Nina pinched Tommy's chubby cheeks. “So, you're only worried about whether I'll come just because you want to make Luca happy?”Tommy laughed and shook his head. “Of course not. We like you too, Ms. Nina!”“Yes, we like Ms. Nina,” Rainie chimed in.“Aww, I trust Rainie more. Tommy, I don't believe you anymore” Nina teased him.“Ms. Nina, I'm being sincere! We all really like you!” Tommy quickly responded with a big smile.Nina laughed and played along with the kids.…Meanwhile, upstairs, Luke and Percy were discussing business.However, they were not talking about Pierre and Karen. They were discussing the upcoming bid.The government had already announced that the bidding would take place next week.After going over the remaining details and confirming there were no issues with the bid proposal, Percy asked, “How do you plan to deal with them?”“They're your mother and brother,” Luke reminded him helplessly. The simplest solution would be to send Pierre and Karen to the po
After Tommy lay down and covered himself with the blanket, he looked at Luke at the door and said, “Goodnight, Dad.”“Goodnight. Sleep well,” replied Luke, closing the bedroom door behind him.His phone buzzed. He glanced at it but did not return to the master bedroom. Instead, he headed to the other room and made a couple of phone calls.Once everything was sorted, Luke went back to the master bedroom.Luca was already sitting up in bed, holding a tablet.“Is the child asleep?” asked Luca. She looked up, assuming Luke had been putting Tommy to bed.“Yeah, he's asleep,” answered Luke, getting into bed and sitting next to her. He glanced at the screen filled with dense text and asked, “Looking at more research?”“Yeah.” Luca nodded. “Every study needs data to back it up. Look at this herb. It's poisonous but also has properties that can regenerate flesh.”She pointed at the document to show him.“I’ve been wondering why Shanks would use these herbs for research. Is he trying to
Ray felt a bit disoriented. It had been a long time since he had heard Vivian act affectionately with him.As he listened to Vivian’s voice, he called out, “Sis.”Vivian smiled and replied, “Ray, I miss home.”“If you want to come back, you can do it anytime,” replied Ray. He did not agree with her decision to study in A City initially. However, Vivian was feeling down back then, and he could not argue with her, so he let her go.“I’m not planning to come back right now. I'm just saying I miss it. A City is great, the university is great, and my classmates are great. I’m doing well here, but I’m not used to not having family around,” explained Vivian. She genuinely loved A City. That was why she chose to come.“When’s your next break?” asked Ray.“Well, in A City, the next break isn’t until February next year, so I have a while before I can go back. I just wanted to hear your voice because I miss home, that’s all.”“I’ll make time to visit you,” suggested Ray.Running a famil
Old Master Mallory stood up with his cane. “To Mallory Estate.”“Yes, sir!” Mr. Bennet jogged out to prepare the car.…At Mallory Estate, Karen had been anxious ever since Gale took Luca and Vivian away yesterday. She had been watching Dr. Schwartz, who had been up since early morning studying surveillance footage, and finally lost her patience. “When will you figure this out?”Dr. Schwartz trembled. He wanted to master this strange dry needling technique quickly, but it was not something an old man like him could learn overnight.Pierre, who was pushed into the living room in his wheelchair by a maid, heard Karen’s comment and mocked, “Look at the useless doctor you hired.”Karen’s expression changed. “He’s a well-known naturopathic physician in A City. Many people seek him out for dry needling.” She did not choose him without a reason.Dr. Schwartz was indeed talented in this area and had his own clinic. Locals praised his dry needling skills. Yet, he could not handle Luc
“You're still lying to me at this point!” roared Old Master Mallory. He grabbed the documents from the coffee table and threw them down again.Karen jumped, finally realizing she should pick up the papers and take a look. Old Master Mallory let out a cold snort when he saw that. “If no one had told me, I wouldn’t have known that Pierre's injury affects his fertility!”Pierre frowned. How could this possibly affect his fertility?Karen furrowed her brows and quickly explained, “Dad, this is all a misunderstanding. It doesn’t affect fertility.”“But they say it does!” Old Master Mallory trusted Luca's expertise and believed her assessment.Karen said, “Dad, look. It’s just a slight issue. It won’t affect fertility, and Pierre has been feeling much better after the dry needling treatment yesterday. With continued treatment, he should return to normal.”“Yes, Grandpa. I’m aware of my own condition,” added Pierre. With so many people around, if word got out, would he still have an
Pierre looked at the person speaking. “He’s speaking up for you?”Karen remained silent.The subordinate who had spoken up also fell silent. Even though Karen had made many mistakes, the current issues were all because of Pierre. The subordinate could not stand seeing Pierre provoke Karen and risk making her emotional, so he intervened.Pierre pointed at the subordinate. “What’s his relationship to you?”Unable to hold back any longer, Karen stepped forward, raised her hand, and slapped Pierre across the face.“No matter what, I’m still your mother. I endured all this scolding from Old Master Mallory for you. You’re the one who had me kidnap Luca. I took all the blame for you, and this is how you treat me? Pierre, I’m your mother, not your tool! Are you out of your mind?” said Karen with a fiery tone.She had taken all the blame for him, only to be treated this way!Feeling deeply hurt, Karen felt she could not stay any longer. “Pierre, wake up! I owe you nothing! In fact, I’m
It felt like being part of an experiment. Both he and Pierre were test subjects under different educational methods, and the outcome was yet to be seen.Karen was startled for a moment, but she understood what Percy meant. “It’s not that I’m biased. It’s just that your grandfather specifically chose you as the heir, so you had a heavy burden and no time to laze around.”Percy nodded.Karen continued, “You see, my strictness is what helped you achieve what you have today, isn’t it?”Percy nodded again.Karen felt reassured that she had not done anything wrong when she heard that. It was not about favoritism; it was about raising an heir.“So now, despite how different we are, I still don’t understand why your heart always seems to be with him—even though I am obviously more capable.” Percy wasn’t particularly needy for maternal affection. However, he wondered why, despite his efforts, he never received her approval.Karen was stunned for a moment.She knew she had been bia
As Karen listened to him, she stumbled back two steps.“What gives you the right to accuse me?” Her once-clear eyes now showed a hint of madness.Percy frowned. It seemed she still did not realize her mistake.“You think you did nothing wrong? Everything Pierre is doing now is to show you that you messed up! Your job isn’t to cover for him but to make him understand that mistakes come with consequences. "Now, you can’t even go back to Mallory Manor because of him. Mom, how much more can you afford to lose?” asked Percy.Karen collapsed onto the couch, covering her face as she wept.Percy’s words had hit her where it hurt the most. Indeed. As she had been busy handling Pierre’s messes, she had lost the status that should have belonged to the matriarch of the Mallory family.She had always thought she was better than Nina. However, she was in the same boat now, maybe even worse.Karen broke down in tears!Nina might not have a powerful family backing her, but she had an excep
“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.
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