After Luke put on the clothes, Luca helped him arrange the accessories, such as cufflinks, handkerchiefs, and pens. He placed them where they belonged. At last, she frowned and looked up at him. "Isn't it too formal?""Let's skip the handkerchief," replied Luke."That's a good idea. I'll just put some wet wipes in my bag later." Luca agreed and took away the handkerchief. "That's much better. Let me help you with your tie."She picked up a neatly ironed tie and skillfully tied it for him. She then smiled in satisfaction. "You look handsome.""Really?" Luke had been hearing compliments about his looks countless times since he was young, but Luca's praise always made him the happiest.Luca nodded. "Yes, my man is undeniably handsome."She could clearly see a hint of a smile in Luke's eyes when she praised him, so she continued praising him.Luke was very pleased. "Bea, praise me more in the future, okay?" Luke’s eyes sparkled as he spoke."Sure, I'll give you more compliments
"Okay." Luca nodded. Earlier, she had been admiring the scenery. Later, her conversation with Evan diverted her attention. She had not been thinking about Abel's matters at all. However, when she saw the venue, she felt a bit nervous. They had arrived…When they entered later, she could bump into Abel at any moment. She wondered what he would say after seeing her... Abel knew that Luke would attend this industry networking event, but did he also know she would be here? He should know. After all, he had so many people watching her. It was impossible for him not to know. With these thoughts, Luca glanced at Luke while feeling reassured.Luke said to Warren, "Come in with us too.""Yes, Boss,” replied Warren as he followed Luke and the others into the venue.Before they even entered the main hall, there were many medicinal farmers and merchants on both sides setting up their stalls.These medicinal farmers and merchants did not have invitations because they did not win th
Knowing that Warren was not accustomed to such scenes, Luca smiled helplessly and said, "Mr. Crawford must have his reasons for asking you to sit here. Just relax and sit tight. You can always glance at your phone to shift your focus if you have nothing to do."Warren found her suggestion good. Therefore, he picked up his phone and started reading a novel. He was, after all, just a subordinate of Gale and Rain. He did not have much expertise. He excelled in tasks involving fighting or observation.However, when it came to attending such networking events, he felt out of place. Therefore, Warren decided to distract himself by reading the novel.Luca's gaze wandered around. She felt that she had it easy since no one was engaging her in conversation. No matter how expensive the professional suit she wore today, others would simply assume she was either Luke's or Evan's secretary with Luke in attendance.Whether they misunderstood or not did not concern Luca much. It did not ma
Warren watched as Luca and Jacob left. He had a feeling that something unpleasant might happen. However, he had to follow Luke's instructions, so he suppressed his worry and sat in the chair. Luke said, "Don't look." The people around were somewhat surprised. Why did he suddenly say such a thing? What should they not look at?Luke did not explain, but Warren understood what was going on. He could only pretend to be calm and withdraw his gaze.Evan glanced at Luke and then at Warren. He felt that Luca's departure was not simple. The atmosphere was solemn, as though something bad was about to happen. Evan dared not to ask further since this matter seemed unrelated to him. He continued entertaining those who wanted to chat with him. Evan was good at business. He could deal with the owners of pharmaceutical companies and drug dealers very easily, but his mind was not fully focused on these people. He was still thinking about Luca's situation.…Luca followed Jacob to a
In the beginning, Shanks agreed to help and even took practical actions. Therefore, the island still needed Shanks' assistance."Ivana, tell me, why didn't you report to my people when you came to X City for this networking event?" Abel had no choice but to follow Shanks’ intention. He questioned Luca.Luca replied, "The people from the Island of Despair are watching me. Isn't it all the same whether I report to you or not?"Abel's gaze deepened. He lifted his head and grasped Luca's chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Is that your reason for not reporting? Have you forgotten whose side you're on?" Abel sneered. "Do you think you're still Luke’s woman after returning to his side? Once I tell him everything you've done, do you think he'll still keep you by his side?"In Abel's perception, Luke was different from other men. He valued emotions more than others. Even though others thought he had abandoned his mistreated wife for a younger, prettier woman, they did not know it
