"Ms. Allison, please get into the car first. Let me put the luggage in the car trunk," said Sophian.Allison was satisfied with Sophian’s performance. She nodded, then she opened the rear door and got into the car.Sophian dragged the two big and heavy suitcases to the back of the car. She lifted her luggage and put it in the car trunk first. Although the suitcase was big, there was not much important stuff in it. Hence, she could put it in easily. Sophian was planning to put Allison’s luggage in the car trunk too.Sophian was well prepared as she had experienced the weight of it earlier. She took a deep breath, bent down, and was about to lift the suitcase. However, she staggered and almost scratched the car with the suitcase. Sophian was so flabbergasted that she broke into a cold sweat. It was nothing if she scratched the car, but it would be a big deal if she left a bad impression on Luke.Sophian looked at Allison, who was sitting in the car and warming herself up. She
Before Allison could ask anything, the villa’s door slowly opened. She turned to look at the door.After a while, she saw Mr. Griffin’s figure appear behind the door. He was carrying a blanket in her hands.Allison turned to look at Luke. “Get out of the car.” Luke’s voice was cold. There was not even a trace of warmth or affection in his voice. Allison probably did not notice that Luke had not addressed her as his mother since she got into the car at the airport until now…Mr. Griffin walked toward Allison. She smiled and opened the door for her. Then, she handed the blanket to Allison and said, “Welcome back, Ms. Allison.” Allison pulled a sulky face, covered herself tightly with the blanket, and got out of the car. When she noticed that Sophian was still sitting in the car, she snarled, “Get out of the car.”"Okay, Ms. Allison." Sophian was fascinated when she was looking at Luke from behind. After she was reminded by Allison, she hurried out of the car with her face b
"Sophian, if you hadn’t said anything just now, we probably wouldn’t have to stay here anymore." Allison let out a sigh. She was trying hard to find an excuse and see if she could move to Crawford Manor just now. However, what Sophian said made her give up hope. “Huh? Ms. Allison, did I say something wrong?” Sophian was confused. What she said was right. It was indeed unsuitable for Allison to use new furniture now. She already had a poor skin condition. If her skin was affected, she might need to head to the hospital for hormone therapy. “I thought of using the furniture as an excuse to move back to Crawford Manor.” Allison looked at the interior of the living room. After she bought this villa, she spent a huge amount of money to renovate it.She was satisfied with the renovation back then. However, no matter how she looked at it now, she could not get used to it.“Crawford Manor?” Sophian asked in confusion. Was that where Luke was staying?“The value of that house can buy
Old Master Crawford shook his head and said, “How boring. I guess I’ll have to wait for Luke to come over on New Year’s Eve to play chess with me.”Mr. Griffin smiled. Luke was the only one in this family who could play chess with Old Master Crawford.Old Master Crawford spoke again, “Give me my phone. I’d better figure out what the woman Allison brought back here is up to.”"Old Master Crawford, wait a minute." Mr. Griffin headed to Old Master Crawford's bedroom, picked up his phone, and handed it to him.Old Master Crawford called Luke.After a while, Luke answered the call, “Grandpa, what’s the matter?”“I heard that Allison brought someone else back with her? Isn’t she the interpreter you hired?” Old Master Crawford asked. “The interpreter is still in Seoul. She’s not planning to come back.” Luke paused for a moment and said, “That woman is one of the personal nurses from the plastic surgery hospital.”“Why did she bring a personal nurse back here?” Old Master Crawford cou
As Luke looked at how troubled Luca was, he placed the ladder beside the osmanthus tree. “Have you thought of how we should hang the lights?” Luke smiled and asked. Luca shook her head, telling him that she was in a dilemma. Luke squeezed her hand and said, “The landscapers did leave us a spot to hang these back then.”Luca exclaimed in surprise, “Really?”Luca was definitely not as professional as the landscapers when it came to decorating the garden. If the landscapers had left them a spot, then hanging the decorative lights there would definitely look good. “Aunt Neile, connect the power plug to the socket outside the entrance.” Luke took a bunch of colored decorative lights out of the bag and handed the plug to Aunt Neile. “Okay, Mr. Crawford.” Aunt Neile took the plug from him and walked away to connect it to the socket. Luca noticed that there were small hooks on the outside of the wall. She thought they were for other decorations, but she did not expect that they c
Luke prepared the rice, while Luca did the cooking. They teamed up and divided their work. It was quick. Lanie held his phone in his hands. Tommy and Rainie urged Lanie to record it down with his phone. Lanie stood at the kitchen door, recording the sweet and cute moment between Luke and Luca. After Lanie finished recording, he tiptoed his way back to the living room and sat on the sofa.Tommy asked excitedly, “Lanie, did you record it?”Rainie took Lanie’s phone from him and said, “You don’t have to worry if Lanie recorded it. He must have. Let me see.”Rainie opened the phone gallery and saw that the latest video recorded showed the scene in the kitchen.Tommy exclaimed, “Daddy is actually helping out in the kitchen. How fascinating…”“That’s not the main point. The point is, Daddy and Mom—Ms. Luca, they're a match made in heaven!” Rainie looked at the phone, feeling envious.Would she meet a perfect match meant for her in the future?Rainie turned to look at Lanie and h
