“Even if it were still around, I wouldn't want you to wear it after that woman has had it on.” Luke added, “I’ll have a big surprise for you on the day our family has reunited.”He meant his words.He had been surveying rings.“What about all those other pieces of jewelry?” asked Luca, referring to the many pieces Luke had given her. She had kept them all together, and if the impostor Bianca could get her wedding ring, the others must have been touched by her too.Just thinking about those things being handled by such a woman, Luca felt the same as Luke. She would not want to wear them again.Luke said, “They’re all yours. Do whatever you want with them.”“How about we hold a small auction for them and donate the proceeds to the welfare home?” suggested Luca. The welfare home she had in mind was the one that had taken in Luke before.“Sure, it’s up to you,” Luke agreed. He had no objections and thought it was a good deed.Once the issues with the Island of Despair were resolv
“Come to the base now,” instructed Abel.Luca wanted to test why he was calling her there at this time, so she deliberately made things difficult. “But I've got something to do now.”“I don't care what it is. Just get to the base now,” Abel cut her off and hung up.Luca ended the call helplessly. It seemed like this was urgent. Abel did not even bother with the usual small talk.Warren saved the recording and asked, “Are you heading there now?”“Yes, I have to. I'll grab a cab. You can head home,” replied Luca. Normally, she would call a cab, so there was no way she could drive there today.As Luca opened the car door and was about to step out of the car, Warren asked, “Do you need someone to follow you secretly?”“No.” Luca declined without hesitation. “I’ll be fine in A City.”If something were to happen, having someone follow would not make a difference anyway.Luke's subordinates could not follow her into the base. Once she got inside, whether she was safe or not was beyon
Abel was no longer sitting on the couch. Instead, he was off to the side, wearing boxing gloves and punching a heavy bag.Luca knew she could not just leave, so she stood there and waited until he was done. After a while, he took off the gloves and asked, “How’s the experiment going?”“No idea,” replied Luca.Abel looked at her with obvious displeasure. “You were in there all afternoon!”Luca shook her head. “I don’t know what Mr. Shanks’ experiment is about, so how could I know how it’s going? I was just there to assist.”Abel was at a loss for words for a moment, but he knew she was right.He let out a cold snort and dismissed her. “Hmph, whatever. Get out.”As Luca observed how much Abel cared about the experiment, it only confirmed her suspicions.This experiment Shanks was working on was for Abel’s benefit.However, what exactly was this experiment?Luca was puzzled, but she dared not to dig deeper while she was in the lab. She feared that if she seemed too curious, Shan
Luca had no idea that so many trivial things had happened after she left the base.After she left the base, she finally managed to get a cab.After getting in the car, she sent a message to Luke, letting him know she was on her way back.As soon as she sent the message, Luke called her.Luca answered.“Everything okay?” Even though it was just two simple words, Luca could hear the concern in Luke's voice.Luca replied, “I'm okay. Really, I'm fine. Everything's good. I’ll give you the details when I get back.”“Alright, I’ll be waiting for you.” Luke knew she had just left the base and did not offer to pick her up. If there were people tailing her, picking her up would risk exposing that.Therefore, after reminding Luca to stay safe, he ended the call.Even though she was exhausted, Luca stuck to her original plan, changing to another car and continuing her journey back. She wanted to cover her tracks. If she went straight back and there were any of Abel's men following her
After Luca finished washing up, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Luke held her in his arms, but he was wide awake.Ever since he found out that Luca was summoned to the the Island of Despair base today, he was unable to rest easy, worried that something might happen to her. Fortunately, she was not hurt, and everything seemed normal.Now that Shanks was frequently conducting research here, Luke knew he would continue to worry if this issue was not resolved, He realized some things could not be delayed any longer.In the pitch-black bedroom, his phone suddenly lit up. Luke released Luca’s waist, picked up his phone, and quietly left the room. After closing the door, he glanced at the message, then stepped onto the balcony and dialed a number.“Boss, you saw the message?” Gale’s voice came through. He was the one who sent the message earlier.Luke’s voice was heavy as he directly asked, “Yeah. Are you sure the information is accurate?”“It’s accurate. I
“Gale's handling it. Don’t worry,” said Luke.Luca rubbed her eyes and replied, “I'm going to have to take another leave this morning. Good thing you're the boss. If it were someone else, I'd probably be fired by now.”Luke's gaze deepened. “I'll have Rain and the others keep an eye on things.”“That's fine, but try not to let them blow their cover. I might get hit once or twice today, but it's all part of proving my innocence. Don't worry, Abel won’t go too hard on me,” Luca assumed.Luke instantly regretted his decision when he heard this.Perhaps it would have been better to hold off a little longer. Regardless of the situation, he would still be worried. Now that things were set in motion, there was no turning back.“Take care of yourself.” He planted a kiss on her forehead.Luca smiled, trying to reassure him. “Don’t worry, I'll be fine.”She got out of bed, quickly washed up, and left without eating breakfast.Aunt Neile noticed her rushing out and could not help but a
Everyone’s eyes were glued to the screen. They were too afraid to even blink, worried that they would miss who started the fire. The surveillance footage was playing at double speed. After a while, a figure appeared on the screen.Everyone turned to look at Kyle.Abel narrowed his eyes and stared at him. Kyle rubbed his eyes and realized that the person in the video really was him. He immediately protested, “It’s not me! That can’t be me in there!”Abel pointed at the screen and asked, “Are you sure that’s not you?”“Boss, why would I start a fire? I’ve got no beef with you guys!” Kyle responded in a panic.“Where were you at three in the morning?” Abel asked again. He initially suspected that Luca might have hired someone to set the fire. After all, no one else on the Island of Despair would have had the motive. For someone who was not particularly skilled like Kyle, he would be in deep trouble even if he managed to destroy the base in A City without getting caught. H
Once someone messed with Shanks' research, it did not matter who they were, he would not show any mercy. Luca knew this all too well, so when Shanks said they could not let Kyle off the hook, she did not look surprised. She just kept sorting through the data.Abel could tell Shanks was really mad. After all, days of research had just gone up in smoke, and anyone would be furious in his shoes. Plus, Shanks had endured several tough days in the mountains of X City just to gather those herbs.“I'm not letting him off, but we still need to investigate this thoroughly,” added Abel.“Even if there’s no solid evidence, you’d still beat someone half to death. Abel, this is my research, and it’s what you want. You need to get to the bottom of this. If this isn’t handled properly, I’m not going to continue with the research,” replied Shanks. He could not stand people who casually ruined others' work.“Alright, alright, don’t worry. When the time comes to take action, I won’t hesitate.