Nina nodded, reluctant to discuss anything about Pierre. However, she was still the one who brought up the topic. Nina nodded after Scarlett asked her that question, hoping it was enough of a reply."It's been so many days sincet he’s been kidnapped. There's still no news from the kidnappers?" asked Scarlett. Normally, if the kidnappers were after money, they would have contacted the victim's family to negotiate the terms for a ransom.It was unusual for someone like Pierre to be kidnapped without anyone contacting his family."No," Nina understood Scarlett's doubt. Kidnappers would usually either ask for ransom or proceed to traffick them. It was unlikely for someone as recognizable as Pierre to be trafficked.When they first heard of Pierre’s kidnapping, everyone thought the kidnappers were after the money. Therefore, they were investigating the case while waiting for the kidnappers' phone call.However, they have yet to receive any news despite it having been such a long ti
Jim twitched a little when their mailbox was mentioned.He took out his phone to check his emails, and sure enough, there was an email from an unknown address.This was only his first time meeting Kastov, but he had already found their private email addresses while they were busy eating.Jim recalled that during the meal, Kastov did not look at his phone much, and he had the table manners of a nobleman from Europe.It seemed like the man Marcos brought over here was quite the expert.Percy also took a look at his email and, likewise, there was an email from an unknown address.Luke was the only one who didn’t pick up his phone. Instead, he picked up the teacup and sipped it slowly with a gloomy look on his face.“I heard your brother has been kidnapped by the people of the Island of Despair. Has there been any news?” asked Kastov. Marcos had informed him of it before their arrival. “No.” replied Percy curtly. Whenever this subject was brought up, Percy would get annoyed.So w
Luke replied to Luca’s explanation with a simple ‘mmm’.Luca also remained quiet to avoid saying something wrong again.On the other hand, Percy brought Nina back to the manor.Old Master Mallory had dozed off with his back against the sofa, while Madam Mallory’s howls could be heard from upstairs.At least the maids had successfully dragged her back into her room.Upon hearing footsteps, Old Master Mallory opened his eyes. The butler who was keeping watch over him announced, “ Old Master Mallor, Master Percy and your…”He trailed off when he realized that although Percy and Nina were married, they had yet to hold a ceremony. Old Master Mallory did not approve of their relationship either.The butler had no choice but to say, “Ms. Nina is here.”He was going to say Master Percy and your daughter-in-law were here…However, that would only trigger Old Master Mallory even more.Although calling Nina Ms. Nina would upset Percy, he had to upset one of them either way, so he let P
As Percy listened to Mr. Bennet, he could not help but secretly call Pierre a fool. It was his only chance to speak to them. Yet, he could not provide any useful information to the Mallory family. He only asked for them to rescue him...How foolish. How incredibly foolish.Mr. Bennet noticed the gloomy look on Percy’s face and asked in a low voice, “Master Percy, what should we do now?""What else can we do? We must save him!" Old Master Mallory firmly took his stance before Percy could say anything.Although he was disappointed in Pierre for not living up to his potential, he was still his grandson. There was no way he could be so heartless."We must save him," said Percy. 30 million dollars was merely pocket change to the Mallory family.However, the Mallory family's liquid funds were probably not that much.Percy turned to look at Old Master Mallory and said, "I only have around ten million in liquid assets, including the company's funds, on hand for now."It would take so
Ethan could not be bothered about Kastov. When he saw Marcos walking into his suite, he raised his arm and blocked Marcos from entering his room."Please keep in mind that Luke Crawford and that woman are involved in Mr. Matysh's imprisonment in A City. It’s not a good idea to be so close to him.What will your family think of you if they find out about this? Let me remind you that the priority now is to focus on Mr. Matysh," Ethan reminded Marcos. He believed that Luke and Luca had something to do with Matysh’s imprisonment.Marcos still wore a smile on his face, but his impatience was beginning to show on his face. Marcos knew that going along with Ethan would not allow him to enter the suite easily. He stood there and reminded Ethan, "My uncle was imprisoned because he was accused of sexual assault. The victim was only 18 years old at that time. As a lawyer, you should be able to understand why he was arrested by the police even though you’re not a lawyer of A City."Ethan flew
