Queenie sat at the dinner table and looked at Jack suspiciously. "Why are you so happy? Did something good happen?""I’m just happy to see my son-in-law," Jack mentioned Luke deliberately.Queenie smiled helplessly as she shook her head."What? Aren't you happy?" Jack asked."I'm happy, but the kids aren’t here. I miss them," Queenie said. She had not mentioned the children, but she missed them a lot."Sorry, Mother-in-law." Luke apologized when he heard what she said. "I didn't bring the kids here because I needed to talk to Jack. I'll bring them over when they’re on holiday."Queenie nodded with a smile and replied, "Okay.""Where are the kids now?" Jack asked, concerned."They're at Crawford Manor," Luke replied. He saw the maid walk over with a bottle of wine, it was high in alcohol content."It's nice that Old Master Crawford is watching them," Jack nodded.Queenie sighed and said, "How is it nice? Old Master Crawford needs to rest, and the children would be making a lot
After the car was parked, Luke opened his eyes slightly and muttered, "Are we there yet?""We’re here, Mr. Crawford. Can you get out of the car by yourself?" Luca asked. He had been drinking, so she was not sure if he would be able to walk on his own."If I can't, will you let me sleep in the car for the night?" Luke sat there and did not move. He was half-squinting looking at Luca's side profile."No." Luca unbuckled his seat belt. "I'll help you get in.""No need." Luke sat up straight, unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the door, and got out of the car.Luca frowned slightly. She was worried that he would fall, so she followed closely behind him as he walked into the living room.Aunt Neile was off work, so the villa did not have a single light on.When Luke was about to walk forward, Luca stepped over the threshold and whispered, "Mr. Crawford, I'll turn on the lights first."Luke stopped and propped himself against the wall.Luca stood at the entrance and found the switch. Af
Luca secretly let out a sigh.Luke was obviously drunk. How could a tough person like him bring up his embarrassing past if he was not drunk? When she was still Bianca back then, she had never seen the other side of him when he showed his weaknesses. "I always wondered what kind of person I would be today if Louis were born earlier," Luke said in a low voice.Previously, Susan was unable to get pregnant, and that was when Allison brought Luke back from the orphanage. She brought him to meet Old Master Crawford to acknowledge him as his grandfather.Luke would never have returned to the Crawford family if Louis had already been born.Luke would have grown up in the orphanage without knowing who his parents were and why he was abandoned and left at the orphanage. Perhaps he would have been adopted by someone else and grown up in an unfamiliar family. He would not have known anything about his family. "You would’ve become a successful man even if you weren’t in the Crawford fa
Luca’s body was burning as though she was having a fever. However, she knew it was not a fever. The truth was, she was feeling shy…Although he was the man she used to see every day, and they were so close that nothing could get in between them, it had been three years since she was this close to him. Even though Luca missed him, she was having a hard time adapting to the intimacy between them now.What Luca was most worried about was if Luke found out her identity and her purpose, how would she face him? How was she going to explain it…Luca carefully lifted her head and looked at Luke.Luke was still asleep. It was probably because he was drunk last night. That was why he woke up later than usual today.Luca carefully moved his hand away from her waist. She let out a sigh of relief when she finally climbed out of the bed.Fortunately, Luke did not cling to her arm as tightly as last night. Otherwise, she would have woken the man up if he was clenching her arm tightly. Luc
Aunt Neile walked out of the kitchen and cleaned the dishes on the table. She noticed that Luca did not follow Luke to work, so she asked, “Mr. Craw, don’t you have to go to work today?”“Yes. I’m going later,” replied Luca as she gave Amur a call.The phone stated that the call was unreachable, and no one was answering the phone.No one had been answering the phone for the past two days, and the phone was turned off today. Luca reckoned that Amur had left his phone on standby, and that was why his phone ran out of battery. However, Amur would normally pick up her call instead of ignoring her calls. That was why Luca needed to head over to the apartment and check on him. Amur had promised Luca before that he would leave markings in the apartment if he was out on a mission and he did not have the chance to inform her about it or if he was not allowed to.There were different markings, and each marking represented how dangerous the mission was. Aunt Neile noticed the solemn e
“Yes. They’ve finished their work in Russia. Of course, Dr. Craw is back.” Zoey took a step backward and said, “Ms. Lynn, you may go for lunch first. I have to order takeouts for Dr. Craw and the others.”Jenni was not planning to let her go. She grabbed Zoey’s hand and asked, “Haven’t you heard?”“About what?” Zoey was dumbfounded. She pulled her hand back, pretending she did not know that Jenni wanted to gossip about Luca.“I wonder if you really don’t know about it or you’re just pretending that you don’t know about it. Luca slept in the same suite as Boss when she was in Russia. Now you know why she was able to become the professor of the department and why she was able to come to T Corporation. She did it by sleeping with the boss.” There was a trace of resentment hidden in Jenni’s tone. Zoey looked at the jealous woman in front of her helplessly. Although Jenni claimed that she hated women who could get everything easily after sleeping with the boss, she was willing to off
