Therefore, Luca could not quite connect with Vivian emotionally in this regard.After lunch, they decided to head to Vivian's apartment to rest. The two of them headed toward the apartment.Vivian’s apartment was close to the university. Vivian had eaten a bit too much and suggested they take shared bikes back. Luca agreed happily.They each rented a bike and headed toward the apartment. The midday sun was strong, but luckily, the road was shaded, so it was not too hot. As they rode along, three men suddenly appeared and blocked their way."Ms. Craw, we meet again," said Gerry. He was the same burly man who had stopped Luca earlier.Luca was rendered speechless. She did not expect them to show up again after their failed attempt just an hour before. “I underestimated them,” Luca said in Russian.Vivian did not expect them either. She replied in a guilty tone, “I'm sorry, Luca. I didn't think they would be this persistent…”They could have had Warren drive them, but Vivian
The man who talked to Luca gave the other thug a look.The other man immediately understood and tried searching for information. However, he could not find anything using A City’s intranet.“Boss, she's just bluffing. There's nothing here!” reported the man as he handed over his phone.Luca chuckled.Gerry’s expression turned sour. “What's so funny?”“I'm laughing at how clueless you guys are. You used A City’s intranet, didn't you?” asked Luca.“Is there a difference between the internet and intranet?” Gerry was confused.Luca was puzzled by the type of people Karen had hired. They seemed less competent than those she had dealt with before.“I've never heard of intranet and internet. Boss, don't let her mess with you,” the other man chimed in.Luca nodded repeatedly.“Why are you nodding?” Gerry narrowed his eyes and looked at her.“I'm agreeing with your friend. Satisfied?” Luca was starting to get impatient.Gerry had a gut feeling she was not lying and continued fiddlin
“Luca, I'm going to kill you!” Even though Pierre knew that Luca could help him, he could not tolerate her mockery. He was about to lunge at her and was ready to slap her!Karen rushed in to stop him. “Pierre, calm down!”Pierre’s eyes were bloodshot with anger. “I can’t! I’m going to make her submit and make her fix my leg today!”Luca felt a wave of nausea. With Pierre in this state, he was still thinking about making her…Vivian, who did not understand the situation, turned pale and asked in Russian, “Luca, what should we do?”Luca calmly shook her head.“Mr. Pierre, are you still able to do that?” Luca mocked him. “I heard that your nerves are severed, so you're probably affected in that area too."Pierre’s expression darkened.Karen was startled for a moment and screamed, “What do you mean?! Does this mean Pierre won’t be able to have kids in the future?”Johann mentioned that Pierre’s leg nerves were damaged, but he did not say it would affect his ability to have kids!
Luca noticed a change in Pierre's expression. She reckoned that they had already found something out, so she said, “It looks like you found something. I think you'd better let us go.”“No!” Karen's tone was assertive. “No matter what, you have to perform dry needling on Pierre today.”Luca frowned in silence.Pierre set his phone aside. A mocking gleam flashed across his eyes. “Yeah, you’ll be performing dry needling on me today, no matter what.”He did not plan on having Luca perform dry needling on him for the long term. The room was filled with surveillance cameras. As long as he got one more session from her, another naturopathic physician could learn from the footage afterward. This was the plan Pierre and Karen came up with.They could not afford to offend Luke’s people, but if they had to, they would do it once and then send Luca back unharmed.“Anyway, if you don't help me with the dry needling, I'll be useless. The Mallory family doesn't need useless trash. But thi
Karen felt sorry for her son, but when she heard Luca say she could stop anytime, she dared not tell her to stop. If they stopped now, everything they did today would have been for nothing!Karen looked at Pierre, planning to let him make the decision himself.Pierre clenched his teeth and said, “Keep going.”Luca could not help but secretly exclaim. It was not that Pierre could not endure the pain. If enduring the pain meant he could stand up normally again, he would endure as much as it took.She continued with the dry needling treatment without giving him a moment to catch his breath. Pierre felt like cursing, but when he saw the serious expression on Luca's face, he held back.The dry needling treatment lasted for half an hour. Luca used two packs of needles before stopping. “Alright, now we wait.”“Wait for what?” Karen immediately asked.“Wait for half an hour to remove the needles and for the damaged nerves inside to repair themselves,” explained Luca.Karen immediat
