Luca walked into the study and was about to pack up the experimental samples and data when she suddenly realized that had not told Luke about what happened with Vivian.She picked up her phone and texted Luke: [Vivian found out that Mr. Norton has been at T Corporation.][How is she feeling now?] Luke replied within minutes. Luca replied: [Her emotions have stabilized and she seems fine. It’s just that… Mr. Norton’s presence has a great impact on her.] She felt helpless in this situation.Although Gordan being in T Corporation all day long did not affect Luke much, Vivian would inevitably have a bee in one's bonnet.Vivian would suffer more damage if the two went on as such.After all, in a relationship that was not of mutual liking, whoever fell for the other first would be the biggest loser.Clearly, Vivian was the loser.[Mm, I see.] Luke replied to Luca's message and looked at Gordan after it was sent.Gordan came back to his senses after being stared at for several secon
"No wonder Gale and Rain have been reporting about Matysh for the past few days. I didn’t think that he was hitting on Luca!" Gordan pretended to be suddenly enlightened.He knew that Luke was going to make a move on Matysh, but he did not expect Luca to be involved.After all, T Corporation was in partnership with M Group, and the president of M Group was Marcos for the time being.The relationship between Matysh and Marcos had not been great all along, so Gordan thought that it was because of Marcos that Luke investigated and wanted to take action against Matysh.After all, helping the partner to solve a problem could consolidate the cooperation between T Corporation and M Group moving forward.Gordan now knew that Luke did it because of Luca.It seemed that Luca was more important to Luke than his career."Are you going to help or not?" Luke asked while he leaned against the desk. Gordon’s involvement was a matter of a one-sentence reply."Of course, I’ll help. I have nothin
Luke made a guess at why Vivian wanted Gale and Rain by her side. "Gordan won't hurt you.""I just want to protect myself. Just take my word for it..." Vivian lowered her gaze. She did not want to be alone with Gordan, so she used it as an excuse to ask Gale and Rain to protect her. She just wanted to have more people around when she met him."Okay. When?" Luke agreed without a second thought."Let’s do it tomorrow morning. I’ll go with Luca when she leaves for the office tomorrow," Vivian said. She wanted to sort things out as soon as possible so that Gordan could stop disturbing Luke."Mm, I’ll let Luca know." Luke glanced at his watch and thought that Luca should still be awake at this hour."Thank you." Vivian thanked Luke."It's getting late. Go get some rest," Luke reminded her before he headed upstairs.Vivian followed him up to the second floor.The two arrived on the second floor and returned to their respective bedrooms.After Luke washed up, he walked out of his bed
"Sure thing! My office is a bit messy in preparation for the move. I hope you don't mind it," Luca said. She was moving back to Watson Biopharmaceuticals, so her office in T Corporation was a mess. There were many documents randomly stacked on the coffee table and desk."I don't mind as long as you let me stay until Gale and Rain come. I won't disturb you for too long." Vivian was worried that she would affect Luca’s work by staying in her office. "You have nothing to worry about. I’ll just be sorting some documents today, so your presence won’t affect me," Luca smiled and explained to her."In this case, you won't be working in the same building as Mr. Crawford moving forward?" Vivian asked."I’m not a staff member of T Corporation to begin with. The experimental team moved here because something happened at Watson Biopharmaceuticals. Now that things have been sorted out and our research project is ready to go to the market, we’ll have to run here and there if we stay here. It’s
"Dr. Craw, don't get me wrong. I don’t mean it that way. Since she's the boss' guest, I'll bring her up." Cheryl thought that it was likely that Luca was bluffing her and trying to warm up to Vivian."Ms. Lindsey, this friend of Mr. Crawford only understands Russian..." Luca did not plan for Cheryl to bring Vivian up.If Cheryl brought her up, Vivian might bump into Gordan at any time."Ah, Russian..." Cheryl had wondered why Luca was bringing Luke's friend around.She instantly understood why when she heard that the other party only knew Russian. She smiled awkwardly and said, "Dr. Craw, you should bring her with you, then. I only know English and Italian. My Russian is not the best."After she finished speaking, the elevator doors slowly opened.Luca led Vivian out of the elevator.After they got further from the elevator, Vivian asked curiously, "Luca, who was...""Mr. Crawford's secretary. If she takes you up, you might bump into Mr. Norton before Gale arrives," Luca explai
"Okay." Luca nodded and asked about the laboratory, "Has the equipment been packed?""There’s still some equipment that’s getting packed into boxes, Dr. Craw. Everyone got excited when they found out that we were going back to Watson Biopharmaceuticals. They all said they would take this opportunity to do their research." Rhett smiled. Luke's decision raised the enthusiasm of a lot of people.After all, everyone wanted to run their own research. Their resume would look better than others whether they stayed at Watson Biopharmaceuticals or went looking for other jobs in the future.Luca smiled. "Are all of your boxes labeled?""It's already done." Rhett glanced at the box in his arms which had been sealed with clear tape and had a label on it."You can put it here first. I'll bring them to the car once I’m done packing up here," Luca said as she continued to pack up her documents.She sorted and packed the documents ahead of time so she could unpack them quickly when she returned
Gordan sneered and replied, "I can’t believe you brought bodyguards. What's the matter? Do you think I’ll hurt you?"Vivian did not speak. She looked up at him and then lowered her head again.Seeing Gordan being so aggressive, Rain could not help but say, "Don't you have something to talk about? Get straight to it. Enough with the nonsense.""Gordan, please mind your words," Gale also said. Although their marriage was unfortunate, it was too cruel for him to speak to Vivian like that.Even if they could not be husband and wife, they did not need to be enemies.Gordan's slender legs were folded together. He felt inexplicably unhappy when he saw Vivian's submissive appearance.After so many years, she was still the same as before. She was obedient like a mouse seeing a cat in front of it. It annoyed him.He thought that something would have changed since she could summon the courage to file for a divorce and even leave the property to him to humiliate him.He was disappointed...
Before Vivian could answer, Rain could not help but make fun of Gordan, "Aren't you very capable? Can't you find out yourself?"Gordan frowned as he was displeased that Rain stood up for Vivian, even if it was because she empathized with her as a woman.Nevertheless, Rain worked for Luke, so he could not say anything. All he could do was stare at Vivian’s back.After a few seconds, Vivian took a deep breath and replied, "It's a Nordic brand, Maslikon. The most expensive one.""Okay," Gordan responded simply but frowned.Vivian seemed to have lost a lot of weight. As he continued to stare at her, he thought that her appearance had changed after this major event.Vivian put on a sad smile. She did not dare to turn around and look at Gordan again, so she pulled on the door handle and walked out of the reception room.Cheryl was walking toward the room when she saw Vivian and Rain. She stepped to the side of the corridor and greeted them respectfully, "Are you leaving?""Yes, pleas
“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