As Luca explained, Amur began to grasp the overall situation. "Got it."Essentially, it boiled down to Abel not trusting Luca. There was an old saying in A City, “If you doubt a person, don't use them. If you use them, don't doubt them.” However, this saying did not apply to Abel. He doubted everyone, especially Luca and those around her.Even Amur and Eler were closely watched by Abel's people, who feared they might do something to harm the interests of the Island of Despair. At times, Amur could not grasp why Abel would assign Luca such important missions if he truly doubted her.He could easily assign her other missions or just keep her confined on the Island of Despair. It would be a form of torment for Luke. The person beside him was not the real Luca while the real Luca was being painfully manipulated. Was that not a better form of revenge?Amur was puzzled.Luca let out a sigh as she recalled the events in X City. She reminded, "Pierre’s incident caused a big stir,
Aunt Neile's grandchild enjoyed her home-cooked meals, so Aunt Neile was even more willing to collect recipes for cooking. This way, whenever she had free time, she could cook for her grandson and receive his praises. Aunt Neile would feel happy as well."Alright, let me explain in detail so you can remember," said Luca. As she cooked, she explained to Aunt Neile how she made the dishes. After finishing the spicy tacos, she began preparing the non-spicy ones. Aunt Neile said, "I'll take note of this too. My daughter-in-law isn't from A City. She prefers spicy food. If I learn to make this, I can cook it for her too.""Okay, I'll tell you all about it," explained Luca as she cooked, demonstrating the best ingredients to use. All of this was from her previous research. Back then, while studying abroad, she sometimes worked part-time in restaurants. She would pick up some skills while helping out in the kitchen. Then, based on recipes she learned, she developed her own.Her
"We were just having a conversation," Gale lied through his teeth, looking the kids straight in the eye.Tommy pointed at the ceiling, then to the floor. "The distance between the first and second floors isn’t that far. We could hear everything clearly. We heard it all.""It was just a loud conversation," replied Gordan, shooting a glare at Gale. It was all his fault for provoking him. Now, his cool image in front of the kids was ruined."Alright. If you don't want to embarrass yourselves, then stop arguing all the time." Luke stepped in to mediate. He turned to the kids and asked, "Did you wash your hands?""Yes," replied Tommy.Lanie glanced at Gordan and then at Gale, suddenly posing a deep question. "Daddy, Mr. Gale and Mr. Gordan argue so much. Can they really work together?"He doubted their ability to cooperate with each other.Both Gale and Gordan immediately put on serious faces."Lanie, you can't doubt my seriousness and professionalism," said Gordan."Nor can yo
As Rain thought about it, she walked into the bedroom. She closed the door and joined the men's conversation. The three kids went upstairs to rest.Aunt Neile and Luca stayed downstairs to clean up. They divided the tasks and worked quickly. Suddenly, Aunt Neile asked, "Ms. Craw, what are they busy with? I heard it's something important. Is it related to T Corporation?""I don't know either." Luca shook her head. After glancing at Aunt Neile, she looked away."Mr. Crawford usually doesn't discuss work at home. This is rare," Aunt Neile explained her curiosity as it was unusual for Luke to work at home. They had been talking all morning, and their discussion continued into the afternoon, which surprised Aunt Neile.Luca did not offer any further explanation. She washed her hands. Thinking that the people upstairs had already finished their coffee by now, she decided to make another pot."Aunt Neile, I’ll leave these for you to wash. I'll make them some more coffee," said Luca
Gerald's face was bruised and swollen. His body was wrapped in bandages, and there was even a cast on one of his legs."Do you think he can handle the mission like this?" Phil asked Amur."We can, but he can't," replied Amur as he looked at Gerald's condition. The thought of taking revenge for Luca immediately dissipated. It was not within the scope of his mission.Normally, he would not bother dealing with someone like this. It was not worth it."Why don’t you give him a quick one and then take care of those other two?" Phil suggested that since Gerald could not carry out the mission anyway, it would be better to give him a swift end.It would save the hassle of coming back and forth and the risk of exposure."No!" Gerald understood Phil's implication. He knew this was his last chance to survive. He wanted to delay the mission at first. He even entertained the idea of not having to deal with Jacob himself. However, Gerald did not expect Abel to send Amur and even have him
