, she would be in serious trouble.“Thank you,” said Hera.“Wait outside,” instructed Shanks.“Okay.” Hera carefully stepped out.Luca, however, remained where she was, waiting.While preparing the medicine, Shanks asked, “Do you know which acupoints to target for her?”“Yes,” Luca replied confidently. As long as she checked Hera’s pulse, sh
“There are a lot of issues.” Luca did not hide anything and handed Hera the phone.Hera looked at it and frowned.“I can't understand any of this.” Hera felt dizzy just looking at the text, let alone the long list of medical terms. It was giving her a headache.“Look at these summaries and indicators. Compare the values on top with the normal values at the bottom, and you'll see what I mean,” explained Luca.Hera did not trust her. Therefore, Luca decided to let her see for herself. Seeing it with her own eyes would prevent any doubts later.Luca pointed out how to read the test results, and after a moment, Hera managed to understand the report. Her face turned pale. “How can there be so many problems?”She looked at Luca and questioned, “Did you fake this?”“I don’t have the power to make the medical center fake anything. Besides, the report has the medical center’s official stamp. If you don’t believe me, you can go directly to the medical center and ask for the official cop
“I heard from the boss that he's coming because of Vivian.” Gale paused for a moment before adding, “But never mind, you don't seem interested in her affairs anyway. I'm just letting you know he's on his way.”Gordan frowned. Ray was coming for Vivian?What could that ugly woman possibly need?“What do you mean by that?” asked Gordan.Gale smirked. “If you and Ray meet, that’s bound to end in a fight. And since you can't win against him, you might want to mentally prepare yourself, or better yet, find somewhere else to stay. It’d be safer that way.”Gordan's expression darkened. “If you have nothing nice to say, just zip it.”Gale grinned, clearly pleased with himself like he had just hit a sore spot.Gordan exhaled sharply. “Of all times, why is he coming to A City now? He’s just making things worse.”“It can't be helped. Vivian's situation is urgent.” Gale covered his mouth mockingly after he said that. “Oh, right. I forgot you don’t like hearing about her.”Ray wanted to br
Luke sat in the villa, staring at Luca’s message.He was worried.For a moment, he considered calling her, but then he remembered that there were surveillance cameras everywhere on her side. He dismissed the idea immediately.Her safety came first.Luke reminded her: [Take care of yourself. Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything. Just focus on keeping yourself safe.] The worry in his heart refused to subside, but at this moment, there was no better solution.“Boss, you’re worried about your wife, huh? If you really can’t stand it, we can sneak you in again during the next shift change, just like last time,” said Gale.It had been his idea last time.Now, the real Lucius was still locked up in the basement of the villa.It had been nearly a month. Luke had forced him to take the antidote Luca had recreated. The man was still alive, proving the antidote worked perfectly.“That plan is too risky.” Luke put his phone away. His gaze was dark and thoughtful.“Risky, sure. But at lea
Luca had not expected Abel and Shanks’ relationship to be like this.It seemed Abel still did not trust Shanks.Shanks continued, “Abel isn’t someone who trusts people easily. He doesn’t trust anyone. You think he’s devoted to Kassy now, right? That’s just his obsession. He's allowing Kassy to receive my treatment, but if it were him… No matter if he were blind or crippled, his safety would always come first. If he were seriously injured, maybe he’d accept treatment, but he definitely wouldn’t do it right away.”Luca stayed silent. Shanks really understood Abel well.Abel did not trust anyone—not even Kassy.Calling him paranoid would not be an exaggeration.Luca felt like they were getting off-topic, but she had never seen this side of Shanks before.In her mind, he was always buried in his work at the lab, only leaving for meals and sleep. Other than that, he was practically never outside.The lab was like his home…“Are you troubled by Hera’s situation?” Luca asked directly
Hera was startled by Luca's words.The refusal that had been on the tip of her tongue suddenly got stuck in her throat.“I…” Hera hesitated, feeling conflicted. Leaving Abel might not be such a bad idea. At least she would not have to live in constant fear.She was finally realizing how unpredictable his moods were. At first, she thought it did not matter as she could still look at other men. She just had to ensure there was no physical contact. In reality, even if she so much as glanced at someone, Abel's expression would darken with anger.It was frustrating. Now, the only person she was allowed to look at was Gerald. Still, what was the point of just looking at Gerald?At that thought, she lifted her gaze to Luca.Luca added, “I’ll give you five minutes. If you refuse treatment after that, I’ll take the medicine back to Mr. Shanks and won’t try to convince you again.”Hera's heart tightened. She did not even need five minutes. She had made her decision within 30 seconds.“I’
“If Abel finds out that Hera's body isn't suitable for organ donation to Kassy, what do you think he'll do?” asked Shanks.He already knew the answer, but he still wanted to hear Luca’s thoughts.“He has invested a lot of time and money in Hera. If he gets nothing out of it, he won’t let her off easily,” Luca said bluntly.Luca and Shanks were on the same page.They did not have a good relationship with Hera, but they had no intention of ruining her either.Hera’s personality was unpleasant, but that was not enough for them to hate her so much that they wanted to see her suffer.“What methods do you think he’ll use?” Shanks asked again.Luca was silent for a long moment.Shanks already knew the answer, yet he still wanted her to say it out loud.After thinking it over, she finally said, “There are plenty of ways he could go about it, but no matter what he chooses, Hera’s fate is sealed. She’s as good as dead…”She lowered her gaze, her tone firm and certain.Shanks nodded.