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
Bianca was not able to meet Nina. She was not relieved. However, she was helpless against Anna. Anna bore a deep-seated grudge against Bianca, and there was no way she was reasonable enough to listen to Bianca. However, Anna was nevertheless Nina's mother, and she could not do anything to her. Bianca thought of Sue. If Sue went to visit Nina, Anna would have no excuse to drive her daughter's colleague away, as unreasonable as she might be. Bianca gave a call to Sue, tactfully saying that Nina had fallen sick. Bianca also explained that Nina's mother bore a grudge against her, and it was not convenient for her to go and visit, which was why she asked Sue to visit Nina on her behalf. She did not tell Sue about what actually happened to Nina. After all, no woman would want other people to know that they were abducted and violated. Sue agreed to it immediately and promised that she would visit Nina after work. She also asked Bianca to send her Nina's address. Bianca was phy
The sales associate nodded and said, “Yes, we do. I’ve already placed them in the fitting room for you. Would you like some assistance?”Hera shook her head and pointed straight at Luca. “No, I want her to do it.”Luca shook her head helplessly. It seemed that Hera was determined to make her play the role of a sales associate today.Luca asked, “Ms. Sanchez, where’s Mr. Abel?”“What does that have to do with you?” Hera shot her a wary look. “Where he goes isn’t important. What matters is that you’re spending the day shopping with me. And if I’m not happy, be prepared to face his punishment.”Then, Hera strutted toward the fitting room like a proud peacock.Luca had no choice but to follow.Inside the fitting room, Hera closed the door behind them and commanded, “Help me unzip the back.”“Alright.” Luca lowered her gaze. Since they were both women and Hera clearly had no reservations, there was no reason for her to feel uncomfortable. She placed her hands on the zipper.Hera re
After Hera got into the car, Abel turned around. His piercing blue eyes locked onto Luca.“When will the test results be ready?” asked Abel. His primary concern was the results.Luca replied, “It won’t be that fast. She did quite a few tests, so it might take until tomorrow or the day after. But the hospital assured me that as soon as the results are in, they’ll give me a detailed report right away.”Abel looked a little unhappy. “Didn’t I tell you to choose the VIP package?”“Mr. Abel, even with the VIP package, the results won’t be immediate. Getting them by tomorrow is already considered fast,” explained Luca.Abel let out a cold snort.Just then, the car window rolled down.“Baby, I’m still upset.” Hera’s voice dripped with sweetness.Abel turned around, his previously cold expression instantly replaced with warmth and tenderness. “What will make you feel better?”Hera thought for a moment. “How about this? Let her follow me around today and carry my shopping bags. That mi
“You!” Hera was clearly caught off guard that the driver had the nerve to talk back to her.She yanked off her sunglasses, just about ready to snap back at him when the driver got a good look at her through the rearview mirror.“Oh, it’s you?” said the driver.“Who the hell are you? Do I know you?” Hera’s tone was arrogant as though she was naturally above him.The driver reminded her, “Remember yesterday? You had me tail a cab and park outside some ancestral hall for half the day, and you refused to leave. I wasted a ton of gas just idling there with the A/C on because of you.”Hera’s face turned red, then pale. She did not expect Luca to randomly call a cab and end up with the same driver from yesterday.Luca also found it a funny coincidence and glanced back. Hera’s expression was awful.The driver, being a straight shooter, did not hold back. “Huh. Funny how you didn’t complain about my car smelling bad yesterday, but today, all of a sudden, it stinks? After I dropped you of
Luca also reminded Luke to tell the kids not to contact her during this period. The device could not be removed. If it was, Abel would definitely notice. Rather than making him suspicious or prompting him to install even better devices, it was better to just leave this one in place.Luke quickly replied: [Got it.]Luca put on a faint smile and began narrowing down the search, trying to figure out where that man had installed the device.If it was just for listening, she did not care. It could stay. However, if it was a surveillance camera, she needed to be more cautious. In the end, she found the device under the bed.She did not bother checking whether it was for listening or monitoring. After all, if it was placed there, the only possibility was that it was an audio bug. A camera in that spot would not capture anything useful.Anyone trained on the Island of Despair would not make such a rookie mistake.After a quick wash-up, Luca went to bed.The next morning, she receive