Luke handed Luca the lunch box and said, “I have something to discuss with you. Anyway, eat your lunch first.” Luca understood what he meant. If she did not eat her lunch, there was no way they could discuss the matter.She opened the lunch box. All her favorite dishes were inside the lunch box. “Ms. Davis bought it for you,” said Luke, “You can order something else if the food doesn’t suit you.”“I’m fine with it.” Luca was not a picky eater. There was nothing she disliked in the lunch box. Hence, it did not matter.Luca shot a glance at Luke and realized he was watching her.Luca felt embarrassed and said, “Mr. Crawford, I can’t eat my lunch with you staring at me like that.” “I’m looking at you like how I do when we’re at home,” said Luke. Still, he picked up his phone and checked the documents in his email. Luca thought that things were different when they were at home. How could it be the same when they were in the office?How they were in the past and now… Previous
“Business is business.” Luke made it very clear. Luca knew what Dr. Albus would be facing, but there was nothing she could do about this. She felt sorry for what she had done to Dr. Albus, but she could not step forward and admit it.“Watson Biopharmaceuticals’ PR department will be making an announcement this afternoon," Luke added. This matter had been dragged on for too long, and it was time to end it.“Will Dr. Albus be sued?” Luca asked. “Watson will do things according to their rules and regulations,” answered Luke. He did not feel sorry about sacrificing Dr. Albus for Luca’s sake. After all, Luca was his priority in his heart. Even though she had done something wrong, he would defend her and be on her side.Luca looked down. Perhaps Dr. Albus had the intention to sell the information, but he eventually chose not to do it. Even though there was a huge sum of money in his Switzerland bank account, he probably could not withdraw it either.After all, he would be held ac
After signing the agreement, Karen eagerly handed it over to the man she believed to be the lawyer.The moment the doctor took the shares transfer agreement, a syringe containing anesthesia slipped from his sleeve and was swiftly injected into Karen’s hand.“You...” Karen felt a sharp sting, but before she could speak, her consciousness faded.At the same time, the knife in her hand clattered to the floor.The doctor quickly steadied her to prevent her from hitting her head when she collapsed.“Luckily, the dose was strong enough, or she wouldn’t have been knocked out so quickly.” He gently laid her down, checked to make sure she was unconscious, and then hurried out of the office to notify the hospital director.Percy quickly stepped forward, gently lifting Nina’s chin to examine her wound.“I’m fine,” Nina said in a soft voice, lowering her head to hide the injury on her neck.“Let me take a look at you,” Percy insisted, gently lifting her chin again. After checking, he added
“Mr. Mallory, won’t you feel guilty if something happens to Nina?” Sue did not understand why he refused to call the police.“It won’t happen.” Percy furrowed his brows as his mind raced to find a solution.Sue was even more confused. “Just because you say it won’t happen, does that mean it won’t? Yes, Madam Mallory is your mother, but Nina is also your wife. If your mother harms your wife, shouldn’t you call the police? Instead of doing that, you’re leaving her in this dangerous situation. I honestly feel sorry for Nina.”Sue had always been straightforward. She thought Percy would protect Nina for life, but seeing him defend Karen at the cost of his wife’s safety, she was deeply disappointed.She felt she was in no position to feel sorry for Nina, but she could not understand Percy’s actions.Percy furrowed his brows. Calling the police was not an option.The Mallory family could not afford this kind of turmoil.If Old Master Mallory found out that he handed his mother over to
Nina trembled when she was touched. Her whole body was shaking.Karen’s touch was icy cold, and when her hand fell on Nina’s face, it carried a chill.“Don’t hurt her!” Percy’s voice was hoarse, his anger barely concealed in his eyes.He was furious but kept reminding himself not to provoke Karen.“Hmph, look at how nervous you are.” Karen's patience wore thin. Without another word, she laid out her conditions. “If you want me to let her go, fine.”“What do you want me to do?” Percy knew the conditions she was about to propose would not be as simple as keeping her out of the psychiatric hospital.It could involve Pierre.Perhaps even the company.Even though Karen had spoken to him about the high hopes she had for him, Percy did not believe a word of it. To her, from beginning to end, the only person who mattered was Pierre.Percy was merely a tool to secure her position in the Mallory family.“See? You still care about this woman. You’ve disappointed me!” Karen glanced at Ni
“Mr. Mallory, I didn’t dare to go in. Nina and your mother are still inside.” After Sue realized that Nina might be in danger, she had been waiting outside, unwilling to leave.She had been planning to rush in with the other employees if she heard Nina scream.Percy's expression darkened. He did not blame Sue for the situation, so he did not say anything. Instead, he quickly walked to Nina’s office door and pushed it open.The sight before him sent a chill through his veins, as though his blood had turned to ice.“You're here?” Karen fixed her eerie gaze on the person who had opened the door. A strange, sinister smile curved at the corners of her lips. She stood behind Nina with a knife tightly gripped in her hand.The sharp blade was pressed against Nina’s neck, already leaving a faint red mark.Sue gasped at the sight and instantly lost her composure.Karen frowned in dissatisfaction, moving the knife slightly and muttering, “Why is there another woman here? Tell her to leave!