Gerald understood what Phil meant. Even though he was worried, he had no choice.He followed Amur and left.As he passed by the men on the first floor, Gerald heard their conversation."Is he seriously bringing this useless guy along for the mission?""If it were up to me, I'd take care of him and tell Boss he failed the mission."Since a few of them knew what mission he was carrying out, they started discussing it. As Gerald thought about the things he might have to do later that he had never done before, his mind was in turmoil. He did not even know how he ended up getting into Amur's car."What's your code?" Amur's question jolted Gerald out of his daze, bringing him back to reality."I'm 091," answered Gerald.He used to be proud of having that code, but now, he was filled with fear and hatred. How could he have been so foolish as to join this terrorist organization?There was no turning back now. He could only steel himself and do things he did not want to do. Amur re
"The remaining potion? Do you still have it?" Gerald was stunned, worried that he had failed his mission for using up all the medicine."I used it all."Amur frowned. "You used up a whole bottle?""I was afraid the mission would fail, so I added some to all the ingredients…" explained Gerald.Amur let out a cold snort. "You sure are ruthless."Gerald, desperate to complete his mission, was trembling in fear yet ruthless in his actions. Abel would probably appreciate someone like him the most.Gerald forced a smile and replied, "I had no choice. If they didn't die, I would have died with them. I don't want to die, and my family still needs me to take care of them."Amur did not listen to his excuses. "Give me the bottle.""Here." Gerald took the bottle out of his pocket. If he had not been worried that the police might be able to trace it back to him, he would have tossed it in the trash immediately. Fortunately, he thought ahead and kept it, or he would not have had it wh
Amur nodded and rose to his feet. He did not expect Gerald to cause such trouble for the police station all by himself."Gerald should lay low for a while. His actions weren't discreet as surveillance cameras were watching him. He shouldn't stir up more trouble," advised Amur. He never imagined that Gerald would go to such lengths to ensure the demise of Jacob and Harold.Even though the drugs would only give the police diarrhea if consumed, the more they ate, the worse the outcome would be. With all the ingredients tainted, it was a game of chance to see who would be unlucky enough to consume more.However, this did not concern him much. It was just that the situation had escalated greatly, and the police would surely investigate. Gerald would be a prime suspect. It was only because Gerald barely scraped by and managed to reclaim his life that Amur felt the need to caution him like that."I know. This incident has grown out of proportion. Even if he manages to save his life,
“No.” Shanks’ tone was cold and firm with no trace of hesitation.Abel still looked doubtful.Shanks added, “Would you like to see her medical report?”Abel was startled for a moment. How did Shanks know he had been thinking about that report?Now that Shanks brought it up, the idea lost its appeal.Abel shook his head. “Even if you showed it to me, I wouldn’t understand it. Shanks, Kassy’s life is in your hands. If you can give her a second chance, I’ll provide as much research funding as you need."Shanks remained silent. He could save Kassy. In fact, his research had always been for Kassy.However, he did not expect Abel to be so ruthless as to insist on using a living person as a donor for Kassy. That was something he could not accept.Kassy’s condition could be treated with organs from a brain-dead patient. Why destroy a perfectly healthy life?Shanks was not acting out of mercy. He simply refused to go against his medical ethics.He was not someone who had to save lives
“You don’t need to remind me. I was going to check anyway.” Abel shot Luca a chilling look.She took a step back and stayed silent.Abel turned to the pale-faced Hera and said, “If you’ve got low blood sugar, get up and eat something.”“I’ll eat now,” Hera replied, sitting up.Luca handed her the takeout.Abel glanced at the food and then frowned at Luca. “Why didn’t you make breakfast this morning?”“I was busy,” Luca explained with a calm indifference, her expression unwavering. She showed no fear, even under Abel’s questioning.Hera suddenly found herself admiring Luca. Everyone feared this man, yet Luca remained composed even when facing potential punishment. Not just anyone could pull that off.At the thought of this, Hera opened the takeout and kept quiet.Abel narrowed his eyes, glancing between Hera and Luca. His gaze was not exactly gentle as he muttered, “Stop eating this junk. It’s bad for you.”“I know, babe. Just this once. After this, I’ll have what Luca cooks f
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.