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
“Yes. It has recovered.” Luke noticed that Vivian’s condition was much better compared to a few days ago.“Brother Luke, stay for dinner. I’ve just learned to cook two Western dishes. Why don’t you taste them for me and rate them?” Vivian invited him."Sorry, maybe some other time," Luke recalled that Luca was still in the hotel. He did not know if she would have her meals on time if he was not there.Although Luca did not show it on her face, Luke still noticed that something was wrong with her emotions. He thought that it must be related to the Island of Despair. Vivian did not say a word. Ray’s subordinate came up from the basement and headed to the living room. He reported to Ray helplessly, “Boss, that man still refuses to talk.” It was just as Ray expected. “Take turns to interrogate him. Don’t let him sleep. Let’s see how long he can last.” Ray gave his orders. Hansen clenched his fists and said aggressively, “Let me do it this time. I’ll teach him a lesson if he
“Alright, Boss,” the two bodyguards replied at the same time without taking it seriously.They had been interrogating this man for days, and he was still reluctant to open his mouth. Would he talk with just a pinch from Vivian? It was nearly impossible.Ray looked at Luke and assumed that he had something to ask the man. Then, he said, “Perhaps we should wait outside?”“There’s no need.” Luke took a step forward and looked at the man with his head down. The man must be fatigued after being questioned for the past few days. He should be in a state of mental and physical exhaustion. However, he refused to say anything even though he was exhausted. It seemed like the Island of Despair must have something on him. Otherwise, he would not have asked them to kill him.There might be another reason behind this. He failed his mission, and there was no way he could stay alive even if he told them everything. This was what Gale and Rain had told him before. Before they left the Island of
After failing to retreat, his men and weapons were all taken away on the spot. Although Abel had received three million dollars from Pierre, the amount of money spent on the weapons was enough to break his heart. Abel had put in so much effort to get those firearms, but four of them fell into the police’s hands…That would mean that not only did the mission not earn him anything, but he even lost a few men…It got on Abel’s nerves when he found out about it. He sent someone to investigate the matter. They brought back the news that someone had tipped Luke off, and the one who tipped him off was Luca. Hence, he got out of the Island of Despair and came looking for Luca to settle the accounts. “You didn’t send people to assassinate Luke and end his life, right? Did you take someone’s money? You weren’t planning to let him fall into your hands that easily.” Luca did not explain herself and questioned him instead. Abel narrowed his eyes and replied, "So what? What difference do
“Me?” Luca frowned. Abel kept his gun and sneered, “You’re the one who caused me the losses. Of course, you should be the one to carry out this mission. If you can get my guns back, I’ll go easy on you for what happened. Otherwise, you’ll have to make up for my losses with your life!”Shanks thought something was wrong. Before he could say anything, Abel stopped him.“Stop speaking up for her. If you go any further, I’ll have to ask you if you’ve fallen for this b*tch. If that’s true, I’ll send her back to the island right now and you can marry her. Then you can become a father. You’re very fond of her daughter, right?”Shanks shook his head and shut his mouth.That was all he could do for Luca. Luca had to depend on herself to retrieve the guns and get them out of the police station.“I can’t do this alone.” Luca knew she had no other choice, so she could only ask Abel to send some help. She had never come in contact with Russian police officers before. There was no way she
Luca walked back to the suite absent-mindedly. She recalled the day the shooting happened. If she had been more careful, Abel would not have something on her. She had no choice but to listen to him now. However, would she be able to retrieve those weapons from the evidence room in the police station successfully?Although the people from the Island of Despair were capable enough, they never dared to confront the police officers. If she was careless, she would expose herself in front of the police officers…Luca turned on her laptop which was on standby mode. She entered the password and logged into her email. There was indeed an email sent by Abel in her mailbox. Luca downloaded the document. At the same time, a notification sound came from Luke’s phone. Luke picked up his phone and frowned, “What’s this?”“What’s the matter?” Ray asked with curiosity while he sat opposite him."Hold on." From the app, Luke saw that Luca was downloading a document from her email. The ap
Knowing that Luca’s mission was to retrieve the weapons, Ray said, “It’s easy. Leave it to Hansen.”Luke knew the special connections between Ray and the Russian police. Hence, it would be best to leave the matter to themAt the same time, they were also the ones who could ensure Luca’s safety. Luke nodded. He sent a message to Luca, telling her that he would have dinner at Ray’s place and she did not have to wait for him.Luca did not reply to his message. Luke reckoned that she must be worrying about the mission.Luca was good at fighting, but how was she supposed to fight against the police officers?The maid walked toward him and said respectfully, “Young Master, Mr. Crawford, dinner is served. Please make your way to the dining room.”Ray nodded and stood up. “Come on. Let’s go have dinner.”“Alright.” Luke rose to his feet. The two of them were about to head to the dining room when Ray's subordinate ran toward them hurriedly and said, "Boss, that man, he—”Ray frown
“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