In Shanks' words, the only person on the entire Island of Despair with this talent was Luca. Luca was the most helpful to Shanks.However, she had more important things to attend to, so she could not stay by Shanks' side to help. Luca had already recovered and was standing upright. Abel reminded her, "You, stop playing tricks behind my back. This time, you'll help Mr. Shanks find the herbs he needs. "Also, don't you like being with Luke? I'll make it happen for you. Don't say I'm not doing right by you." A hint of malice tugged at the corner of his mouth.He always had a feeling that Luca was slipping out of his control. If this continued, he would not be able to keep her in his control.He had to do something. Luca had a bad feeling, but she did not have the courage to ask him what he wanted to do at the moment. If Abel could not resist throwing another punch at her, she would be the one to suffer. Luke would be distressed if he knew about it.Now, they both needed to
However, no one had the courage to compete with Luke for talent, so he was only thinking about it. After all, the name Luke represented capital in any industry... Luca would not be so foolish as to not choose Luke and go for another company instead.After all, as long as Luke agreed, the other party would be able to obtain more research funds. Therefore, the man dared not to have the intention of poaching Luke’s talent.After a while, the host stepped onto the stage, picked up the microphone, and said to the audience below, "Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests, the seminar will begin soon."Please take a moment to locate your respective company's seating arrangements and settle in. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated." As soon as the host finished speaking, the people gathered around Luke still showed no sign of leaving.Warren stood up and said to the others, "Everyone, the seminar is about to begin. Please return to your seats. Mr. Crawford needs a break." No one
After Shanks’ reminder, Abel pondered for a moment and decided not to continue talking about Luca.Luca was now standing beside Luke, attracting as much attention as Luke did. If he continued discussing, those who were curious might overhear and use translation software to translate their conversation.The industry networking event was not a large-scale event to begin with. The venue’s space was limited, so the seating arrangements were dense. The seats around them were already filled with people now.Abel looked disdainfully at the people around him and complained to Shanks, "If it weren't for your need for medicinal herbs, I wouldn't have come."Shanks shot him a cold glance and reminded him, "Who do I need those herbs for?"Abel fell silent.Shanks needed those herbs for Kassy.Even though Kassy was currently imprisoned and suffering greatly because of Luke, Abel had never given up on the idea of saving her.However, Abel knew that saving Kassy would not be easy. When Kassy
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
“There are a lot of issues.” Luca did not hide anything and handed Hera the phone.Hera looked at it and frowned.“I can't understand any of this.” Hera felt dizzy just looking at the text, let alone the long list of medical terms. It was giving her a headache.“Look at these summaries and indicators. Compare the values on top with the normal values at the bottom, and you'll see what I mean,” explained Luca.Hera did not trust her. Therefore, Luca decided to let her see for herself. Seeing it with her own eyes would prevent any doubts later.Luca pointed out how to read the test results, and after a moment, Hera managed to understand the report. Her face turned pale. “How can there be so many problems?”She looked at Luca and questioned, “Did you fake this?”“I don’t have the power to make the medical center fake anything. Besides, the report has the medical center’s official stamp. If you don’t believe me, you can go directly to the medical center and ask for the official cop
“I heard from the boss that he's coming because of Vivian.” Gale paused for a moment before adding, “But never mind, you don't seem interested in her affairs anyway. I'm just letting you know he's on his way.”Gordan frowned. Ray was coming for Vivian?What could that ugly woman possibly need?“What do you mean by that?” asked Gordan.Gale smirked. “If you and Ray meet, that’s bound to end in a fight. And since you can't win against him, you might want to mentally prepare yourself, or better yet, find somewhere else to stay. It’d be safer that way.”Gordan's expression darkened. “If you have nothing nice to say, just zip it.”Gale grinned, clearly pleased with himself like he had just hit a sore spot.Gordan exhaled sharply. “Of all times, why is he coming to A City now? He’s just making things worse.”“It can't be helped. Vivian's situation is urgent.” Gale covered his mouth mockingly after he said that. “Oh, right. I forgot you don’t like hearing about her.”Ray wanted to br
Luke sat in the villa, staring at Luca’s message.He was worried.For a moment, he considered calling her, but then he remembered that there were surveillance cameras everywhere on her side. He dismissed the idea immediately.Her safety came first.Luke reminded her: [Take care of yourself. Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything. Just focus on keeping yourself safe.] The worry in his heart refused to subside, but at this moment, there was no better solution.“Boss, you’re worried about your wife, huh? If you really can’t stand it, we can sneak you in again during the next shift change, just like last time,” said Gale.It had been his idea last time.Now, the real Lucius was still locked up in the basement of the villa.It had been nearly a month. Luke had forced him to take the antidote Luca had recreated. The man was still alive, proving the antidote worked perfectly.“That plan is too risky.” Luke put his phone away. His gaze was dark and thoughtful.“Risky, sure. But at lea
