"They've never done anything against the law?" Luke raises his brows. He refused to believe it. "Only seemingly. They're a bunch of smart people. It's not that easy to investigate everything about them in a night. Boss, give me some time. I'll figure it out," said Rain with a smile on her face. She loved digging into the things that people had done behind the scenes and exposing them all.Gale picked up the toothpick as he wanted to grab some fruits for himself, but Rainie stopped him and she said, "These are mine. Go get the fruits yourself if you want some.""You're stingy." Gale put the toothpick down and looked at Luke, "Boss, are you planning to talk to Bill now?""Don't alert them first." Luke decided. Once he looked for Bill, he would alert Matysh too, regardless if they were able to make a deal with Bill.Bill cooperated with the foreigners only because it was easier to make money that way. That also indicated that if Luke paid them money, Bill would turn his back on Maty
A wave of disgust came over him. Luke figured the woman came out of Matysh's suite.The reason why he thought so was simple. It was because this woman looked a little like Luca.Only a pervert like Matysh would do such a thing.Luke retracted his gaze. He looked up to see the floor number going down. His mood was gloomy.The scent of the woman's perfume was so strong that all he wanted was to stay away.The moment Mandy Sanders stepped into the elevator, her eyes were on him. He was handsome, dignified, and very different from other men she had met.Even Matysh, whom she spent the night with, did not have a memorable temperament.Mandy thought that the most important thing when it came to choosing a man was the amount of money they had. However, when she saw Luke, she was more willing to be this man’s sugar mommy.Only the rich would show up at Traders Hotel.After being a socialite in a foreign country for some time, Mandy knew a lot about luxury brands and noticed at a glanc
Right after Jason left the secretary room, the ladies started gossiping.Cheryl could not help herself and said, "Mr. Marcos is so nice. They just entertained them for a few days at the boss' order and he invited them for supper? I wonder where they’ll go?"Secretary A immediately continued talking, "The other party is Mr. Marcos. They must be going to a high-end restaurant. Tina is so beautiful. Maybe he wants to confess to her by using the excuse of supper. Imagine if he showed up with flowers and wine! God, she's so lucky."Cheryl glared at Secretary A. "You’re thinking too much. Who would confess to someone during supper? You’re watching too many drama series."Secretary A was annoyed. ‘Didn't she start it?’She looked at Tina and said, "It's hard to say, after all. Mr. Marcos is a busy man. It’s possible that he would invite Tina for supper to confess to her. Besides, Mr. Marcos has been here for a while. Maybe he doesn’t want to leave any regrets before he has to leave..."
"I have things to do tonight, and so does Luca," replied Luke. Aunt Neile must be tired after working for the whole day. Nina happened to be here. She could look after the kids so that Aunt Neile could get off work on time.Nina narrowed her eyes. She was willing to look after the kids, but she became reluctant once those words came out of Luke's mouth.If Luca was the one who asked her to help, Nina would be happy to do so. After all, the kids were well-behaved, and it would not be difficult to take care of them. “What are you doing tonight?” Nina asked. Luca heard Nina and looked at Luke. Why did she not know that she had something to do tonight? Luke did not look at Nina. Instead, he looked at Luca and explained, “Marcos invited us and Tina for supper tonight.”“Oh, Mr. Marcos invited us…” Luca nodded, but she had no idea about it before that. “Fine,” Nina mumbled in dissatisfaction. Tommy raised his right hand as he would during classes and asked, "Daddy, I'd love to h
Marcos and Andy, the two foreign people, were sitting at the table. Even if Tina did not wave at them, they were able to see where they were sitting with just a glance.Luke held Luca's hand and walked toward them. Then, they sat on the humble-looking red-colored plastic chairs.Tina saw the two of them were holding hands, and she also noticed that the coat draped over Luca’s shoulders was a men’s coat. Even so, she did not say anything. It was as though she did not see it. After the two of them sat down, Marcos smiled and handed the menu to Luke. “Mr. Crawford, here’s the menu.” Luke glanced at the paper clipped onto the menu. They had already placed their orders, and they had ordered many dishes. Luke did not choose anything. Instead, he lowered his head and asked Luca, “Is there anything you’d like to eat?”“These will be fine…” Luca replied and shook her head.She did not have the habit of eating supper at night, and she was not feeling hungry after having dinner.Luke put
After supper, Luca and Luke left together. Luke had drunk some beer, so Luca was the one who drove the car. Marcos and Andy got into Lliam’s car. Marcos leaned back on the chair to rest after drinking a few cans of beer. Andy picked up his phone and glanced at it, then reported to Marcos, “Boss, everyone in the company already knows that you’ll be going back soon.” “Okay.” Marcos kept his eyes closed.That would mean Matysh also knew about it.There had always been the old master’s and Matysh’s subordinates in the company. The purpose of doing that was simple. It was to keep an eye on Marcos and to see if he had any motive fo taking over the company. Marcos thought it was nothing even though these people were watching him. After all, everything he did was for the sake of the company. Hence, he had never done anything wrong to this family and the company. No matter how they watched him and reported everything he did, it would not affect him either. However, now…The gloom
Matysh knew Luke was the one who sent the car, but he was unhappy with Marcos’ explanation. “No way. Tell that kid that I want the chauffeur to follow me around,” Matysh said in an overbearing manner. He was unconcerned that his target was Luca and she had something going on with Luke.Bill would take care of it, after all.Marcos knew why Matysh did not agree to his arrangements and said, “The chauffeur I’ve hired drives a Rolls-Royce too.”As a big city with a booming economy, A City had never been short of wealthy people. That was why it was easy to rent a Rolls-Royce here.Mandy, who was listening to their conversation, was secretly surprised. How easy it was for them to rent a Rolls-Royce. It seemed like her Russian friend was right. Matysh’s family was rich. It was a pity that she could never have the chance to marry into such a wealthy family. She could only seize the chance to curry favor with Matysh.Matysh frowned. He wanted to throw a tantrum, but Marcos' arrangem
The cup of tea placed in front of Luke smelled good. Luke knew the churning alcohol smell in his stomach would stop once he drank it. However, he was not in a hurry. Instead, he patted the seat beside him and said, “Take a seat.”Luca noticed that Luke had something to tell her. Hence, she sat down on another sofa. It was late at night. Nina and the kids were already in bed, and it was quiet. However, she still kept a suitable distance away from Luke. Luke did not force her to sit beside him. Her nerves would be on edge as long as Nina was still around.“Matysh found a woman to accompany him. And that woman has a pair of eyes that look like yours,” said Luke.Luca looked down, feeling helpless. It was not a good thing. That would only show how much Matysh desired and wanted Luca. She replied in a soft voice, “Okay.” “If something happens to you, don’t hide it from me. You have to tell me. Although he’s not a local, he approached a criminal organization for help. That’s why i
“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