After leaving the hotel with Kastov for such a long time, Ethan could have easily tampered with anything in their absence. Marcos nodded and said, "Thanks." Then, he closed the door and returned to his suite.Kastov followed suit, not bothering to check his own room since Ethan's attention was solely on Marcos and not him, the bodyguard.He was not going to waste any time or equipment.Kastov opened his encrypted luggage and took his laptop out, placing it on the hotel table. He turned on the laptop and continued reviewing the intelligence he had collected for the day.All of them were about the Island of Despair… The intelligence was sent to him from his informants around the world. Some days, he received only a few reports, but on other days, he received several.Today was one of those days when he had collected a lot of information.However, more information did not mean it was better. The information he received was repetitive most of the time.Kastov lit a cigaret
Luke was speechless…30 million dollars was a drop in the bucket for the Mallory family, but probably not in cash.Luke added, "The Island of Despair demands that one-third of the 30 million must be in cash."Who would keep ten million of cash at home these days?Gordan suddenly understood why they gave the Mallory family some time to prepare the money."When do we take action?" asked Gordan. It had been too long since he had done something like this. His desire to cause trouble was brewing.He had not done this kind of work in a long time!He had been prevented from carrying out any bloody missions ever since he stayed beside Vivian.Perhaps rather than that, it was not that Gordan was stopped from carrying out missions, but Vivian took the initiative to arrange for Ray's men to help him after she found out about it.He had no chance to prove himself.It seemed like his daily training had no other meaning other than to strengthen his body.Whenever he faced an opponent duri
Luca could feel the pain in her body intensifying with every cut. However, she could not stop. If she did, Luke would suffer...She could not bear to hurt Luke no matter how painful it was.The urging voice in her ear grew faster and faster. Luca's movements became quicker and quicker in her dream.Finally, she mustered up the courage to turn around and see the face of the person who urged her to do so.It was Abel…Luca continued to cut herself. The dream felt real. With each cut, there was blood gushing out, but she dared not to stop.There was pain, resentment, unwillingness…Luca felt trapped.She did not know if it was a dream. She only knew that she was instinctively afraid.She was afraid that Luke would be hurt, and she was afraid that she would lose too much blood and never be able to see him or their children again...However, the scene suddenly changed.She was brought to a different place.Luca found herself lying in a white place, seemingly on top of clouds. Ev
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
“You don’t need to remind me. I was going to check anyway.” Abel shot Luca a chilling look.She took a step back and stayed silent.Abel turned to the pale-faced Hera and said, “If you’ve got low blood sugar, get up and eat something.”“I’ll eat now,” Hera replied, sitting up.Luca handed her the takeout.Abel glanced at the food and then frowned at Luca. “Why didn’t you make breakfast this morning?”“I was busy,” Luca explained with a calm indifference, her expression unwavering. She showed no fear, even under Abel’s questioning.Hera suddenly found herself admiring Luca. Everyone feared this man, yet Luca remained composed even when facing potential punishment. Not just anyone could pull that off.At the thought of this, Hera opened the takeout and kept quiet.Abel narrowed his eyes, glancing between Hera and Luca. His gaze was not exactly gentle as he muttered, “Stop eating this junk. It’s bad for you.”“I know, babe. Just this once. After this, I’ll have what Luca cooks f
Hera panicked the moment she heard that. “I trust her!”Luca and Shanks were both watching her.Hera repeated herself, saying, “I trust her, okay? What kind of treatment does she need? I’ll cooperate with anything. But what about Abel…”“I’ll tell him it’s just to help improve your overall health,” replied Shanks. Then, he turned around, opened the medicine cabinet, and started preparing the prescription.Hera let out a sigh of relief. As long as Abel did not find out about her health condition, that was all that mattered.If he knew she was unwell, he would send her back to A City. Without free medical help and no way to make extra money, she would be in serious trouble.“Thank you,” said Hera.“Wait outside,” instructed Shanks.“Okay.” Hera carefully stepped out.Luca, however, remained where she was, waiting.While preparing the medicine, Shanks asked, “Do you know which acupoints to target for her?”“Yes,” Luca replied confidently. As long as she checked Hera’s pulse, sh