Louis never thought that Susan would really open the gifts in front of Luke!"Mom, that’s enough. We just moved into our new home today. Please don't make things look ugly." Louis stepped forward and pressed down the art knife that she held in her hand."What are you doing? He agreed to this. Why are you against it?" Susan pushed his hand away and mercilessly cut the wrapping paper.Louis's face turned live with rage.He disagreed with the idea of registering the gifts and displaying them in the first place, but there was no way he could talk Susan out of it. Louis reluctantly agreed to it only when Susan promised that she would not register or open the gifts in front of the guests.After Susan cut the wrapping paper, she opened the gift box and looked at the exquisite decorations. It was an affordable luxury style, and it was from a good brand.Still, Susan curled her lips and asked, "It looks beautiful, but women at my age don’t really like this style."Luca tightened her fist
In the living room.Yuri was dishing up the fruits that had just been delivered. She saw Louis walk in with an angry look on his face. She frowned and asked with confusion, "Who upset you?""Where's my mother?" asked Louis."She headed upstairs with a golden pine tree ornament in her hands. Who gave that? I can see she’s happy. Is it made of pure gold?" asked Yuri. She reckoned that if the ornament was truly made of pure gold, it would be worth at least a million dollars."Luke gave it to us. She opened the gift in front of him. I'm going upstairs to find her," Louis replied shortly and made his way up the stairs.Yuri watched him leave and pondered.If the ornament was a gift from Luke, there was no doubt that it was made of pure gold.She did not expect Susan would take such a valuable ornament before her…Yuri looked at the fruits on the table and shook her head helplessly. Even though she did not like things that were made of gold, the ornament was valuable, and it could be
Susan let out a sigh of relief as a surge of anger boiled inside her. She could not help but lash out at Louis, "Are you crazy? Have you been bewitched by Luke?""Mom!" Yuri's headache worsened. Louis was still annoyed, but he refrained from causing a scene for Thea’s sake.If Susan continued to stir things up like this, Yuri knew he would not be able to suppress the urge to go mad.Louis glared at Susan with a darkened expression. It gave Susan the creeps. She even had a feeling that she would be taken to see Old Master Crawford right away if she did not calm things down."Hmph," Susan snorted coldly. Then, she turned around and headed to her bedroom. The door was slammed shut with a loud bang.Yuri heaved a sigh, knowing what had really happened just now. It was Susan's fault, but Louis had chosen to confront her on this special day. It was a bad idea to do so.Even though they were not holding a big party, the guests who would be coming today were either their relatives or
Old Master Crawford never mentioned Susan’s matter again after that.He looked in Luke’s direction.The person sitting next to Luke was Luca and his three children.When they were in the backyard, Luke invited him to a secluded corner and told him something. After Old Master Crawford listened to what he said, he finally understood that Luke was not an unfaithful man. Even though the real Bianca had been missing for three years, there was no way he could have moved on. Luke’s father, Zachary, and Luke were completely different. Zachary cheated on his wife, but Luke was the one who truly remained faithful to his wife. It was because Luca’s real identity was Bianca.Old Master Crawford was shocked when he heard this. However, he was reminded of how Luke had cared for Luca. That explained why Luke had been behaving that way.He did not expect Bianca to change a lot three years after she was abducted.She changed her name and her appearance, and she learned a lot about medicine…
Rainie followed her obediently, and all she could think about was their conversation just now.Although they were speaking softly behind her, she could still hear them clearly because of her excellent hearing.Rainie looked up at Luca and saw her cold expression. She did not display any feelings of sadness or anger.“Don’t be sad, Ms. Luca,” said Rainie.“Did you hear everything?” Luca paused and looked down at Rainie.She thought that the kid would not be able to hear them when they were speaking in low voices.Little did she know, Rainie heard everything.Rainie nodded and said, “I heard it all, and I think that what she said was wrong. You’re the best in the entire world, Ms. Luca. You’re not a mistress!”She knew what mistress meant at such a young age.Her classmates were all from wealthy families, and such families often had third parties involved. Thus, she often heard her classmates talk about their dads having a mistress.Over time, she found out what the word ‘mistr
“So what? What could he do to me when I’m saying the truth? If he dares to mess with me, I’ll tell the media everything!” Mrs. Jackman looked disgruntled.Although the Jackman family’s company was not as successful as T Corporation, Mrs. Jackman believed that she had something on Luke.These people usually kept their mistresses discreet and away from the media.There were no media on an occasion like today, and everyone here was a close acquaintance. They were also in business partnerships, so they would not disclose anything to the media.Mrs. Jackman reckoned that Luke dared to have Luca accompany him because of that.An idea popped into Susan’s head when she heard Mrs. Jackman’s words, so she pretended to empathize with her. “Mrs. Jackman, I really admire you for being so brave.”“Oh, it’s nothing. What bravery are you talking about? That sl*t has to pay for what she did.” Mrs. Jackman had never even interacted with Luca before, but because Susan led her astray, her hatred for
