After a while, Leia’s voice could be heard from the bedroom.“Surabaya, you b*tch. Are you still there?”Surabaya could hear the tiredness in Leia’s voice.She heard from the Norman family’s maid that Leia would previously only get up at noon if she did not have any important plans.Locking her up like this actually helped with her sleep schedule.Surabaya rubbed her chin in thought. Leia’s new habit of going to bed early and getting up early was probably to prepare her for the future.Jack had a copy of the audio clips too.With the tangible evidence, Jack managed to persuade Queenie to let go of this matter and leave it to the police and the judge.Jack even told Queenie that it was for Leia’s own good.Leia’s circumstances were not that bad, so she would be able to turn over a new leaf in there.After Queenie found out what Leia had done, she agreed. She knew that Leia had become who she was today because of her coddling. Now, she no longer had the strength or the ability
”When the police come, all you have to do is hand her over to the police, and they’ll decide whether Leia has committed a crime.” Jack sounded stern. He did not allow any change of plans even when he was not at home.Leia should be punished.The public opinion of Leia all over the internet could not affect him or Queenie, so Leia’s imprisonment would not affect his career either.Even if it did, it would still be honorable for him to retire at this age.Jack's only regret from retiring would be not being able to serve the people anymore.Queenie took a deep breath, and her eyes darkened at the thought of what would happen if she sent Leia to the hospital.She could not let Jack fall into such a situation.“Okay, I’ll stay home,” Queenie promised.After hanging up, Queenie continued sitting on the sofa without asking about what was going on upstairs.As long as she did not go upstairs, Leia would not constantly be on her mind. That was what she planned to do now. Leia would not
Queenie sat on the couch. The moment the doorbell rang, she could not help but jump in shock.The calming doorbell sound sent shivers down her spine.Queenie looked at the maid who was going to answer the door.The maid glanced at the people outside the door who were dressed in uniform. She knew they were the police without needing to ask. She did not immediately open the door. Instead, she looked at Queenie and said, "Madam, the police are here."Queenie's heart sank. Her throat went dry, and her voice trembled. "Let them in."The maid nodded and confirmed the identity of the visitors through the video doorbell camera before opening the door for the police.In a span of a mere minute, the police officers walked in. Francis was leading the way. He should have finished his night shift and gone off duty, but this case was significant, and the chief instructed him to handle it before getting off work.“Good morning, Mrs. Norman. I'm Officer Francis Brown. We need Ms. Leia's coopera
Queenie sat on the sofa. Leia's handcuffed hands stung her eyes.When Leia was still young, she personally taught her how to write the names of their family members. She even taught her how to play the piano and draw.Queenie poured all her hopes and maternal love into her.Everything Leia could do with her fine wrists was her pride.Yet, when did that pride turn into what it was now?Queenie's heart ached, and her eyes immediately turned red. "Oh, Leia."As Leia looked at Queenie's expression of compassion, she felt a wave of disgust in her heart. How fake it was! Was she pretending to put on a show in front of the police? Would it make Leia seem even more unforgivable?Even though Leia felt a strong aversion deep down inside, she did not reveal her true feelings on her face. Her eyes welled up with tears as she said, "Mom, save me. I don't want to go to the police station."Queenie's heart throbbed with pain. At that precise moment, she almost asked the police officers to l
Due to the heavy traffic, it was already four hours later when Luca arrived at the police station. She walked straight into the station and said to a police officer, "Hello, I'm Amur's sister, and I'm here to vouch for him."The police officer's expression changed when he heard what Luca said.The police station had detained three Russian individuals a few days ago. Two of them were held for possessing illegal weapons. The other person was mentioned by the woman in front of him, Amur.However, what truly unsettled the police officer was what had happened in the past two days. According to the officer on duty that day, after Amur beat Hoffman up, he was locked up with the other two Russian men. Although they did not engage in a fight, they kept behaving oddly by tapping on the walls.Officer Brown suspected it was some sort of Morse code and even sought an expert from A City to decipher it. However, the expert from A City had yet to crack the code, and now another incident h
However, Warren still felt that Amur was more capable than him.It was quiet in the elevator. Luca noticed that Warren was sizing up Amur.She remained silent. Once the elevator reached the floor, she was the first to step out to find her room.Luca swiped the card and opened the door to the room, but she did not enter. Instead, she looked at Amur, who was next door, and said, "Clear your mind. Rest early."Amur's eyes darkened. It was as though he was contemplating something, but he eventually nodded, indicating that he would follow her words.Luca was worried that he had something else to do.However, the task given by Abel had already been completed. There would not be any immediate assignments soon.After entering the suite, Amur first inspected the surroundings of the room.The room was not particularly spacious. It was around 20 square meters. He searched all the places where surveillance or bugging devices might be hidden but found nothing. Then, he sat down in a chair.
"Sounds great." Amur grinned, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth. He knew that Pierre was likely to be disabled."Amur, be more careful in the future. Don't take such risks anymore..." Luca did not judge him for what he had done. After all, it was Abel's order to bring him to the base in X City, and it was Amur's own desire to disable Pierre. Luca knew that he was seeking revenge for her."I wasn't exposed. It's getting late. You should go back and rest," said Amur, thinking about how the chauffeur might perceive Luca if she stayed here any longer.Even though Warren was merely a chauffeur, Amur could still sense his aura. He was not an ordinary driver. He was at least capable enough to serve as a bodyguard or detective. However, Amur did not have the opportunity to test his abilities, so he was not sure about it.Still, Warren might be observing him from outside the room."Well, you haven't had a good rest these days. Get some rest, and please get rid of that." Lu
Before the caretaker could say anything, the ward door swung open again.She and Pierre looked toward the door and saw an unfamiliar face. Then, the caretaker immediately stood in front of the hospital bed, trying to cover Pierre’s face with her body so that no one would notice who was on the hospital bed.The person at the door was an elegantly dressed woman whom the caretaker did not recognize.However, Pierre recognized her. “Mom?”He sounded surprised. Old Master Mallory said that the mental state of his mother, Karen, was currently very unstable and that he would reach out to a psychiatrist for help. In order to prevent her from getting into trouble, he kept her at home, so Karen never visited him in the hospital.Thus, Pierre was surprised to see her show up at the hospital.After hearing what Pierre said, the caretaker stepped aside. Since she was his family member, she would not disclose the news that he had been hospitalized.Karen impatiently walked to the bedside and
After signing the agreement, Karen eagerly handed it over to the man she believed to be the lawyer.The moment the doctor took the shares transfer agreement, a syringe containing anesthesia slipped from his sleeve and was swiftly injected into Karen’s hand.“You...” Karen felt a sharp sting, but before she could speak, her consciousness faded.At the same time, the knife in her hand clattered to the floor.The doctor quickly steadied her to prevent her from hitting her head when she collapsed.“Luckily, the dose was strong enough, or she wouldn’t have been knocked out so quickly.” He gently laid her down, checked to make sure she was unconscious, and then hurried out of the office to notify the hospital director.Percy quickly stepped forward, gently lifting Nina’s chin to examine her wound.“I’m fine,” Nina said in a soft voice, lowering her head to hide the injury on her neck.“Let me take a look at you,” Percy insisted, gently lifting her chin again. After checking, he added
“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,