After Marlon finished speaking, he quickly walked away.At this moment, whoever was the last to leave would have to take care of Stan.Marlon would not bother with something so strenuous when he did not even have the energy for it.As Gerald watched Marlon leave, he could not help but secretly let out a sneer. He ran faster than anyone else when it came to standing up for his own brother, but he bailed when there was no profit to be gained? He turned around to look at Stan.He had been groaning because of the pain and had not participated in their conversation.Gerald felt impatient. He wanted to make a phone call, but Stan had lost his memory now. He could not make the call in front of him.If Stan found out anything, he might betray Gerald to save himself. At the thought of this, Gerald said, "Uncle Stan, bear with me for a moment. I'll go out and make a phone call."Stan continued tossing and turning on the ward bed, paying no attention to Gerald's words because of the pain
Actually, it would have been better to wear shoes, but Luca could not be bothered to change into them now. Slippers were not a good option either. That was why she simply took off her slippers.As Luke watched her yank off her slippers, he shook his head helplessly and picked up her slippers. "Be careful.”In the meantime, Luca had already grabbed onto the protruding rocks of the outer wall and started climbing up.Initially, to blend with the scenery of X City, all the outer walls were built with stones. Thus, they had an uneven surface. The walls looked beautiful and more natural this way, but this also had its downsides. It made climbing easy.Therefore, Luke had infrared alarms installed around the top of the outer walls to deter anyone from attempting to climb over.Climbing this wall was quite easy for those with rock climbing experience.The real challenge was to jump up when reaching the top to avoid the infrared scan and then jump down the wall."How high are the infr
Luca had a quick thought and realized that this might be Gerald deliberately stalling for time. Even if Luke suspected Stan, with the police intervening, they would not be able to look into Stan so quickly.The point was how Gerald believed doing this would be effective. From the police's perspective, Luke was the victim in this case."Are you going to the police station later?" asked Luca. If the police called, they would want Luke to cooperate with the investigation. "If it's urgent, I'll fry you some eggs.""Not at all. Gale went to the police station this morning to explain the situation. The police will come here later to take photos for evidence," replied Luke. Gale rushed to the police station early in the morning to inform them of the millions of dollars of damages to the car.When the police learned this, they said they would send someone to collect evidence. When the two thieves were caught, they were not wearing gloves. Therefore, when the police came to the scen
"Later, Mr. Crawford found out that Mr. Muller, the butler, had fallen downstairs and fainted. Since the danger outside had been resolved, he came to call me downstairs to check on Mr. Muller's condition," said Luca."I know some medical skills, but as soon as I found out that Mr. Muller had fallen, I told Mr. Crawford to call the ambulance. It was only then that I went downstairs to examine Mr. Muller." Luca explained in detail. All of this had been planned out with Luke.Luke had tampered with the surveillance. Therefore, in the surveillance footage, her descent downstairs occurred after Luke made the emergency call. The hospital would also have records, so Luca was not worried about any loopholes.Perhaps due to the nature of the Island of Despair, Luke's and her extra vigilance left no room for anyone to exploit loopholes.While Luke was about to make the emergency call, Luca had already worked out the timeline with Luke.The police noted down and asked again, "Do you reme
Abel sat on the couch. The genuine leather couch engulfed half of his body. He adjusted into a comfortable position and stared straight ahead at the person before him.Gerald felt his heart race under Abel's gaze. Was he in trouble?"Beat him," Abel suddenly spoke in Russian.Gerald did not understand what he meant and turned to look at those men beside him. After they received Abel's command, they immediately began raining blows on Gerald."Stop it, stop it! I was wrong, I was wrong!" After getting beaten up so many times, Gerald instinctively crouched down and hugged his head to protect himself."Hit him, and hit him hard!" Abel's eyes were fierce. Even though he did not understand what Gerald said and no one was interpreting it for him, he could tell Gerald was pleading for mercy.Half an hour later, Gerald collapsed. His face was swollen and bruised, and his limbs were covered in bruises. Gerald was miserable, but no one begged for mercy for him. The two men who beat him
Gerald recalled the number he was assigned in the organization. He reminisced about how thrilled he was when he first received it. Joining the Island of Despair made him feel respectable and prestigious. After all, it brought in a handsome income. Yet, Gerald only felt regret now."091," uttered Gerald."Mm." Shanks picked up his phone and dialed another number. "You threw 091 to me. How can I possibly rescue someone alone?""You have the capability to save him," Abel's voice came from the other end of the phone. "But if you don't want to, that's fine too. He's just trash anyway. He's incapable of doing anything right. If you don't want to save him, let him breathe his last and dispose of him.""Easy for you to say." Shanks looked at Gerald coldly and said to Abel, "Send two men up."Abel replied, "Alright. I didn't expect you to still have the intention to save him.""So, are we saving him or not?" Shanks’ tone was impatient. Abel was truly incomprehensible. First, Abel wa
"Disinfect his wounds. He has a fracture. Be careful," Shanks handed the disinfectant to Oscar and Russ. "Try to disinfect his wounds as thoroughly as possible.""Mr. Shanks..." Russ refused to do such a thing."Do it. You have no choice." Shanks' expression was frosty. It was a silent warning that brooked no refusal from them.Russ cursed those two who had hurt Gerald. Now, they had to clean up the mess for them. He wondered what their boss was thinking, keeping this man in the team. Clearly, he was useless. It would have been better to throw him out onto the streets and let him die. Why bother saving him?The two men reluctantly took the iodine and cotton swabs. They helped to disinfect Gerald's wounds. They also followed Shanks' instructions and tried to be as gentle as possible during the disinfection process.However, Gerald still screamed in pain as though he was being slaughtered.Russ looked disgusted. Soon, they finished disinfecting Gerald’s wounds.Gerald had no
After Shanks finished his words, he turned around and went upstairs.The man beside Abel observed Shanks' attitude toward Abel and could not help but feel a bit indignant on Abel's behalf. Thus, he said, "Boss, why does Mr. Shanks always seem to overlook you?"Abel glanced at the man beside him and rolled his eyes at him. "If you were as capable as Shanks, you could talk to me like that too."The man immediately lowered his head and expressed his loyalty, "I may not be as capable as Mr. Shanks is, but I'll always be loyal to you.""Oh? Then you'd better practice what you preach. Book a flight to A City for tomorrow morning," ordered Abel. Even though the distance between X City and A City was not far, flying was the safest option for Abel.He did not intend to let anyone drive him there. The journey by road was too long, and it would be too easy for someone to ambush him along the way. There were probably many people who wanted to kill him, but most of them did not know his tr
“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