Next morning.Luca woke up in Luke’s arms. The moment she opened her eyes, Luke’s phone rang.“Um, Luke, your phone.” Luca rubbed her head.After they had supper last night, the kids were already in bed when they reached home. Luke decided to take out a bottle of red wine and drank a few glasses alone. Then, he used being drunk as an excuse to hold Luca in his arms and made love with her into the night.It was already daylight when he opened his eyes again.Luke picked up his incessantly buzzing phone. He glanced at the phone screen to see who was calling. Then, he turned on the speaker and placed it beside his pillow, only then did he answer the call. “Yes?”“Good morning, Mr. Crawford. I’m the police officer on duty. My badge number is XXXXXXXX. I’m sorry to disturb you early in the morning.” There came a man’s voice from the other end of the call.Luke turned around and held Luca’s soft body in his arms. He buried his face in Luca’s hair. “What’s the matter?”"Are you able
“That’s why they contacted you.” Luca was wondering a moment ago. Did she not give the police her contact number?Why did they have to call Luke first before reaching her?It was Luke who told them to do so.No wonder there were hardly any calls coming in these days. It had been quiet.Luca sat down in front of the dressing table. She took the bandage and medicine out of the drawer, preparing to change her wound dressing. She did not get to change it last night as Luke was teasing her. “Are you changing the wound dressing?” Luke put on a collared shirt and understood what Luca was doing when he saw the bandage.“Yes.” Luca nodded and untied the gauze bandage.Round and round, the bandage covering her wound was slowly unfastened. The wound with stitches was exposed to the air.Luca carefully observed her wound.The sutured wound was already full of scabs because of the poison in Luca's body that sped up the healing of the wound. Also, she applied some medicine to it."There a
“Alright.” Luca turned her gaze away and opened the door.Two cars were parked in front of the entrance, waiting for them.“I’m going to work,” said Luca.Luke watched Luca get into the car and after she left, only then did he get into his car.“Boss, are we heading straight to the office?” asked the chauffeur.“To the police station, please,” replied Luke. He was dissatisfied with their progress on the case. He had to intervene when necessary. The police officer on duty recognized Luke the moment he stepped into the police station. He quickly invited him to the chief of police’s office. “Mr. Crawford, the chief is in a meeting now. It’ll take some time for the meeting to end.” said the police officer while pouring him a cup of tea.Luke took a flash drive out of his briefcase, “I didn’t come looking for your chief. I came to report a case.”“A case? This way, please.” The police officer’s anxiety immediately spiked. After all, they had not solved the Norman family’s case ye
"How troublesome. Then it would be best if you looked into it too. Let's see what these people have to do with that foreigner called…" The chief of police paused for a moment. “Matysh,” one of the police officers reminded him in a low voice. “Yes, Matysh. Look into it and find out if there’s any connection between them,” continued the chief of police.He thought the police officer was right about it.After all, the case Luke reported happened last year. Perhaps Luke came to drop them a hint when he came to report the case at this time.“Alright, Chief. I’ll look into this right now.” The police officer turned around and left the office.On the other hand.Luke got back into the car and asked his chauffeur to drive him to T Corporation.He called Gale when he was on the way to the office. “Boss, what’s the matter?” Gale was up all night investigating, and he had just fallen asleep. When he received a call from Luke, he sounded a little confused. "I need you to do something
Dr. Linwood glanced at the time. It was already time.However, the meeting had yet to start. Mr. Whitlock was nowhere to be seen either. “Oh, where’s Mr. Whitlock?”“Yes. We’re having a meeting. Isn’t Mr. Whitlock coming?” Dr. Jackson found it odd too. He happened to see Mo Stone pushing the food trolley into the room to pour some coffee for everyone. He asked, “Ms. Stone, where’s Mr. Whitlock?”“Dr. Jackson, I’m not sure where Mr. Whitlock is.” Mo Stone shook her head and served everyone a cup of coffee.“Wasn’t it Mr. Whitlock who asked us to attend the meeting?” Dr. Jackson asked with curiosity. "No. It was Mr. Crawford who informed me about the meeting. He didn't ask me to inform Mr. Whitlock to come for the meeting," replied Mo Stone. She was only following Luke's instructions and doing her job.“I see. That’s weird.” The big screen lit up as soon as Dr. Jackson finished his sentence."The meeting is about to start," said Mo Stone. She quickly handed the coffee to all the
