Pierre laughed when he saw Nina's face. His seemingly serious face was tainted with degeneracy. "You look just as cute as before when you're angry. Why, are you not satisfied yet? Should I have pampered you more?"Nina glared at him as though he was her sworn enemy. She spat at him and started cursing him, as well as his parents, for giving birth to a piece of trash like him.Her words and actions once again angered Pierre.Earlier, when he received a call from his good friend Xavier, requesting him to keep Nina in captivity so that she could be used as a bargaining chip with Bianca, he agreed to it without hesitation.Too bad for Nina, Pierre had a grudge against her since they were young!The woman deserved to be taught a lesson for kicking him between the legs. He would have been crippled if not that he was lucky. She deserved all the torment when she was in his hands.Pierre stripped Nina of her clothes, teased her, and threatened her that he would let his lackeys have their
Luke prepared a sumptuous breakfast for Bianca. He watched her finish the entire thing before going to work. After he left, the home was desolate. Bianca was feeling bored at home. She turned on her computer and saw that people were sharing a link. She clicked on a link. It was a forum post on Xeddit. Xeddit was one of the major international social sites. It was full of news articles, scoops, and rumors about society's elite. Luke Crawford's name was a popular topic on the website for the past few years. One could easily see how eager people were to know about his personal life. If one searched for "Luke Crawford" in the search bar, the results were countless. Bianca read several discussion threads about him. One was about why he remained single. Some people guessed that he was gay, some guessed that he was ugly and his photographs were all edited, and some guessed that he had a disease. The discussions made good points, which invited intense discussion from the neti
The actual identity of the "cousin" was actually Luke Crawford? After the sensational news broke out, the comments were split into three camps. The first was Luke's devoted supporters, who defended Luke's reputation with hard-hitting points. A gentle, handsome man who regularly topped the list of wealthiest people could have gotten any woman he wanted. Why would he go after the wife of another man? The second was his detractors. Their common consensus was that no one knew how Luke behaved in private, despite his frank and candid public personality. Perhaps hidden under that gentlemanly guise was his true sadistic and incestuous self! The elite society was full of scandals like these. Not only affairs happened between cousins, but they even happened between father and child. They thought that the post was absolutely true. Those people generally had a negative outlook on life, and they believed that everyone else was as negative as them. The third was those who claimed to
For the first time in Luke's career, he skipped work after the emergency shareholder's meeting. He went to the kindergarten and picked up Lanie and Rainie, fulfilling the responsibilities of a father. Sitting in the car, Lanie asked him curiously, "It's not the weekend today, Daddy. Why do you have time to rest?" As far as the boy knew, his father was a workaholic who even worked on weekends sometimes. Lanie thought that it was abnormal for his father to be out of his office during office hours. "No more classes for the day, Big Bro! I'm so happy…" Rainie rested her cheeks on her hands and said excitedly. She was at the age where she would rather play outdoors than sit in the classroom. Through the rearview mirror, Luke looked at the two children sitting properly in the back seat and said, "I'll bring you two and Mommy to the theme park today. We'll go home and pick Mommy up." The two children opened their mouths in shock, as though they had heard something incredible.
She did not know how much time had passed when a strong hand pulled her and the child in her arms aside. Luke tightly grabbed onto Bianca, and his face was pale. "Are you an idiot, Bianca? Don't you know that what you did was very dangerous?" He said angrily. He counted his lucky stars that the young mother fiddled with a lever or a button and managed to stop the motorboat right before it struck Bianca. The motorboat was only one fist's distance away from Bianca and the child. If she had been a split second slower in stopping the boat, an unimaginable disaster would have happened. When Luke saw that scene, he could feel his world crumbling around him. His leg muscles were pumping as hard as they could as he ran toward Bianca, though his body was shaking. When he saw that Bianca was safe, his face was contorted by the fear and anger in his heart. It was a dangerous scene. "He's… he's still a child, and he doesn't know what to do. If I didn't save him, he would've been badl
Shandra was not bragging. Other than losing to Walter several times, she had never lost a lawsuit against another lawyer. Xavier smiled mockingly when he heard Shandra's answer. "My dear schoolmate, I remember that you're always the top scorer in the law college, and Walter is always second place. I thought that you're more outstanding than him. Why is that not the case now?" Back when they were in college, Shandra's sharp tongue in law debate competitions was a force to be reckoned with. Walter was also an outstanding student, but he was always several points below Shandra. Shandra's indifferent expression wavered slightly when she heard Xavier's words, but she soon resumed her composure. Back in school, Walter had always let her win. He knew that she hated losing, and she would be depressed for a while if she got second place. At first, she did not know that Walter was letting her win. When she stepped into society and was faced with difficulties at work, it was only