Crawford Manor would be like a battlefield if Allison was there. The old master would definitely be willing to come over. “No problem,” replied Luca. There was another guest room upstairs. It was just that there was no elevator in the villa. It might be slightly difficult for the old master to climb the stairs. “Alright, I’ll bring them over first,” said Luke. “Okay.” Luca nodded and followed him downstairs. After she watched them leave, she sat on the sofa. After Luke took the kids away, Luca felt an emptiness in her heart. Luca looked around the living room, only to realize that after she moved here, there had never been a quiet moment. She could hear the noises of the kids playing around happily.She could not get used to the sudden silence.Luca picked up her phone and looked at her contacts. Sue’s name showed up. Luca reckoned that she was probably busy preparing for the new year with Jason.Luca saw Nina’s phone number and made a call.The phone rang twice, and it
“Okay, Young Master Luke.” Mr. Griffin sounded helpless.Luke hung up the call. Lanie, who sat on the passenger seat asked, “Daddy, Grandma’s doing it again, right?”“Yes.” Luke clasped the steering wheel tightly and reminded the kids, “Look for Great-grandpa later when we arrive. Remember to greet him. He’s in the study. Don’t come out after you go in. Got it?”“Okay, Daddy,” the three kids replied in unison.They were afraid of Allison too. It would be better if they could stay far away from her.Luke stopped talking. Allison could be crazy and do whatever she wanted as long as she did not influence the kids. As a father, he had the desire to protect his kids.10 minutes later, Luke arrived at Crawford Manor. He drove into the house compound, and after he parked the car, he was not in a hurry to get out of the car.“Daddy?” Rainie gave him a confused look.“If you see the elders later, greet them. Then, look for Great-grandpa,” Luke reminded them again.“Daddy, don’t worry.
Luca’s head was slightly tilted, her cheek burning with pain.Abel had not held back at all. The force of his slap was merciless. A numbness spread across her face at an alarming speed.From the next room, someone peeked out again and asked in a low voice, “You okay?”“I’m fine.” Luca’s expression remained calm. This kind of injury was nothing to her.Back on the Island of Despair, she had endured far worse during training. She survived, did she not?Without another word, Luca pushed open the lab door and stepped inside.The man watching shook his head. Her face was already that swollen, and she still said she was fine… What a tough woman. She took a slap that hard and brushed it off like it was nothing.Shanks lifted his head when he heard the door open. When he saw it was Luca and noticed how swollen the side of her face was, his brows furrowed.“Abel did this?”“Who else?” Luca let out a bitter laugh, only to wince as the movement tugged at the pain. She sucked in a sharp b
“No.” Shanks’ tone was cold and firm with no trace of hesitation.Abel still looked doubtful.Shanks added, “Would you like to see her medical report?”Abel was startled for a moment. How did Shanks know he had been thinking about that report?Now that Shanks brought it up, the idea lost its appeal.Abel shook his head. “Even if you showed it to me, I wouldn’t understand it. Shanks, Kassy’s life is in your hands. If you can give her a second chance, I’ll provide as much research funding as you need."Shanks remained silent. He could save Kassy. In fact, his research had always been for Kassy.However, he did not expect Abel to be so ruthless as to insist on using a living person as a donor for Kassy. That was something he could not accept.Kassy’s condition could be treated with organs from a brain-dead patient. Why destroy a perfectly healthy life?Shanks was not acting out of mercy. He simply refused to go against his medical ethics.He was not someone who had to save lives
“You don’t need to remind me. I was going to check anyway.” Abel shot Luca a chilling look.She took a step back and stayed silent.Abel turned to the pale-faced Hera and said, “If you’ve got low blood sugar, get up and eat something.”“I’ll eat now,” Hera replied, sitting up.Luca handed her the takeout.Abel glanced at the food and then frowned at Luca. “Why didn’t you make breakfast this morning?”“I was busy,” Luca explained with a calm indifference, her expression unwavering. She showed no fear, even under Abel’s questioning.Hera suddenly found herself admiring Luca. Everyone feared this man, yet Luca remained composed even when facing potential punishment. Not just anyone could pull that off.At the thought of this, Hera opened the takeout and kept quiet.Abel narrowed his eyes, glancing between Hera and Luca. His gaze was not exactly gentle as he muttered, “Stop eating this junk. It’s bad for you.”“I know, babe. Just this once. After this, I’ll have what Luca cooks f