Mrs. Jackman looked at Luca coldly, noticing how calm she was. After all, it was just an excuse to make things difficult for Luca. Mrs. Jackman could understand why Luca was so composed while facing such a situation."Hand it over now if you’re the one who took it," urged Mrs. Malcolm. She was not particularly interested in framing someone. Still, she wanted to watch the drama unfold."Madam Crawford suspects that I took it just because I went into the house with the child to use the bathroom?" asked Luca."Who else could it be if it wasn’t you?" Susan interjected."There are so many people here. Many of them would have gone into the house to use the bathroom. Madam Crawford, are you planning to interrogate them all? If so, I can help you pull up the surveillance footage at the garden and check who went into the house. Then, we can have them answer questions individually and figure out who took your necklace," Luca calmly suggested. If she knew that Susan was waiting for her in the
Susan eventually took her phone out after Mrs. Malcolm urged her to hurry up. She tried to call the security guard who was responsible for the villa’s security, hoping to have them delete the surveillance footage. However, before anyone could answer the call, Susan saw Luke walking toward them with Luca by his side. Then, she muttered to herself, "It's too late."Mrs. Jackman and Mrs. Malcolm noticed Luke's arrival. The expressions on their faces turned ugly. Indeed, it was too late. Once Luca told Luke about this, who would dare to delete the surveillance footage?"Madam Crawford, can’t you delete the surveillance footage yourself?" asked Mrs. Jackman.Mrs. Jackman did not plan to confront Luke head-on. Her plan was to teach Luca a lesson, accuse her of theft, and make her apologize to Susan. However, when she saw Luca's youthful and beautiful face, it reminded her of her husband's mistress. She lost her temper and threw a teapot full of boiling hot tea at her."I'm not fami
“Mr. Mallory, won’t you feel guilty if something happens to Nina?” Sue did not understand why he refused to call the police.“It won’t happen.” Percy furrowed his brows as his mind raced to find a solution.Sue was even more confused. “Just because you say it won’t happen, does that mean it won’t? Yes, Madam Mallory is your mother, but Nina is also your wife. If your mother harms your wife, shouldn’t you call the police? Instead of doing that, you’re leaving her in this dangerous situation. I honestly feel sorry for Nina.”Sue had always been straightforward. She thought Percy would protect Nina for life, but seeing him defend Karen at the cost of his wife’s safety, she was deeply disappointed.She felt she was in no position to feel sorry for Nina, but she could not understand Percy’s actions.Percy furrowed his brows. Calling the police was not an option.The Mallory family could not afford this kind of turmoil.If Old Master Mallory found out that he handed his mother over to
Nina trembled when she was touched. Her whole body was shaking.Karen’s touch was icy cold, and when her hand fell on Nina’s face, it carried a chill.“Don’t hurt her!” Percy’s voice was hoarse, his anger barely concealed in his eyes.He was furious but kept reminding himself not to provoke Karen.“Hmph, look at how nervous you are.” Karen's patience wore thin. Without another word, she laid out her conditions. “If you want me to let her go, fine.”“What do you want me to do?” Percy knew the conditions she was about to propose would not be as simple as keeping her out of the psychiatric hospital.It could involve Pierre.Perhaps even the company.Even though Karen had spoken to him about the high hopes she had for him, Percy did not believe a word of it. To her, from beginning to end, the only person who mattered was Pierre.Percy was merely a tool to secure her position in the Mallory family.“See? You still care about this woman. You’ve disappointed me!” Karen glanced at Ni
“Mr. Mallory, I didn’t dare to go in. Nina and your mother are still inside.” After Sue realized that Nina might be in danger, she had been waiting outside, unwilling to leave.She had been planning to rush in with the other employees if she heard Nina scream.Percy's expression darkened. He did not blame Sue for the situation, so he did not say anything. Instead, he quickly walked to Nina’s office door and pushed it open.The sight before him sent a chill through his veins, as though his blood had turned to ice.“You're here?” Karen fixed her eerie gaze on the person who had opened the door. A strange, sinister smile curved at the corners of her lips. She stood behind Nina with a knife tightly gripped in her hand.The sharp blade was pressed against Nina’s neck, already leaving a faint red mark.Sue gasped at the sight and instantly lost her composure.Karen frowned in dissatisfaction, moving the knife slightly and muttering, “Why is there another woman here? Tell her to leave!