Anna, Nina's mother, was currently cooking in the kitchen. When she heard the door open, she peeked out to see who it was. She saw her daughter coming in through the door with a man's coat draped over her body. Then, she saw the bruises on her daughter's neck. Anna flew into a rage and hurled the plate in her hands onto the floor! Her son was still in prison, but her daughter had the mood to flirt with other men! "Mom." Nina was physically and mentally tired. She briefly greeted her temperamental mother and headed to her room to rest. She had not taken two steps when she heard a loud slap! Suddenly, she felt a searing pain on her cheek! Nina covered her face and looked at her mother with disbelief. Anna poked her daughter's forehead with the sharp fingernail of her index finger as though intending to scrape off the skin. "Where have you been, you useless child? Tell me honestly, have you been sleeping with other men? I told you countless times that a woman should kn
After cashing in the check, Anna was on cloud nine. She had expected the check to be a dud, but she did not expect that the bank staff took it respectfully and transferred the amount to her account without a hitch. Anna withdrew 100,000 dollars in cash and kept the rest in her account. On the way back, she took the cab for the first time. Sitting in the cab, Anna thought that she was in a dream. She realized that she was awake after pinching herself several times. The cab driver stole several glances at Anna when she was pinching herself while holding a bulging black handbag. Anna hugged her snakeskin handbag close. "What are you looking at? Focus on your driving!" When she opened her mouth, her shrewish and miserly temperament was laid bare. She was afraid that the cab driver might snatch her handbag. Anna did not know where her daughter had gotten that much money, but that was none of her business. She did not care if her daughter was sleeping with other men for mone
When Gerald heard this, his face fell. “Huh? Ms. Craw, you're not cooking anymore?”Luca said nothing. Luke had already left with the others. She turned her gaze back before walking inside.Gerald realized that Luca had only been cooking breakfast because of Lucius. The thought puzzled him. Had they taken a liking to each other from the very start? That did not seem right.In this fast-paced modern world, even if they had, using something as old-fashioned as cooking to win someone over did not add up.Still, the timing was too coincidental to ignore. Luca started cooking for everyone when Lucius arrived, and she stopped as soon as he left. That realization gave Gerald an eerie feeling.Thinking they might have known each other back on the island, it all suddenly made sense. Of course! They must have met before. How else could this all line up so perfectly?With that thought, Gerald quickly caught up with Luca. “Ms. Craw, my cooking is terrible. Why don’t you keep doing it?”
Kassy’s eye donor was Hera, the one Abel had brought over.Even though Hera’s eyes resembled Kassy’s, they did not meet the criteria for a transplant. However, Hera’s blood type matched Kassy’s exactly.Hence, Abel decided to use Hera’s eyes. His belief was that her eyes were specifically meant for Kassy.Shanks knew he would not be able to change Abel’s mind, so he did not try. Abel’s stubbornness was something even Kassy herself could not sway.Luca remained silent for a while, not saying anything further. She understood that using a cadaver was the best option as it would not harm anyone.However, the eyes Abel wanted for Kassy were not from a cadaver. He intended to take them from Hera.Luca certainly would not participate in such a surgery. It was too cruel.“What are you thinking?” Shanks suddenly asked.Luca shook her head. “I’m just thinking about the volunteer’s situation.”“You’re wondering if this solution will be marketed, aren’t you?” Shanks suddenly asked.L
“I’m still a bit worried. Let me take a look in your room and change the dressing while I’m at it.” Luca knew Luke would not want her to worry. Therefore, she needed to see for herself that everything was fine before she could feel at ease.“Alright.” Luke knew she was worried about him, so the two of them headed into the room.He took off his shirt, revealing the bandage wrapped around his torso.Luca could not help but chuckle at the sight. The wrapping was done by Gerald, and it was hilariously sloppy. It was haphazardly bound—overly tight in some places and entirely uneven. It looked like it was just meant to cover the wounds, with no thought for neatness.“Stop laughing.” Luke was clearly rendered speechless by Gerald’s lackluster bandaging skills as well.If it were not for the fact that it was difficult to bandage himself, he would never have let Gerald do it.“With it wrapped like this, how are you supposed to sleep at night?” Luca asked as she began unwrapping the ba
