“Let’s not talk about this anymore. Also, you’re fired.” Luca was harsh. She fired the caretaker right away. “Ms. Luca, I’m just trying to help others. No one’s going to say anything even if you refuse to help. Plus, I don’t think you have the right to fire me, right?” The caretaker could not believe what she heard. She was responsible for taking care of Wanda. What made Luca think that she could fire her?Luca was startled for a moment. She was so furious that she thought she was still Bianca for a moment. If she was Bianca, she could fire the caretaker. However, she was just someone familiar with Wanda now. She was not her family member either.When Luca was about to explain why she said so, she heard Wanda say, “Wanda’s right. You’re fired.”The caretaker did not expect she would be fired even though she had been working hard to take care of Wanda. She could not help but blurt out, “Hmph, whatever. Do you think I care? But you dismissed me all of a sudden. You should pay
Luca had a false impression that she had returned to the time when she was still Bianca as she listened to the couple nagging at her and caring for her.That was how they cared for her back then as well.It warmed Luca’s heart. Before she could say anything, Jack held her hand and pulled her to the sofa, asking her to sit down. He said caringly, “Let me see if it has healed.”“It has. I’ve removed the stitches and got the wound bandaged up. Dr. Park made sure that it healed before he removed the stitches. Don’t worry, I followed the doctor’s advice.” Luca showed them her hand with the bandage on.Jack let out a sigh of relief when he heard her say Johann had checked it for himself before removing the stitches. He picked up the teapot and asked, “Would you like to have some tea?”“It’s okay, Mr. Norman. Where did you get the tea set?” Luca asked with curiosity.It would be great if Jack could enjoy his tea and read the newspapers in his leisure time.It was just that Luca felt so
Hadley was troubled seeing her like that.How could she attract Leia’s attention? Hadley could have mentioned Matysh's name, but it would seem too obvious if she did that. She wanted to utter Matysh's name when Leia was not paying attention. She would like to see the astonishment, panic, and chaos in her eyes…When Hadley was thinking of a way, the patient beside Leia did her a favor.“Oh, that case. That rings a bell. It happened three years ago. The whole country was shocked by the news when it was released.” The patient beside Leia could not help but heave a sigh."Really? Have you heard about it too? Ms. Norman, did you hear anything about it?" Hadley deliberately asked Leia,"I wasn't here back then. I have no idea." Leia removed the vegetables she did not like from her lunch box.The patient beside her immediately explained to her, "I remember how they wrote it in the news. The father of a teenage girl who had just stepped into early adulthood made her sleep with a foreig
Leia rolled her eyes and reminded Mandy, “I don’t even know what their condition is now. How can I ask for their help?” Previously, she would accompany Jack to attend business dinners. Her peers, who used to be close to her, maintained a distance from her after she was sent abroad and everything she did was exposed.Hence, Leia only had disreputable friends in A City now. She did not have any upper-class friends. Those disreputable friends of hers would not head to the police station to find out for her whether or not it was the same person.After all, they had nothing to do with this. The only way of getting in was to get arrested after breaking the law.However, the police station was not a place to stay. Who would be willing to go there? Unless the amount of money given to that person was enough for them.“What should we do?” Mandy was frightened at the thought of Matysh getting arrested by the police. She was worried she might be the next one who would be arrested.Even th
Luca walked into the classroom. The parents who were sitting in the front row already noticed her. It was Luca’s first time coming here. The parents did not know who she was, and they looked at her with curiosity. Luca felt like she had become a specimen, standing there and letting those people stare at her. Fortunately, she had attended Lanie’s and Rainie’s parent-teacher conferences before, and she had experience in handling such situations.Tommy noticed her and waved his hand excitedly. “Ms. Luca, here!” Luca smiled and walked toward him.While she was on her way walking toward Tommy, she swept her gaze across and caught some information. The parents who came to attend the parent-teacher conference were well-dressed. Some of them even put on jewelry, showing off how wealthy their families were.It was a classroom, but they made it look like they were going to a banquet.Every parent was dressed in their best clothes. They compared themselves to each other, afraid that
When their eyes met each other, Luca wondered if she was sitting too far away and that was why she could not see clearly.Luca could feel the fear in Mrs. Hudson’s eyes when they exchanged glances with each other.Why did the arrogant woman who threatened to get Tommy expelled from school yesterday have a fearful look in her eyes when she saw Luca today?Luca saw Mr. Hudson open his mouth. It was as though he said something really short. Then, the two of them walked toward her.Ashley seemed to be afraid of Mrs. Hudson. She immediately leaned on Luca. Luca held the two kids in her arms, one on the left and another one on the right.She had to protect them.Mrs. Tuffey came in when the two of them had just taken two steps forward. Mrs. Tuffey smiled as she stood on the podium. “Dear parents, please be quiet and return to your seats. The parent-teacher conference is starting soon.”Mrs. Hudson turned around and glanced at Mrs. Tuffey. She eventually pulled the man to Charlie’s s
Right after that, the parent sitting in front of Tommy piped in, “Mr. Collins, my child did well in Math too. Can he join the competition?”Mr. Collins nodded and replied, “Of course. The training is free, but there’s a limited number of participants for each school. So, the school will organize a competition before the Mathematical Olympiad takes place to pick the students who’ll participate.” The parent added, “My child is good at math. I’m sure he can do it. Mr. Collins, I’d like to register for my child first.”“Sure, Mrs. Jenkins. Let me register for you,” offered Mr. Collins.Once Mrs. Jenkins said that to Mr. Collins, other parents also came to register for their children to participate in the mathematics training program, hoping that their kids could join the competition.Mr. Collins was surrounded by the parents at once."Ms. Luca, I don't want to attend the training program after school," said Tommy. All he wanted was to go home and do his homework with Lanie and Raini
They did not expect to see Luca here at the parent-teacher conference.Mrs. Hudson turned around and glanced at Luca with a complicated look on her face.She had a feeling that Luca had something to do with the lawsuit. At the same time, she was confused about why Luke would stand up for her.Today, Luke asked his lawyer to deliver the letter to their company because of what happened yesterday. Mrs. Hudson knew Luke was capable of doing so.However, it did not look like he wanted to teach them a lesson for his child. It seemed more like he was standing up for the woman.It was because she drove Luca mad yesterday.“Myra, it’s your fault. How are we supposed to explain this to Luke Crawford and ask him not to go against our company?” Brigham, Charlie’s father, could not help but blame her.Myra felt aggrieved. Brigham had been telling her it was her fault since they received the lawyer’s letter.However, she could not be blamed for everything!Myra could not help but complain,
“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