Jack put down his utensils in his hands and looked at Queenie.He was the only Norman family member who knew that Luca was Bianca. As such, Queenie would not be able to understand a lot of what he was talking about."We’ll just get Luca something for New Year’s," Jack said. After all, Luca was their daughter. It was normal to give presents to one’s kids during the new year.That was the best blessing parents could give to their children during the festivities."Would it seem too tacky?" Queenie was hesitant. Although it was common for elders to give gifts to juniors, Luca did not seem like the kind who would get them so many gifts to get something in return from them.On top of that, she heard from Luke that Luca grew up abroad with her mother.They might not practice the same traditions, she was worried that it might seem too casual if she went to get a return gift. "That's the most sincere blessing we can give to someone. How can it be tacky?" Jack picked up his fork and cont
As he listened to Queenie’s chatter, Jack picked up the shirt and put it on. "It’s not only the right size, but it’s also the right color and style. I’ll wear this on the first day of the new year!"Queenie noticed how happy Jack seemed.Leia had also bought a lot of clothes for the two of them before.Jack would always react calmly to Leia’s gifts. He had never been so happy as when he received gifts from Luca. Luca was better at picking clothes than Leia. The size, style, and color of the clothes she bought were suitable for their age. However, at this moment, Jack looked as happy as a father receiving a carefully selected gift from his daughter.Jack carefully put his clothes on the sofa, picked up the other set of clothes, and placed it on Queenie. "Mm, they’re perfect for you. This color is so festive. It’s suitable to wear during the new year. We’ll wear these on the first day of the new year.""Okay, you can do whatever you want." Queenie went along with his wishes. "Dear
"Okay, I get it. We’ll have Leia stay in the normal ward until she’s discharged." Queenie made up her mind.‘No matter the fuss Leia kicks up, we’ll never compromise.’Moreover, she had decided to reduce her visits to the hospital so Leia could not try to change her mind."After she gets discharged, I’ll arrange a place for Leia to stay in," Jack said. After the incident, he was fuming and planned the next steps immediately."Dear, what are you going to do?" Queenie frowned, unsure of why Jack made such a decision.Although Leia would soon be discharged, it did not mean she would recover completely.Johann mentioned that Leia would have to take medicines and take care of herself well so that her body could accept the liver transplant.‘If Leia lives somewhere else, how will I take care of her?’ "I’ve thought about it. Our home is far from the hospital, so I’ll rent a two-room apartment near the hospital for her to live in. We’ll get a maid to take care of her. It’ll also be c
Luca knew that Luke had managed the situation well. He did a wonderful job. Dexter could not do anything to the Norman family even if he was eyeing their fortune.Luke dealt with the situation in a way that would not affect Jack's work, nor would it affect Queenie. Luca opened her lips slightly and could not help but praise him, "You did a great job."Luke could not help but smile when he heard her praise.He closed the page and put his phone on the wireless charging stand on the bedside table. "It's getting late. Let's go to bed.""Okay." Luca was sleepy too.Whenever it was at this hour, she would feel sleepy if Luke was by her side.Luca lay down and Luke lay beside her, hugging her tightly.After they turned off the lights, there was only the sound of them breathing in the bedroom.Gradually, Luca fell asleep while being hugged by Luke. She had a pretty good dream....Late at night.The streets of A City were no longer lively because of the blizzard.In the alley of
Nina frowned. ‘Who’s calling so early in the morning?’She turned over and tried to get her phone.Percy grabbed her hand and muttered, "Don't worry about it."Nina was not sure whether to laugh or cry.Outsiders would be shocked if they knew that the CEO of Mallory Corporation acted like this when he woke up in the morning."I’m getting a call so early. Something must have happened." Nina removed his hands, picked up the phone, and glanced at the incoming call. It was an unfamiliar number.Some time ago, some random numbers kept calling her, so she had to change her phone number.Therefore, she was annoyed with random numbers. She would hang up straight and refuse to answer their calls.She put down the phone. Percy asked, "Who's calling?""Some random number. It might be to harass me," Nina said. Her phone number was maliciously exposed when her past was put in the spotlight.Some reporters would call to interview her. At the same time, many called to scream at her, saying
"As long as he doesn't die." Nina took a deep breath. She was worried about Jean but said such mean words.Johann, who was on the other end of the phone, froze.Percy was the only one that understood what she was thinking about.He stretched out his hand, touched the back of Nina's hand, and said, "Please help me to keep an eye on him. I'll rush over now.""No problem." Johann said, "By the way, the police are already investigating. They say they found some surveillance footage. I trust that they’ll find who did this to Jean soon.""It's whoever lent him money," Nina said dully, but her tone was affirmative.Johann was stunned and asked subconsciously, "How do you know?"Nina did not say anything, so Percy just said, "Okay, I’ll hang up now. We’re about 10 minutes away. See you at the hospital.""Okay." Johann hung up the phone without asking further questions.Nina grabbed some bread, took a bite, and drank a sip of milk before she said slowly, "The people who beat up Jean mu
Johann's words were not difficult to understand. Nina knew that Jean would be mostly fine as long as he survived this."Thank you." She thanked him. "Oh, give me the receipt. I'll transfer the money to you.""I've already sent the receipt to Percy," Johann said. It was the same no matter if he sent it to her or Percy.Nina nodded and said nothing.Johann said, "Jean was lucky this time around. He was beaten, but they didn’t hurt any of his vital organs.""Those people are used to beating up others. They have experience and won't beat people to death," Nina said."Yeah, but he was beaten so much that he didn't even have the strength to ask for help. He just lay in the snow. If he still had the strength, he would have hallucinated and taken off his clothes. He didn’t because he was beaten up so badly that he lost all his strength. I heard that he moved the garbage and placed it in front of him to shield him from the wind. However, when the medical staff arrived, he was half-covered
Zoey watched her leave with a slight smile on the corner of her mouth.She could not help but sigh in her heart about the great relationship between Dr. Craw and their boss...Luca went to the underground parking lot, and sure enough, Warren was already sitting in the car. The car was running. She opened the door, and the heater inside was on."Warren, send me to the hospital," she said."I know, Ms. Luca. The boss told me." Warren started the car and hurried to the hospital.After the car left the parking lot, Luca remembered that she had left without a word, so she took out her phone and texted Zoey to ask her to take a one-day leave on her behalf.After that, she assigned Rhett some work.After the two replied to her, she put the phone back in her pocket and sighed as she looked at the receding scenery from the car window.When it involved Nina, she would certainly leave her job and help her deal with the matter.After all, Nina's suffering has something to do with what she
“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