Abel chuckled. His voice was low and gravelly.“Hera, let’s agree on something. Don’t use threats of leaving to manipulate me anymore, or I won’t be happy,” said Abel in a low voice.What might have sounded like a plea or a compromise came across to Hera as a veiled threat.The cool sensation of his fingers brushed against her eyelids, and she could not help but shiver. His touch felt as cold as death itself. She could not feel a trace of warmth.Her hands clenched tightly together. The tension in her grip was the only thing keeping her from trembling further.“Alright,” Hera murmured obediently.Abel withdrew his hand. Hera opened her eyes. A strange unease stirred within her. For reasons she could not quite explain, Abel’s behavior filled her with an unsettling dread…“Will you stay at the hospital with me tonight?” Hera could not help but crave some semblance of comfort.Abel frowned slightly. “Stay here with you? And what about Luca?”“You could just send her home. I onl
Luca's expression was serious, and Hera realized she was not just trying to scare her. Ignoring her warnings had already caused her to suffer once.Unwillingly, Hera sipped on the cereal. Her resentment was evident in every movement.Luca noticed it was not difficult for her to handle. She quietly sat down and ate her own bowl of cereal.Hera did not have much of an appetite.Hera took a couple of bites before growing bored. She glanced at Luca and asked, “How did you end up working for Abel?”Luca did not respond. She calmly blew on her cereal and ate in silence, showing no intention of engaging in conversation.“I’m talking to you. Are you deaf?” snapped Hera.Luca lifted her gaze briefly and replied, “You should finish your cereal before it gets cold.”“I’m not even hungry.” Hera really had no appetite and was not planning to eat the cereal.“It’s still better if you eat something. Otherwise, when hunger strikes later, don’t expect me to help you,” said Luca, “I’m only he
Luke had never taken the medicine that could speed up healing, so his recovery was nowhere near as fast as the others from the Island of Despair.Luca did not respond to Gerald’s comment. Her gaze fixed on him with intensity.“No stitches,” said Luke, “I trust you.”Luca bit her lower lip.“But if you don’t stitch it, it might tear open,” insisted Gerald, staring at Luke’s wounds.Luke glanced at his injuries and shrugged, seemingly unconcerned, as though the wounds had nothing to do with Luca.“Stitches will leave scars.”“Are you afraid of scars? What kind of man doesn’t have a few scars on him? Scars are a symbol of manhood,” teased Gerald with a playful tone, “Scars show you’re reliable, that you can protect a woman.”Luke gave him a look as though he were an idiot, then his gaze shifted to Luca. “I don’t want too many scars. I’m worried my future wife might dislike them.”Luca’s heart sank at his words, but his lighthearted remark eased her sadness. Despite the severity
Luca could not help but tremble with heartache. She fought hard to resist the urge to rush forward.Everyone in the room had survived brutal training to make it out of the Island of Despair, and they could not help but shudder when they saw the scene. The sound of the whip felt like it was landing on their own bodies.Gerald closed his eyes, unable to watch any longer. It was too cruel for him to watch.The ten lashes felt like an eternity, stretching on for what seemed like a century.Luca looked at the drenched clothes on Luke. His eyes were red, and his shirt was so soaked that you could wring out the blood from it. Her hands were clenched so tightly into fists that the veins were bulging.Abel tossed the whip aside, looking at Luke’s disheveled state with satisfaction. He enjoyed the thrill of this bloody scene.He turned to Luca, noticing her reddened eyes, and smiled even more devilishly. “Hera is in the hospital now. You’ll go take care of her for the next few da
Luca instantly understood the situation. It was about Hera.Hera was someone Abel valued, possibly as a future corneal donor for Kassy. While Abel might not love Hera now, he certainly took her health seriously.In a calm tone, Luca explained, “She was hospitalized due to inflammation that caused a fever.”Abel furiously flung his half-smoked cigar at her. The glowing embers singed her clothes, leaving a small burn mark.She instinctively stepped aside.Abel roared, “What kind of care is this?! I told you to look after her! Is this how you handle things?”Luca was perplexed. When did he ever tell her to look after Hera?Besides, she did take care of her.”When Ms. Sanchez fainted last night, she already had a low-grade fever. I diagnosed her condition as inflammation and prescribed anti-inflammatory and fever-reducing medication. I also emphasized that she needed to take oral anti-inflammatory drugs. She didn’t trust me and threw out Mr. Shanks’ medication, which led to her con
Luca placed her hand on Hera’s other wrist, checking her pulse. “Her condition is worsening. The inflammation in her body has intensified.“I prescribed her medication. Those are Mr. Shanks’ formulations, and they're highly effective for reducing inflammation. It shouldn’t be getting worse.” Gerald pursed his lips before finally speaking up. “Luca, when I was cleaning yesterday, I saw that Ms. Sanchez had thrown all the medication you prescribed into the trash. She didn’t take any of it.”Luca was speechless.She had been questioning whether the medicine was ineffective or if she had made an error in diagnosis. It turned out that it was Hera herself who had sabotaged her treatment.“What should we do now?” asked Gerald.“There’s no other option. She needs to go to a hospital,” Luca decided firmly. “Her condition is serious, and since she doesn’t trust my treatment, the hospital is her best choice.”“Can’t you help her just this once?” pleaded Gerald, “I mean, she looks really b