“Yes.” Rhett and the researchers left the office together.Rhett did not return to the laboratory. He returned to his office instead.Mo Stone noticed a group of people walking into Luca's office a moment ago. She could not help but ask with curiosity, "Mr. Link, what happened? Why did Dr. Craw and the other professors gather all their researchers and assistants in their respective offices?"Luca was not the only one who did that in the whole building. That was why Mo Stone was curious about it.“Do you know about Mr. Whitlock being a corporate spy?” asked Rhett. There was no need to conceal the matter. The company would announce it when the time came.“He was a corporate spy?” Mo Stone widened her eyes. She never thought about it. “Yes. Mr. Crawford told the professors. That’s why the professors gathered their researchers and assistants to ask them whether or not they’ve ever revealed confidential information to Mr. Whitlock,” added Rhett.“That’s scary. The company has just s
Tommy was Luca’s child. She knew what it meant when she heard that. Luca noticed the hesitancy in his voice. She could not help but keep a straight face. “Did you get yourself into trouble?”“I didn’t…” Tommy sounded a little upset. He did not want to make this call, but the teacher insisted on asking his guardian to come to school.If Tommy asked his father to come to school, it was inevitable that he would be lectured when he went back home.Besides, his father was busy with work.Hence, Tommy discussed it with his teacher. His teacher knew who his father was too. Thus, the teacher agreed that it would be fine as long as it was his guardian.Tommy dared not to look for his great-grandpa either. He had no choice but to call her.After all, Luca was his mother!“Tell your teacher that I’ll be there in 30 minutes.” Luca glanced at the time and assumed that it would take 20 minutes for her to reach Tommy’s school.“Okay, Ms. Luca. I’ll be waiting for you.” Something crossed Tom
Mrs. Tuffey shook her head and apologized. “The surveillance cameras stopped working yesterday. That’s why there’s no recorded footage of what happened in the classroom.”“My child has never lied to anyone before. He said it was Tommy who pushed him. His statement is the best evidence,” yelled Mrs. Hudson.Luca ignored her and questioned Mrs. Tuffey, “Mrs. Tuffey, did you ask the other kids?”"They're still having class now," replied Mrs. Tuffey. The incident happened during recess. The kids were having class now.Mrs. Tuffey thought of making the decision after the two child’s guardians communicated with each other.“Mrs. Hudson chooses to believe her child, and I believe Tommy isn’t a child who’d hurt others. Mrs. Tuffey, I’d like to talk to Tommy.” Luca made a request. Now, the only way was to ask Tommy what had happened. Only then would she find out the truth.“Let me bring Tommy here. Please wait for a while.” Mrs. Tuffey rose to her feet and marched out of the office.Mrs.
Hera suddenly lost her interest when she heard what he said.“You’re the kind of person with no faith or dreams,” replied Hera.Gerald chuckled and asked, “Then what’s your dream, Ms. Sanchez?”“Me? It’s simple. I want to make lots and lots of money,” Hera answered without hesitation.She did not think it was embarrassing at all. Making money was not a crime or something shameful. There was nothing wrong with saying it out loud.Gerald nodded. “So that’s why you chose to be with the boss?”“Your boss is rich.” Hera narrowed her eyes. “Since you’ve done so much for me, I’ll do you a favor.”“A favor?” Gerald raised an eyebrow, unsure of what she meant.“I have your boss’ black card now. What luxury item do you want? I can buy you something. Just keep working hard for me in the future.” Hera believed that money could solve everything.Gerald froze for a moment, his lips twitching. “Ms. Sanchez, even if you hate me, you don’t have to set me up like this.”Hera blinked. “I’m not
“Alright.” Ray nodded and put the phone case on to protect the device.Gale glanced at Vivian, who was sitting on the couch. She did not say a word. She looked like an empty shell, completely indifferent to everything. It was as though she was trapped in her own sorrowful world.“Well, I should leave now,” said Gale.“Okay, let me see you off.” Ray nodded, then called out, “Vivian?”Vivian came back to her senses and turned to look at him. “Huh?”“Mr. Gale is leaving,” added Ray.Vivian nodded before turning to Gale. “Goodbye, Mr. Gale.”“Goodbye, Ms. Vivian.” Gale stepped out the door and noticed Ray was about to walk him out. He quickly waved him off. “Mr. Ray, no need to see me off.”“Alright, take care on your way back.” Ray nodded. He did not feel comfortable leaving Vivian alone in the suite anyway.She was in bad shape right now.After Gale left, Ray shut the door and walked over to her.Vivian was still staring blankly into space.“Vivian,” Ray called in a low voice