After watching the footage, Dr. Schwartz finally realized what Karen meant by different.The dry needling technique in the video was completely different from what he had learned. The air conditioning in the room was just right, but Dr. Schwartz was sweating bullets.He had a contract with Karen. The contract required him to learn the dry needling technique in the footage and use it to treat Pierre. However, he had no idea how to perform this strange new method.His assistant glanced at him and said in a low voice, “Professor, we've never seen this dry needling technique before. What should we do?”Dr. Schwartz wiped the sweat from his forehead, “Is this some new type of dry needling technique?”“It shouldn't be. I've read tons of literature, and none of it mentions a new dry needling technique coming out of A City. What do we do now?” Even though Dr. Schwartz’s assistant's medical skills were not as advanced as his, she knew that this technique would be hard for them to lea
“I think you misunderstood me. If I wanted to leave, I could've done it anytime.” Luca rose to her feet. She had not left earlier because there were thugs downstairs, and taking Vivian with her might have resulted in injuries.Luca was not afraid. She just did not want to get hurt.If either she or Vivian got injured because of this kidnapping, it would be a mess to deal with.“You!” Before Karen could finish her sentence, a sharp pain shot through her hand, causing her to drop the knife.She looked down and saw a thin needle sticking out of her wrist.“What's this?” Karen screamed and realized that the needle looked familiar.It looked like the ones that were used for Pierre’s dry needling treatment.Karen glared at Luca furiously. Luca had already pulled Vivian behind her. “It's just a needle. Pull it out, and you'll be fine. Madam Mallory, I'm done playing games with you. I'm definitely going to press charges for today's kidnapping. As for Mr. Pierre, he'd better take care of
Luca looked a bit awkward. “Mr. Norton…”Vivian's expression changed too. She felt wronged inside but showed anger on the outside.Was Gordan for real? He was always criticizing her. Even though Luca got kidnapped because of her, Vivian did not want it to happen either. What a petty guy!“I’m not wrong, am I, Dr. Craw? With your skills, taking down those punks would've been easy. If you didn’t have to worry about someone, you wouldn’t have gotten kidnapped, right?” added Gordan. He gave a pointed look at Vivian.Vivian's face turned red then pale.Luca let out a sigh and replied, “Enough, Mr. Norton. The one at fault here is Madam Mallory, not anyone else. You should cut down on smoking. It's getting late, and we need to go.”“Why do you care about him?” Vivian grabbed Luca’s hand. “A leopard doesn’t change its spots. Don’t expect him to!”Gordan's expression darkened.Vivian sure was something. Her words were getting harsher each time. She was even mastering some of the
“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
Luke stayed silent, letting the chilled beer cool him down, washing away some of the lingering heat.Gerald glanced around to make sure no one was nearby before leaning in and speaking softly to Luke. “Actually, I’ve seen it.”“Seen what?” Luke could not be bothered.Lowering his voice even further, Gerald whispered just loud enough for the two of them to hear, “I’ve seen you going into Ms. Craw’s room quite often.”Luke’s expression sharpened instantly. A cold glint flashed in his eyes.He had been so cautious. How had Gerald noticed? Was he bluffing?Luke narrowed his eyes and said nothing.His aura grew colder by the second.Gerald, sensing the rising tension, shrank back slightly and quickly added, “Relax, I’m not going to tell anyone. If I wanted to report you, I would’ve done it already.”Luke’s expression eased slightly.Gerald continued to reassure him, “I’m not one to meddle. Look, I haven’t said a word about you, and I even stood up for you during that whole thing
“Sure.” Luca was unsure why he was suddenly interested in the volunteers. She led him into the room where the volunteers were.Luke noticed that the volunteer’s legs were covered in needles.If Johann saw this, he would probably make a big fuss about it.Luke watched as Luca carefully removed each needle, checked some of the volunteer’s nerve functions, and offered a few reassuring words before picking up a tray filled with medical waste and leaving the room.Once they were outside, Luke, not having seen the volunteer's previous condition, asked, “Were his legs completely immobile before?”“Yes. He said it was an injury caused by a machine malfunction at the factory. It hadn’t been treated properly for years. By the time he was sent here, his family didn’t have time to help with massages, and his calves had atrophied. But now, as you can see, the muscles are gradually recovering, and he’s starting to regain sensation. In another week or two, his legs should be able to move.” Luca