“'ll contact someone in A City to investigate,” said Gale.“Let Percy know while you're at it,” added Luke. “He needs to be aware of this.”“Got it.” Gale hurried off to handle the matter.…After taking Gale's call, Percy hung up and stared icily at the middle-aged man standing before him.Under Percy's chilling gaze, the man nervously dabbed at the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief.“Mr. Mallory, my sincerest apologies…” The man, the director of the psychiatric hospital, had come to personally apologize to Percy today.Karen had escaped.Two days ago, Percy admitted Karen to the psychiatric hospital. After an evaluation, the doctors determined her condition warranted hospitalization, so she was admitted.Even though Karen was against it, given her mental state and with the consent of an immediate family member, the hospital was legally authorized to proceed.Percy had even informed the hospital to take special care of Karen. He had explicitly instructed them not to
When she opened her eyes again, the sky outside had already darkened slightly.Luca mumbled, feeling the warmth beside her. She instinctively curled closer. “What time is it?”“It's a little past five.” Luke gently rubbed her back, offering a quiet comfort to help her feel at ease.Since he could not be there beside her, he could only make these small gestures to bring her some peace of mind.“An entire afternoon just passed like that…” Luca was reluctant to leave at the moment. Her slender fingers lightly pressed against his chest.Luke took her hand in his, bringing it to his lips for a soft kiss, holding it as if it were something precious and tenderly stroking it.Luca's hands had once been delicate and smooth, but during their time in the small villa, they had become much rougher.“You've got calluses.” Luke felt sorry for her.Luca gently traced her finger over his lips, leaning in to plant a soft kiss on him. “It’s just from the needlework and the experiments I’ve been d
Luca walked over to another couch and sat down. “I think I’ll stay here. How about letting Luke come down so that we can all catch up? It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”Gordan’s face fell. “Ms. Craw, are you doing this on purpose?”Luca pretended not to know anything. “Doing what on purpose?”Gordan quickly shook his head. “Nothing. Just go upstairs already. Brother Luke’s been waiting for you.”Luca had intended to tease Gordan a little longer, but after not seeing Luke for the past few days, she found herself missing him deeply. Standing up with a smile, she said, “Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. Oh, by the way, Mr. Gale, could you help me pick up a few things? Someone over there asked me to get them, and I couldn’t refuse.”“Sure, no problem. What do you need?” Gale agreed immediately.After handing him the list, Luca turned and headed upstairs.Gale watched Luca leave from behind, nudging Gordan’s arm. “Let’s go. We should leave and give the boss and Ms. Cr
The security guard remained completely unfazed.This was because the village chief was his uncle, and in their tight-knit community, they always stuck together and never favored outsiders.With directions from the people inside the ancestral hall, Hera found the village chief.“You’re the village chief, right?” Hera looked at the man in his fifties in front of her and spoke with an arrogant tone, completely unbothered.“And you are?” The village chief, seeing her attitude, was puzzled. He had no idea whether she was an investor or someone looking to discuss a major partnership to bring development to their quiet village.“It doesn’t matter who I am. I see you have surveillance here, and I need to review your footage,” replied Hera.The village chief was even more confused. “Are you a police officer?”“No.” Hera frowned. She thought reviewing surveillance footage was no big deal. Why was this village chief being so difficult?The village chief gave her a look as if she were a fo
“Wait a little longer. By the way, what kind of ancestral hall is this?” asked Hera.“It's a local family's ancestral hall. I heard it's been designed by the owner of a large company, and now it's also one of the tourist attractions.” The taxi driver was not from around here, so he did not know all the details, but he knew it had become a popular spot. “Now, thanks to the reputation of that boss, many architects come here as one of their reference points.”Hera frowned deeper. What was Luca doing here?The driver suggested, “If you're interested in sightseeing, the attractions inside are pretty good. But for outsiders, they charge an entrance fee. Maintenance costs a lot of money, so they charge tourists from outside.”“I'm not here for sightseeing,” replied Hera, “Don't worry. I'll pay you for however long I stay here. You’ll get your money.”The driver heard that she was paying, and did not press her further and remained quiet.Hera stared at the entrance of the ancestral hall,