“Babe, don’t listen to her nonsense. She’s just trying to drive a wedge between us,” Hera said gently, hoping to earn Abel's affection.Abel did not take Hera’s words seriously. Instead, he picked up his phone and made a few inquiries.After checking with multiple sources to confirm where Lucius and the others had gone, the person on the other end of the line reported that Lucius had not left home in the past few days.As Luca listened to the voice on the other end of the phone, her expression remained calm.Gerald let out a sigh of relief but was also puzzled. He had always felt there was something going on between Lucius and Luca, yet unexpectedly, Luca’s outing this time had nothing to do with Lucius.Hera’s face turned pale. So, it really was not because of him.In that case, she…Hera instinctively looked at Abel, only to find that he was already staring at her. Their eyes met, and Hera could not help but shudder. Abel’s gaze was terrifyingly cold.Just when she thought he
“Oh? What made you so happy? Spill the tea.” Hera’s curiosity grew. Whatever it was that had Abel smiling like this had to be something big.The last time she was with him, he had closed a billion-dollar deal over the phone, but his expression had remained indifferent. It was like it was just another ordinary day at the office.However, he was currently grinning from ear to ear. Could it be something even bigger than that?Abel set down his unlit cigar. His fingers lightly traced along Hera’s cheek before resting on her eyes.“Your eyes… They’re beautiful,” murmured Abel.It was not the first time he had complimented her eyes.Hera had gone for the perfect foxy-type eyes, and every man she met would gush over how stunning they were.However, Abel was different. Other men would say her eyes were beautiful and then follow it up with praise for her face, her figure… The whole package.Yet Abel? He never mentioned anything else but just her eyes. It was as if her face and other par
“Alright. Ouch, it hurts when you flick me, Lanie!” Tommy pouted.“Don't cry. You were just saying you’d protect your sister, and now, you’re crying? What’s going on?” Lanie rubbed Tommy’s forehead. “Alright, I’ve rubbed it. Stop crying.”“Heh, Lanie, you're the best to me!” Tommy immediately beamed with happiness.“The whole grandma situation is over. From now on, let’s just behave ourselves and wait for Daddy and Ms. Luca to come back,” Lanie told his younger siblings.Even though their parents were not around, he had taken on the responsibility of being the elder brother. Despite being the same age as Rainie, he was much more mature.“Yes, I’ll listen to Great-Grandpa and you, Lanie!” Tommy nodded eagerly.…After Jason hung up on Allison, he let out a deep sigh.Sue walked over with a plate of fruits and placed it beside him. “What’s with that look? Have some fruits.”Jason picked up a toothpick, speared a piece of fruit, and brought it to her mouth.Sue opened her mouth
“Good evening, Madam Allison.” Jason quickly answered the phone.Allison wasted no time and demanded, “Why did you only send me such a small amount of money?”“It’s Mr. Crawford’s decision,” replied Jason, “If you suspect I’m withholding anything, you may ask him directly…”He reckoned that Allison might not be able to get in touch with Luke, so he added, “Or I could show you the chat records.”By now, Allison could not really doubt him anymore.However, with frustration in her voice, Allison asked, “Why is it so little? How am I supposed to live in A City on this?”“Mr. Crawford said that you have no extra expenses. You’re not shopping, so a hundred thousand dollars should be enough,” Jason relayed Luke’s words.A hundred thousand dollars was an amount that the average working family could not even earn in a month.Allison could not go out shopping right now, and she was not making any other extra purchases while staying at home every day. Why would it not be enough?Sophian, who over
“She's busy, so use something else. I’ve got stuff to do. I’m hanging up now.” Luke did not want to hear her rambling.Allison quickly added, “Wait, there's one more thing.”Luke frowned in annoyance.“I don’t have any money left. Send me some,” continued Allison. She was worried he might refuse. “It’s been over a month, and you still haven’t sent me my living expenses.”“Don’t worry, Jason will transfer it to you in a bit,” replied Luke. It had indeed been a month. However, he had been too busy to remember.“Alright.” Allison was about to say more when Sophian called out sweetly, “Mr. Crawford…”Before she could finish her sentence, Luke hung up the phone.Allison stared at Sophian. “What did you say that for?”Sophian was confused. She had only said a word, and the call was already disconnected. Was it her fault?“I just wanted to talk to him…” replied Sophian.“You didn’t have to say anything. I wasn’t done talking yet, and you made him hang up.” Allison was furious. She k