Luca deliberately cracked her knuckles, making a loud 'pop' sound.Gerald immediately shrank back, pulling his neck in.“Ms. Craw, I’m sorry! I was being nosy. Please don’t be mad. I’ll just go take a nap,” he quickly apologized.“Hold on.” Luca stopped him.“What is it?” Gerald looked at her in confusion.“Do you know how to remove an IV yet?” asked Luca.“I’ve seen it done a lot, but I haven’t actually tried it myself.” A glint of eagerness flashed in Gerald’s eyes. “Ms. Craw, are you asking me to give it a shot?”“Do you want to try?” asked Luca.“Yes!” Gerald nodded enthusiastically. “I may not be a medical genius, but I can at least do something useful.”“Come with me. Let’s start with changing the IV bag,” instructed Luca.Gerald followed her, and under her guidance, he clumsily went through the steps but managed to replace the IV bag successfully.“This is so cool! I think I could totally be a nurse.” Gerald flashed a victory sign. “What do you think? Would I make a g
“Yeah, something came up with my family, so they got delayed. They just brought me my meal,” answered the volunteer.Luca glanced at his food, which consisted of meat and vegetables. It was clear that his family treated him very well.“That’s quite a feast,” remarked Luca.“Heh, they know I need the nutrition, so they always give me this much. Ms. Craw, have you eaten yet?” the volunteer asked cheerfully. Now that his health was improving, his appetite had returned, and his mood was much better too.“I have. You should eat more. I just came in to check how much IV fluid is left. There’s still quite a bit, so I think it won't be done before the guys are done eating," replied Luca.The volunteer chuckled. “They eat fast. You guys are amazing, taking such good care of me. I haven’t suffered at all since being here.”“Your recovery is our biggest wish,” replied Luca.“Mm, I’ll definitely cooperate with the treatment,” replied the volunteer.“Alright, I’ll get back to work. Enjoy yo
Abel's hand paused for a moment before he continued stroking her eyelids.“What’s wrong?” His voice was eerily low, carrying a chilling edge.Hera could not see his expression, but just the sound of his voice was enough to send shivers down her spine.“Thank you.” Hera forced herself to smile, summoning what little courage she had.“No need for thanks. Just be good from now on.” Abel’s fingers continued their slow, deliberate caress. It was like he was handling a priceless treasure.Hera remained still, letting him touch her without protest. More than anything, she did not dare to speak. She was terrified that if she broke the moment and interrupted whatever was going through his mind, he would be displeased.At that moment, Luca brought the food to the table and asked, “Mr. Abel, Ms. Sanchez, lunch is ready. Would you prefer to eat here or in your room?”“I’ll go with whatever my baby wants.” Hera smiled sweetly, masking her fear behind a bright smile. For some reason, she ha
“I’m just making plans with a friend. No need to go into all that, right?” As Luca said, she lifted her gaze to meet Shanks.His eyes were as deep as the ocean, and in that split second of eye contact, she felt like she was being pulled in. She suddenly felt like she had just exposed herself.Awkwardly, she cleared her throat and said, “Mr. Shanks, I’ll head downstairs to make lunch.”Shanks did not call her out on it, nor did he press further. He simply returned to his experiment.Downstairs, Luca saw Abel sitting on the living room couch. Ignoring him was not an option.Luca greeted him politely, “Mr. Abel.”Abel took a slow drag from his cigar, his blue eyes scanning her from head to toe. He was deep in thought.He remained silent, seemingly deep in thought. His dark and brooding expression sent a chill down Luca’s spine. Without saying a word, she turned around and walked straight into the kitchen.Gerald was already inside.When he saw her, he mouthed, “You’re here?”Luc
If Shanks’ prescription could help Hera sleep earlier, that would not be a bad thing.“Then I need to be treat…” Hera paused for a moment, realizing she could not say the word treatment. That would imply she was sick, and she could not let people know that. Instead, she corrected herself and asked, “How long will I need to take this herbal medicine?”“You can stop when your test results are back to normal,” replied Luca as she picked up the medical waste and headed out of the room.Gerald followed closely behind and asked with curiosity, “Ms. Craw, how long is that?”“How long is a standard treatment cycle?” Luca asked in return.Gerald pondered for a moment. “Usually about a month?”“The average endocrine cycle for women is three months, so the minimum duration for proper regulation is three months,” explained Luca.Although Abel could take action at any time, there was no way Hera could endure three full months of treatment. However, until Abel made his move, she would have
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