"I can help. You have to trust me." Luca looked anxious. She could hear everything even though they were several shops away.The nearby businesses closed their doors in fright when they heard the gunshots."Dr. Craw, I'm carrying out the order given by the boss. You have to trust the boss. He can handle it." Rain still opted to stand in her way.Luca did not think that Luke could handle it.If his legs were not injured, it would have been fine. However, his legs were injured. He would not be able to dodge the bullets!"I'm sorry." Luca clenched her fists and was about to hit Rain when she heard the sound of sirens in the distance.The police were there.Luca turned around and saw two police cars speeding past.Rain said, "This is all arranged by the boss. He’ll be fine."Luca was worried. ‘Even if Luke has planned everything, can he predict where the bullets will go?’The gunshots sounded many times in just a few minutes. The situation inside was unknown. She could not help b
When she wanted to turn him down, she suddenly thought that if the contract signing went well tomorrow, she would be able to go back the day after tomorrow.She thought that Shanks must have something to talk to her about since he was looking for her. Hence, she agreed. "Okay, where should we meet?"Shanks gave her the address.After Luca wrote it down, she hung up the call.Although Shanks worked under Abel and belonged to the Island of Despair, Luca was aware that he had taught her a lot. She regarded their relationship as mentor-apprentice.Shanks never accepted apprentices, and she had never called him master either, but his kindness to her was not something she could ignore.Luca put on her coat and left the suite.Gale sat in the car and saw Luca walk out of the hotel. He immediately informed Luke and followed behind her taxi.Luke was at the police station but he did not forget to tell Gale to continue to follow Luca.He frowned when he saw the message from Gale. ‘Luca
Shanks noticed that she was hesitant. If he were stronger, Luca would not even have a chance to hesitate.He said, "You can ask someone to help, but I don't want the medicinal materials that are sent to me to be fake."Luca understood what he meant. If those at the stronghold found the relevant medicinal materials, they had to send them to her to check. Only after confirming that they were authentic could they send them to the Island of Despair."No problem." Luca clenched the photos in her hand. "I have a condition, which is that I won’t be asked to return to the Island of Despair.""Abel won't have you go back as long as you don't get caught, don't worry." Shanks understood Abel. "It's late. You should go now."Luca glanced at the time. She did not linger and hurried back as she was worried that Luke would not see her when he returned from the police station.She left with the photos and the list in her hand.Gale watched Luca leave the hotel and glanced at the time. He found
Luca nodded as she no longer felt anxious.After all, the signing of the contract was a done deal. Luca pushed Luke out of the suite. Jason and the others were already waiting for them downstairs in the hotel lobby. There were two cars parked at the hotel entrance. Mr. Zac and the other employees climbed into another car, while Jason helped Luke to get into the backseat of the Rolls-Royce. Luca got into the car too.The backseat of the car was spacious. Luca sat by the window and looked at the snow outside the window. Suddenly, Luke asked, "How's your wound?" "It's still healing. The stitches can be removed in two days," Luca said in a soft voice. She had been dressing her wound often this time and taking medicine. Her wound was able to heal quickly with the help of the medicine. "That fast?" Luke frowned. He remembered that her wound was a mass of bleeding flesh, and there was even some rotten flesh. The doctor at the hospital had debrided and sutured her wound. He told Lu
Not only was Luke alive and well, but those who were protecting him were not injured either!Pierre refused to believe that. Abel’s subordinates had carried guns, but no one on Luke’s side was injured. Were they blind?Pierre suspected that Abel deliberately chose some worthless men to carry out the mission this time. Even though the mission failed, Abel had gotten his money. Abel did not lose anything. Pierre could not calm himself down at the thought of this. He picked up his phone and called the string of numbers. The call was answered, and Pierre said, “I’m looking for Abel.”A woman’s voice came from the other end of the line. “We don’t have anyone called Abel here. You must have called the wrong number, right?”Pierre hung up the call and verified the numbers on the name card. He did not get it wrong, so he thought they must have gotten on the wrong line. Hence, he called again. It was the woman's voice again. "Hello?"Pierre suddenly realized that he could never get
Pierre was good at fighting, but Percy’s subordinates were good too. It seemed a little difficult for him to fight against two men.Percy leaned against the door and watched them, still not planning to interfere.Five minutes later, Pierre was breathless and exhausted. One of the bodyguards quickly covered Pierre’s nose with the towel while he was not paying attention.Pierre quickly came to his senses and struggled. However, before he could get away, his arms and legs were grabbed by the other bodyguard.He knew he was about to lose his consciousness. He struggled to look in the direction of the door. There was hatred in his eyes. Percy knew that his younger brother was a vindictive person.He would surely bear a grudge against Percy for how he treated him this time. Percy looked at Pierre, who was losing his consciousness. He sneered and said, “Bring him to the wharf.” Percy was planning to travel back by plane at first, but since Pierre refused to cooperate with him, he h
After they reached the hospital, Luca watched Luke take her medical records out of his briefcase. Luca knew he did not suggest she do a medical check-up out of the blue. Luke had already decided on behalf of her without getting her permission. Even if she refused to go, Luke would do whatever it took to send her to the hospital. Luca followed the nurse and headed to the examination room after they handled the formalities and paid the fees. Luke watched the curtains of the examination room get drawn. Then, he glanced at Jason and asked, “How long has the plaster cast been on my leg?”Jason was startled by the question. He counted on his fingers and answered, "Two more days until it’s a month.” Luke nodded and said to him, “I’d like to remove the cast now. Arrange it for me.” Jason nodded and replied, “Alright, Boss. Please wait for a while.”Jason trotted off to arrange it immediately. Removing the plaster cast was not something difficult, so after Jason communicated with
She had not heard anything from the kids…Luca knew the kids were worried that they might disturb her while she was working. That was why they did not send her any messages. She assumed that Luke had probably given them a reminder.Although Luca missed the kids, she did not disturb them. After all, the kids were getting ready to sleep at this hour. Luca read the previous messages between her and Tommy. She could not help but smile. It was a happy and blissful smile with a hint of bitterness. …On the other hand.Luke arrived at Ray’s villa. He did not ask the driver to drive him into the villa as the house was heavily guarded. Instead, he chose to get out of the car and asked the driver to return to the hotel. Then, he walked into the villa. Ray knew Luke had arrived, so he quickly sent Hansen to welcome him.Hansen received the order and drove his car out. He saw Luke was traveling on foot. Hansen could not help but feel impressed. The security system was upgraded once mo
“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