Luca had not expected Abel and Shanks’ relationship to be like this.It seemed Abel still did not trust Shanks.Shanks continued, “Abel isn’t someone who trusts people easily. He doesn’t trust anyone. You think he’s devoted to Kassy now, right? That’s just his obsession. He's allowing Kassy to receive my treatment, but if it were him… No matter if he were blind or crippled, his safety would always come first. If he were seriously injured, maybe he’d accept treatment, but he definitely wouldn’t do it right away.”Luca stayed silent. Shanks really understood Abel well.Abel did not trust anyone—not even Kassy.Calling him paranoid would not be an exaggeration.Luca felt like they were getting off-topic, but she had never seen this side of Shanks before.In her mind, he was always buried in his work at the lab, only leaving for meals and sleep. Other than that, he was practically never outside.The lab was like his home…“Are you troubled by Hera’s situation?” Luca asked directly
Hera was startled by Luca's words.The refusal that had been on the tip of her tongue suddenly got stuck in her throat.“I…” Hera hesitated, feeling conflicted. Leaving Abel might not be such a bad idea. At least she would not have to live in constant fear.She was finally realizing how unpredictable his moods were. At first, she thought it did not matter as she could still look at other men. She just had to ensure there was no physical contact. In reality, even if she so much as glanced at someone, Abel's expression would darken with anger.It was frustrating. Now, the only person she was allowed to look at was Gerald. Still, what was the point of just looking at Gerald?At that thought, she lifted her gaze to Luca.Luca added, “I’ll give you five minutes. If you refuse treatment after that, I’ll take the medicine back to Mr. Shanks and won’t try to convince you again.”Hera's heart tightened. She did not even need five minutes. She had made her decision within 30 seconds.“I’
“If Abel finds out that Hera's body isn't suitable for organ donation to Kassy, what do you think he'll do?” asked Shanks.He already knew the answer, but he still wanted to hear Luca’s thoughts.“He has invested a lot of time and money in Hera. If he gets nothing out of it, he won’t let her off easily,” Luca said bluntly.Luca and Shanks were on the same page.They did not have a good relationship with Hera, but they had no intention of ruining her either.Hera’s personality was unpleasant, but that was not enough for them to hate her so much that they wanted to see her suffer.“What methods do you think he’ll use?” Shanks asked again.Luca was silent for a long moment.Shanks already knew the answer, yet he still wanted her to say it out loud.After thinking it over, she finally said, “There are plenty of ways he could go about it, but no matter what he chooses, Hera’s fate is sealed. She’s as good as dead…”She lowered her gaze, her tone firm and certain.Shanks nodded.
Hera heard that Luca had returned and immediately went to find Shanks. She narrowed her eyes.That woman went to see Shanks. Could she be talking about her?The thought made Hera uneasy. She had a nagging feeling that something was wrong with her medical report.However, when they left the medical center earlier, Abel asked Luca when the report would be ready, and she said it would be available tomorrow.Hera turned to Gerald and said, “Take these back for me first.”“Alright.” Gerald carried the bags as he walked away. He could not help but wonder what exactly Hera bought. These bags were really heavy!Only after Gerald went upstairs did Hera slowly make her way up as well. Her room was on the third floor, but she stopped when she reached the second floor. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching before heading toward the laboratory.The door was closed.Instead of knocking, Hera pressed her ear against it, trying to eavesdrop.However, the laboratory was special
“This cup of coffee is from that gentleman for this lady.” The waiter smiled as he explained, placing the cup in front of Luca.Hera followed the waiter’s gaze and immediately recognized the man Luca had been looking at earlier.Her eyes darkened. She had noticed the man glancing in their direction. However, she had assumed he was looking at her.After all, she was dressed seductively, had put on makeup, and was undeniably beautiful. Any man who saw her would be attracted. If a man’s eyes lingered on her, it was not surprising at all.Realizing that the man had been watching Luca the whole time instead of her, Hera suddenly felt annoyed.Luca noticed her displeasure, glanced at Gordan, then smiled and said to the waiter, “Please thank the gentleman for me.”“Of course, miss. Enjoy your coffee.” The waiter, sensing the tension between the two women, quickly grabbed his tray and left before Hera’s sour mood could affect him too.“Hmph, feeling proud of yourself?” asked Hera.Luca