Luca turned around and walked into the kitchen when she remembered that Tommy was craving custard tarts yesterday.Luca took out the defrosted puff pastry that she had taken out yesterday. She made the custard paste to prepare yummy custard tarts for the kids.Luca took the custard tarts out and placed two of them on a small plate. Those were for Luke.Although Luke did not like sweet food, he would always eat everything she made back then. Hence, she handed the small plate to Aunt Neile and said, “Aunt Neile, please bring this upstairs. Then leave the rest to me. Go and get the child.”“Okay, Ms. Craw. Thank you!” Aunt Neile was delighted. She had already informed Luke and gotten his permission. If she went to get her grandson now, her daughter-in-law would not be late for work. That would be for the best. Aunt Neile brought the custard tarts upstairs. She knocked on the bedroom door and entered, “Mr. Crawford, these custard tarts were prepared by Ms. Craw. Would you like to h
The operating room was colder than the outside. Luca was worried that Queenie would catch a cold if she sat there for a few hours.Queenie shook her head, refusing to change her seat. She stared at the operating room and said, “I’ll just sit here.”“Mrs. Norman, Ms. Norman will need you to take care of her after the surgery. You have to take care of yourself. You’ll catch a cold easily…” Luca knew she was not easy to convince. She knew Queenie must be thinking of being the first to stand up when the doctor was calling for Leia’s family. Luca had no choice but to use Leia as an excuse.Sure enough, after Queenie listened to Luca’s reasonable words, she stood up and moved to the seat beside her.Jack, who stood far away, saw them and let out a helpless sigh. “Luca is the only one who can convince her.”Luke was watching the two of them too. “Mother looks pale.”“Although we’ve found the donor, Queenie was so nervous that she stayed up all night knowing that Leia was going for the
“You’re injured,” Luca took a step back. She figured that it was unlikely that only her face was wounded. “Those who have eyes would know that they should get out of the way. Excuse me.” Marie ran out of patience. How she wished that she could throw a tantrum at the person in front of her. Marie was injured, and Jean was the one who beat her up. However, she could not call the police to report him for the sake of surviving. She thought of heading to the pharmacy to dress her wound, but the staff working in the pharmacy dared not to help her. She had no choice but to come to the hospital.The doctor asked her if she was facing domestic violence. She did not dare to admit it. If she admitted it, the medical staff in the hospital would call the police anytime. If Jean was caught and thrown into prison, she would not have anyone to depend on. That was why she had no choice but to say she was injured from a fall.The doctor did not expose her and suggested she take an X-ray to see
“Okay, stop walking. Sit down and have some bread.” Jack took the bag from Luke and put it aside. He grabbed Queenie’s hand, almost squeezing it. He asked her to sit down on the bench. Queenie’s face was pale white, and there was a worried look on her face. “I’m not hungry. Go ahead.”“You haven’t eaten anything since morning. How are you going to have any energy if you don’t eat now?” Jack frowned unhappily. He did not say a word after everything she had done for Leia. However, Jack could not help but speak in a stern voice when he saw her not eating anything just because she was worried about Leia. The reason Jack allowed Leia to stay in his house was only that he had taken this situation into consideration. Queenie needed a daughter by her side to comfort her anxiety. However, he did not expect that Leia could be such a hassle.“I…” Queenie looked at the bread and milk. Jack was already mad at her. Jack opened the bread packaging and said in a serious tone, “Eat it.”Lu
He just stood by the bed and looked at Leia indifferently without a trace of sorrow in his expression. His face was stern like a judge in a courtroom, not like a father's.“You’ve been given another chance at life. If you get through this, I hope you’ll be a decent human and not betray your mother’s love for you.” With that, he left the intensive care unit.The nurse who stood aside looked back at Leia after hearing his words.Jack soon came out. He took off his sterile clothing and said, “Let’s go.”“I want to stay here with Leia longer,” said Queenie, who was reluctant to leave. Although they were only separated by a door, she could not see what went on behind that door.“You can’t ease her pain by standing here. Plus, she doesn’t need your care right now. Go home and come back tomorrow when she’s out of the ICU,” Jack said sternly. He was very calm compared to Queenie’s excessive worrying.He may even come off as heartless…Queenie looked at the door. There was nothing she
Right now, Amur was forcibly summoned back to the Island of Despair.There was no telling when Abel would launch a lethal attack on Luke.The future…Luca pursed her lips as she could only imagine having a future.Perhaps even before she would get the chance to find out why, she would have already been forced to harm Luke.Luca’s sudden silence made Luke glance sideways at her. He saw that she did not look so well.She must have thought of something bad…It seemed like he had to get a move on things.After they arrived at the company, Luca got out of the car and hurried back to the laboratory to continue working on her experiments.Meanwhile, Luke returned to his office to work on documents.Just like that, Leia’s problem was settled in a flash.It was the following day.Luca received news that Leia was out of the ICU.It was a Saturday, so she did not rush to the hospital. Instead, she stayed in the mansion to take care of the children.She could choose not to go, but Lu
Luca was optimistic as she thought that her immune system was good and it was unlikely for her to catch a cold.In the afternoon, she noticed that Aunt Neile was starting to prepare lunch, so she stood up to help her.Before she could even take a step, she felt a sudden wave of dizziness. Her vision blacked out.She instantly fell back onto the couch.Tommy rushed over after noticing it and looked at her worriedly. “Ms. Luca, are you not feeling well?”“Maybe…” Luca leaned against the sofa with her eyes closed. She could feel her entire body burning, and when she stood up, all she could see was black.She had a cold…It was not just a common cold either. She even had a fever…The sickness suddenly hit her hard, and she felt weak all over.Tommy noticed her scarlet red face and immediately climbed onto the sofa. He reached out his chubby hand to cover her forehead like she used to do for him when he was sick to check his temperature.“Ms. Luca, your forehead is burning!” he ex
Without making much noise, Aunt Neile tiptoed to the bedside and touched Luca’s forehead.It was still hot to the touch.She looked at Luca’s red face and frowned. If her fever still would not go down after 30 minutes, she planned to inform Luke to send her to the hospital.After Aunt Neile left, Luca slowly opened her eyes.Someone came in just now. Was it Luke?Luca turned sideways and looked at the other side of the bed to see that no one was there…Luke was at the company. How could he be here? She was thinking too much.Luca rolled over and had her back facing the empty spot beside her as if someone was hugging her from behind and whispering softly to comfort her…Sick people were usually much weaker than normal.There was no denying that what Luca needed most right now was Luke’s whisper of comfort and attentive care.She snapped her eyes shut at the thought of that. “Don’t think about it…”Luca constantly hypnotized herself to not fall too hard as she was about to lea
“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