“'ll contact someone in A City to investigate,” said Gale.“Let Percy know while you're at it,” added Luke. “He needs to be aware of this.”“Got it.” Gale hurried off to handle the matter.…After taking Gale's call, Percy hung up and stared icily at the middle-aged man standing before him.Under Percy's chilling gaze, the man nervously dabbed at the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief.“Mr. Mallory, my sincerest apologies…” The man, the director of the psychiatric hospital, had come to personally apologize to Percy today.Karen had escaped.Two days ago, Percy admitted Karen to the psychiatric hospital. After an evaluation, the doctors determined her condition warranted hospitalization, so she was admitted.Even though Karen was against it, given her mental state and with the consent of an immediate family member, the hospital was legally authorized to proceed.Percy had even informed the hospital to take special care of Karen. He had explicitly instructed them not to
When she opened her eyes again, the sky outside had already darkened slightly.Luca mumbled, feeling the warmth beside her. She instinctively curled closer. “What time is it?”“It's a little past five.” Luke gently rubbed her back, offering a quiet comfort to help her feel at ease.Since he could not be there beside her, he could only make these small gestures to bring her some peace of mind.“An entire afternoon just passed like that…” Luca was reluctant to leave at the moment. Her slender fingers lightly pressed against his chest.Luke took her hand in his, bringing it to his lips for a soft kiss, holding it as if it were something precious and tenderly stroking it.Luca's hands had once been delicate and smooth, but during their time in the small villa, they had become much rougher.“You've got calluses.” Luke felt sorry for her.Luca gently traced her finger over his lips, leaning in to plant a soft kiss on him. “It’s just from the needlework and the experiments I’ve been d
Luca walked over to another couch and sat down. “I think I’ll stay here. How about letting Luke come down so that we can all catch up? It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”Gordan’s face fell. “Ms. Craw, are you doing this on purpose?”Luca pretended not to know anything. “Doing what on purpose?”Gordan quickly shook his head. “Nothing. Just go upstairs already. Brother Luke’s been waiting for you.”Luca had intended to tease Gordan a little longer, but after not seeing Luke for the past few days, she found herself missing him deeply. Standing up with a smile, she said, “Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. Oh, by the way, Mr. Gale, could you help me pick up a few things? Someone over there asked me to get them, and I couldn’t refuse.”“Sure, no problem. What do you need?” Gale agreed immediately.After handing him the list, Luca turned and headed upstairs.Gale watched Luca leave from behind, nudging Gordan’s arm. “Let’s go. We should leave and give the boss and Ms. Cr
The security guard remained completely unfazed.This was because the village chief was his uncle, and in their tight-knit community, they always stuck together and never favored outsiders.With directions from the people inside the ancestral hall, Hera found the village chief.“You’re the village chief, right?” Hera looked at the man in his fifties in front of her and spoke with an arrogant tone, completely unbothered.“And you are?” The village chief, seeing her attitude, was puzzled. He had no idea whether she was an investor or someone looking to discuss a major partnership to bring development to their quiet village.“It doesn’t matter who I am. I see you have surveillance here, and I need to review your footage,” replied Hera.The village chief was even more confused. “Are you a police officer?”“No.” Hera frowned. She thought reviewing surveillance footage was no big deal. Why was this village chief being so difficult?The village chief gave her a look as if she were a fo
“Wait a little longer. By the way, what kind of ancestral hall is this?” asked Hera.“It's a local family's ancestral hall. I heard it's been designed by the owner of a large company, and now it's also one of the tourist attractions.” The taxi driver was not from around here, so he did not know all the details, but he knew it had become a popular spot. “Now, thanks to the reputation of that boss, many architects come here as one of their reference points.”Hera frowned deeper. What was Luca doing here?The driver suggested, “If you're interested in sightseeing, the attractions inside are pretty good. But for outsiders, they charge an entrance fee. Maintenance costs a lot of money, so they charge tourists from outside.”“I'm not here for sightseeing,” replied Hera, “Don't worry. I'll pay you for however long I stay here. You’ll get your money.”The driver heard that she was paying, and did not press her further and remained quiet.Hera stared at the entrance of the ancestral hall,
Hera let out a cold sneer, feeling that Gerald's apology was not sincere.Hera did not want to press the issue at the moment. She gave him a sharp look. “Come with me.”Gerald knew that Hera was up to something again. If it were a normal order, she would have just said it in the living room. Whenever she called him aside, it meant whatever she had to say could not be overheard by others.Reluctantly, Gerald followed her out.It was midday, and as soon as Hera stepped out of the living room, a wave of heat hit her face.The intense warmth made her feel uncomfortable.Hera got straight to the point, turning to Gerald. “What did Luca say to you just now?”“She just asked me to help keep an eye on the volunteer,” Gerald answered honestly. This was not something that needed to be kept secret.Hera frowned. “Is she going out”Gerald hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to say anything.“I’m talking to you, not the wall. Are you mute?” Hera threatened. “If you lie to me, I’ll te