Hera panicked the moment she heard that. “I trust her!”Luca and Shanks were both watching her.Hera repeated herself, saying, “I trust her, okay? What kind of treatment does she need? I’ll cooperate with anything. But what about Abel…”“I’ll tell him it’s just to help improve your overall health,” replied Shanks. Then, he turned around, opened the medicine cabinet, and started preparing the prescription.Hera let out a sigh of relief. As long as Abel did not find out about her health condition, that was all that mattered.If he knew she was unwell, he would send her back to A City. Without free medical help and no way to make extra money, she would be in serious trouble.“Thank you,” said Hera.“Wait outside,” instructed Shanks.“Okay.” Hera carefully stepped out.Luca, however, remained where she was, waiting.While preparing the medicine, Shanks asked, “Do you know which acupoints to target for her?”“Yes,” Luca replied confidently. As long as she checked Hera’s pulse, sh
“There are a lot of issues.” Luca did not hide anything and handed Hera the phone.Hera looked at it and frowned.“I can't understand any of this.” Hera felt dizzy just looking at the text, let alone the long list of medical terms. It was giving her a headache.“Look at these summaries and indicators. Compare the values on top with the normal values at the bottom, and you'll see what I mean,” explained Luca.Hera did not trust her. Therefore, Luca decided to let her see for herself. Seeing it with her own eyes would prevent any doubts later.Luca pointed out how to read the test results, and after a moment, Hera managed to understand the report. Her face turned pale. “How can there be so many problems?”She looked at Luca and questioned, “Did you fake this?”“I don’t have the power to make the medical center fake anything. Besides, the report has the medical center’s official stamp. If you don’t believe me, you can go directly to the medical center and ask for the official cop
“I heard from the boss that he's coming because of Vivian.” Gale paused for a moment before adding, “But never mind, you don't seem interested in her affairs anyway. I'm just letting you know he's on his way.”Gordan frowned. Ray was coming for Vivian?What could that ugly woman possibly need?“What do you mean by that?” asked Gordan.Gale smirked. “If you and Ray meet, that’s bound to end in a fight. And since you can't win against him, you might want to mentally prepare yourself, or better yet, find somewhere else to stay. It’d be safer that way.”Gordan's expression darkened. “If you have nothing nice to say, just zip it.”Gale grinned, clearly pleased with himself like he had just hit a sore spot.Gordan exhaled sharply. “Of all times, why is he coming to A City now? He’s just making things worse.”“It can't be helped. Vivian's situation is urgent.” Gale covered his mouth mockingly after he said that. “Oh, right. I forgot you don’t like hearing about her.”Ray wanted to br
Luke sat in the villa, staring at Luca’s message.He was worried.For a moment, he considered calling her, but then he remembered that there were surveillance cameras everywhere on her side. He dismissed the idea immediately.Her safety came first.Luke reminded her: [Take care of yourself. Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything. Just focus on keeping yourself safe.] The worry in his heart refused to subside, but at this moment, there was no better solution.“Boss, you’re worried about your wife, huh? If you really can’t stand it, we can sneak you in again during the next shift change, just like last time,” said Gale.It had been his idea last time.Now, the real Lucius was still locked up in the basement of the villa.It had been nearly a month. Luke had forced him to take the antidote Luca had recreated. The man was still alive, proving the antidote worked perfectly.“That plan is too risky.” Luke put his phone away. His gaze was dark and thoughtful.“Risky, sure. But at lea
Luca had not expected Abel and Shanks’ relationship to be like this.It seemed Abel still did not trust Shanks.Shanks continued, “Abel isn’t someone who trusts people easily. He doesn’t trust anyone. You think he’s devoted to Kassy now, right? That’s just his obsession. He's allowing Kassy to receive my treatment, but if it were him… No matter if he were blind or crippled, his safety would always come first. If he were seriously injured, maybe he’d accept treatment, but he definitely wouldn’t do it right away.”Luca stayed silent. Shanks really understood Abel well.Abel did not trust anyone—not even Kassy.Calling him paranoid would not be an exaggeration.Luca felt like they were getting off-topic, but she had never seen this side of Shanks before.In her mind, he was always buried in his work at the lab, only leaving for meals and sleep. Other than that, he was practically never outside.The lab was like his home…“Are you troubled by Hera’s situation?” Luca asked directly
Hera was startled by Luca's words.The refusal that had been on the tip of her tongue suddenly got stuck in her throat.“I…” Hera hesitated, feeling conflicted. Leaving Abel might not be such a bad idea. At least she would not have to live in constant fear.She was finally realizing how unpredictable his moods were. At first, she thought it did not matter as she could still look at other men. She just had to ensure there was no physical contact. In reality, even if she so much as glanced at someone, Abel's expression would darken with anger.It was frustrating. Now, the only person she was allowed to look at was Gerald. Still, what was the point of just looking at Gerald?At that thought, she lifted her gaze to Luca.Luca added, “I’ll give you five minutes. If you refuse treatment after that, I’ll take the medicine back to Mr. Shanks and won’t try to convince you again.”Hera's heart tightened. She did not even need five minutes. She had made her decision within 30 seconds.“I’