Now, Sarah was in a coma. The doctor in charge of the surgery and the department chair were in a state of extreme anxiety like a cat on a hot tin roof.As for trying their best to save her life? They did not have the resources or the ability to do that.Luca ignored the nurse's astonished gaze. She stepped forward and placed her hand on Sarah's pulse.Her body temperature was very low, and her hand was icy cold. It was not a good sign.Luca had seen many people on the verge of death, and none of them had warm bodies. Now that spring was in full swing, the hospital's air conditioning had cranked up the heat.Luca glanced at the bandage on Sarah's forehead, which was stained with faint blood.She then turned around to look at the nurse. Considering the patient’s current situation, it would be the wisest choice to transfer Sarah to another hospital for emergency treatment. “Am I allowed to help her to arrange the transfer if I’m her friend?”The nurse helplessly replied, "It wasn't
The young doctor asked, "Is it Dr. Park from General Hospital?""Yes," replied Luca. She was aware that despite working in different hospitals, the doctors had someone they admired who were in the same field.Johann was someone whom most doctors looked up to.It was an admiration for his medical skills and nothing beyond that."Do you know Dr. Park?" the accompanying doctor asked again.Luca could not be bothered to pay attention to such matters at the moment. The nurse's absent-mindedness earlier crossed her mind, and she said, "Does your hospital have a naturopathy department? Can you arrange for a new set of dry-needling supplies for me? Please put it on Ms. Poplar’s account.""Why do you need needles?" the department chair could not help but ask."Ms. Poplar's condition isn't good right now. Transferring her to another hospital carries risks. If I have the needles, they might come in handy at a critical moment. I'll bear the risks. You don't have to worry about it," Luca imm
"Okay." Warren listened to her instructions. He took the identification card and bank card from her and headed toward the payment counter.Regardless of whether Sarah was undergoing surgery or not, the deposit had to be given.Johann had informed the staff earlier, so Warren paid the deposit easily. The staff at the payment counter did not say anything either.After Warren paid the deposit, he returned the bank card and Sarah's identification card to Luca.She took them and put them back in the briefcase. Even though Luca was helping Sarah, she had no intention of prying into her identity.Sarah seemed to be in a tough situation.Sometimes, no matter how hard a person tried to live, fate played tricks on them. That was something that could not be changed.Luca did not look down on Sarah because she owed money to loan sharks. On the contrary, she felt that Sarah must have some unspoken secrets that made her end up in such a situation.A person's intrinsic qualities would remain
Luke nodded in agreement to her suggestion.Brain surgeries were complicated and required highly-skilled doctors.When Johann was operating on Sarah, he could not help but frown at the scars from previous operations.He was usually calm and patient in the operating room, but this was the first time the assistant, anesthesiologist, and others heard him curse, “If that f*cker can’t perform surgery properly, then he shouldn't have operated at all. What the hell are these sutures? Was he trying to kill the patient?”The assistant sighed resignedly and said, “Even the standard ten years ago would be better than this. How could this stop the bleeding?”“Doctors like him should get their *sses back in medical school and study for a few more years,” said Johann. He was angry at the doctors in Mercy Hospital for performing brain surgery haphazardly as if they were playing around.How would this stop the patient’s bleeding?Was the patient’s life a joke to them?They were not in a rural
It was a long distance between General Hospital and the outskirts of A City. Coupled with the heavy traffic downtown, by the time Marcos arrived at the hospital, it was already past 10:30 p.m.There was only half an hour left before visitors were prohibited from entering the ICU.“Where's my mother?” Out of breath, Marcos trotted over without even greeting Luke and Luca. He just wanted to see his mother's condition and confirm whether they really found her.Luca looked at the sweat dripping from Marcos' forehead and pointed to the entrance of the ICU. “Mr. Marcos, I’ve already informed the nurse, so you can go in once you put on the isolation gown. The name your mother registered here is Sarah Poplar. Let the doctor know when you go in, and he’ll take you to your mother’s bed.”Without further ado, Marcos put the isolation gown on.After disinfecting, the nurse let him in.The professional doctors and nurses inside asked Marcos for the patient’s name and brought him to Sarah’s be
Marcos clenched his fists.Luca stopped talking, knowing that he already knew what lay ahead.Sarah had been leading a difficult life. Marcos believed this to be true."Let's go back," murmured Luke, who had remained silent all along. Gale was there to take his place, but he could not return to the hotel in Marcos' place. Ethan would knock on his door at any moment.Marcos nodded. Sarah was still in the intensive care unit. There was nothing he could do by staying at the hospital.Moreover, Luke and Gale had helped him so much. It would not be right to stop them from going home to get some rest...Marcos took a deep breath. After he calmed himself down, he expressed his gratitude to Luca, "Thank you, Ms. Craw."Luca shook her head. She could not find the words to comfort him. Even though her past living conditions had been poor, at least she had people who loved her.It was the same for Luke. Even though Allison only saw him as a tool, the Crawford family and Old Master Crawfor
Marcos frowned. Contemplating between acknowledging Sarah and her well-being, he chose the latter."How long do I have to wait to meet her?" Marcos compromised.The brief encounter from last night hardly brought him any comfort.Moreover, Sarah's condition was too worrisome yesterday. He was still concerned."A week," replied Luke. "A whole week?" Marcos clenched his fist, feeling impatient about the long wait.Luca sat beside Luke, listening to Marcos' voice coming from the other end of the line. She whispered, "Why don’t you let me talk to Mr. Marcos?"Luke nodded and handed her the phone without a second thought.Luca placed the phone near her ear and spoke in a soft tone, "Mr. Marcos, this is Luca. Regarding your mother, it was Dr. Park who suggested the patient rest for a week for her well-being. If you don't mind, I can visit Ms. Poplar when I head to the hospital and take some videos to keep you updated on her daily condition. Is that alright for you?"Marcos only said
The police officer ignored him and said to his colleague, "Look, he speaks fluent English."Then, he said to Amur with a stern expression on his face, "Do you think this is self-defense? You almost beat that person to a pulp. Come on in and cooperate with us for your statement."Amur did not seem to care. In the interrogation room, two police officers took turns questioning him about what had happened. He had already prepared his statement and did not admit to assaulting anyone, insisting that it was self-defense.The police officers questioned him for over an hour, but Amur only maintained his stance of acting in self-defense. There was nothing they could do about it.Furthermore, Amur did not request a lawyer."Lock him up first," said one of the police officers. He thought that detaining someone like him, a foreigner, behind bars for a little while would make him cooperate. They had other matters to attend to, and they could not waste all their time on an inconclusive interroga
“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