Luke got out of bed lightly to not wake Luca.However, while he was washing up in the bathroom, Luca opened her eyes when she heard the sound of water.She picked up the phone on the bedside table, glanced at the time, and then put the phone down.It was still early.Luca remembered that she had promised to prepare breakfast for the children, so she immediately sat up.The discomfort came instantly.Even the previous time when Luke was drugged, he seemed to have restrained himself and did not go too far.However, this time, Luke was in a sober state but acted recklessly with her. She could not say no and eventually fell asleep.She did not know when she fell asleep, but when she opened her eyes, the sun had already risen.Luca looked out the window. Although there was a day curtain to block it, the faint sunlight that shone into the room showed that the weather was great.After a few days of snow, they finally got a day of good weather. Luke came out of the bathroom. He ste
Luca saw how happy Nina seemed. ‘People will be in good spirits when they’re happy.’She nodded and said, "Yes, I promised the kids yesterday, so I have to honor it."Nina heard the faint hoarseness in her voice and immediately noticed her exhausted demeanor. She quickly asked, "Luca, did you catch a cold? Your voice is a little hoarse...""No, I’m just tired from working yesterday." Luca made up a random excuse.‘My voice is hoarse all because of Luke…’"No wonder. You must have been tired from being an assistant yesterday. You’re so tired but still insist on making breakfast for the children. Why don't you take a break..." Nina followed her into the kitchen.Luca touched her face. ‘Do I look that bad…’She did not pay much attention when she was washing up."It was snowing lightly yesterday and I stood outside for a long time. I was sitting and working most of the time, so it’s normal that I feel a little tired," Luca explained in a casual tone.Nina nodded in agreement."M
Percy knew how determined he was and opted to support him. "I’ll help you with anything you need.""Let’s go in," Luke said. His head felt clearer after being out in the cold for so long.Since he had determined his next step, Luke had to double his efforts to get Luca back to his side.The two brought some cold wind with them as they walked into the living room on the second floor. After Percy closed the door, he could not help but complain, "I’m lacking training."When he went under special training, he was forced to wear a singlet as he did various drills in the snow. At that time, he did not feel cold at all.Now, he was unable to bear the cold when he stood outside on the balcony for a while.Luke gave him a cool look and reminded him, "You’re weak.""Nonsense, I'm not weak at all. If you don't believe me, ask Nina." Percy corrected him sternly since it was a matter involving his male ego. "I’m sure Nina will protect your ego, but to be honest, if you feel weak, you can a
"Uncle Luke's mother," Sue answered for Jason."Let's eat." Jason urged the children. It was best for the children not to be involved with adults’ matters...On the other hand.Allison called Jason the moment she received his text.The call could not get through, and she realized that she had been blocked again.She threw the spoon on the table.Sophian, who was sitting across from her, was startled. "Ms. Allison, what's wrong?""Jason blocked me!" Allison had a stern expression. She could not get over her being scammed and would not have a peaceful sleep if she could not resolve it.That was why she called Jason first thing in the morning.After that, she waited for an answer.She was not satisfied with Jason’s answer, so she asked Sophian, "Where's the SIM card we bought earlier?""You said that the blocked number was useless, so I canceled the number and threw the SIM card away." Sophian took out a napkin and wiped her mouth.Allison reached out her hand and said, "Give
Sure enough, Allison frowned as she was repulsed. "It’s so plain. Others might think that we can't afford to eat meat.""Madam Allison, we only have vegetarian food at home today. This is all we have," the butler whispered. He could not do anything even though Allison was dissatisfied.There were other ingredients in the refrigerator, but Old Master Crawford made it clear that they all had to eat vegetarian food today. He could not make an exception for her as Old Master Crawford would be furious when he found out.The Crawfords could eat meat, just not at Crawford Manor.Allison could not help but mutter, "I chose a bad time to come back.""Madam Allison, do you still want to eat breakfast?" the butler asked. He did not give her other choices. She could either choose to eat or not. "Of course! I'm starving. Bring it to my room," Allison said."Okay, Madam Allison." The butler looked at Sophian. He had to treat her like a guest even though what she did had spread throughout Cra
"Don't tell her yet," Old Master Crawford said immediately. He then glanced at Susan, who was next to him. He wanted to have a peaceful lunch."Will do." The butler knew what Old Master Crawford meant.Susan raised the corner of her mouth with pride. Her efforts had paid off.During the past few days, many guests came by the house. As the hostess of Crawford Manor, she entertained each guest in good taste and many praised her.It had shifted Old Master Crawford’s opinion of her.It was clear that he now favored her..."Is lunch ready?" Old Master Crawford asked. He intended to leave Allison’s matter aside until he had lunch."The cook has gotten everything ready. She prepared all vegetarian dishes as per your instructions. You can have lunch anytime." the butler said."Inform the kitchen to serve lunch now." Old Master Crawford walked into the dining room with the help of his cane."Got it." The butler hurried to the kitchen.When Thea heard that they were eating vegetarian f
"Don't blame Luke for getting scammed. Luke didn't make you invest your money with dubious people." Old Master Crawford felt repulsed by what she said.Allison was startled. It felt like her throat was stuffed with a mouthful of phlegm that she could not cough out. It felt uncomfortable.She did not expect Old Master Crawford to speak up for Luke like that."I—""Although Luke and you don’t have the best relationship, he has never skimmed on your daily expenses as well as your treatment in South Korea. You had so much money to invest because Luke gave you that money. Don’t blame others for your stupidity," Old Master Crawford lectured Allison with a stern expression."Dad, I know that it’s my fault..." Allison realized that blaming it on Luke would not work.It would not work even if she wanted to shift some of the blame to Luke.Old Master Crawford was too smart and partial to Luke for that."I won't help you." Old Master Crawford said. Luke did not short Allison on her food a
"It's none of your business. Get out!" Allison was ticked off by Susan. She stared at Susan with her bloodshot eyes.Susan was taken aback by her indignant expression.When she snapped out of it, Susan sprayed her saliva all over as she shouted, "If anyone’s to leave the mansion, it’ll be you! You’re the shameless mistress. You’re someone who destroys families!"Allison raised her hand and wanted to slap Susan.Susan took a step back and looked at the butler next to her. "Go and get Dad here to throw this crazy woman out!"When she heard that she was going to be kicked out, Allison withdrew her hand as she knew that she could not leave the house just yet."Madam Susan, Old Master Crawford has allowed Madam Allison to come back to live here. Why don’t you leave the matter alone?" The butler bit the bullet and reminded her.‘It makes sense why Old Master Crawford asked Susan to move to Louis' villa after the New Year.As long as Allison was around, Crawford Manor would never find
“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