When Bianca was reading the documents, the department lead brought several people into the office. "Let me introduce everyone. This is the design manager from Vivi Group and the core design team." Bianca observed them carefully. The female design manager was in her late thirties, while the others were a lot younger. "Nice to meet you. I am Sue Carter, the design team lead from T Corporation. It's a pleasure to be working with you," Sue said with a smile as she stretched out her right hand. "Yanis Fuller," The female design manager said briskly and lightly shook Sue's hand. Tom also shook hands with Yanis and introduced himself. When it was Bianca's turn, she stretched out her right hand and said, "I am Bianca Rayne. Nice to meet you." Unexpectedly, Yanis glanced at Bianca coldly and did not shake her hand. Bella was feeling rather smug about it. Earlier, when she had the opportunity, she had slandered Bianca in front of Yanis. She said that Bianca had gotten into th
When Bianca was imagining her children's smiling faces, Sue abruptly patted her shoulder. "Hey, look at the silly grin on your face. Were you talking to the boss earlier? You should've seen how gentle your smile was. I'm so jealous!" Bianca knew that Sue was almost thirty years old but remained single. She guessed that Sue must have experienced some trauma in her previous relationship. Many men tried to court her, but she rejected all their advances. Sue was an intelligent and capable individual. Bianca did not know that Sue had an ulterior motive when she tried to be friends with her. However, when Sue got to know more about Bianca, she found out that Bianca was full of personal charm and design talent. Eventually, they became true friends. "It's not him. I was on the phone with Lanie and Rainie earlier." Bianca had always had a good impression of the carefree Sue. Not only Sue had a good personality, but she had also helped Bianca when she was in a pinch. Bianca was gra
Melissa instantly noticed Bianca. She held onto Xavier's arm tightly and grunted audibly. "Why do I see that woman everywhere? How unlucky!" Not only had she failed to frame Bianca in the luxury fashion store, but she had also lost a diamond necklace worth almost a million dollars. She was scolded when she got home, and her elder brother had docked her allowance. Melissa had been troubled by that incident. Of course, Bianca was not too happy when she saw the capricious and unreasonable Melissa. She was about to hold the children's hands and turn in the other direction when Lanie suddenly looked at the woman and blinked. There was a mischievous glimmer in his eyes. He tugged the hem of Bianca's shirt and said childishly, "Mommy, I've seen that woman before…" Bianca looked at Lanie curiously. She did not understand how the little boy would recognize Melissa. "Where have you seen her, Lanie?" Bianca asked. Melissa was also surprised. She looked at Lanie and racked her
The host of the clubhouse glared at Melissa coldly. His tone of voice was like Arctic ice. "Miss, we do not tolerate such behavior here. This is a high-end place, and we do not welcome any guests who do not behave themselves. No one can insult any of my honored guests. You keep saying that my guest is a thief, but what you have lost is only a 900,000 dollar item. Anything of Mr. Crawford's presents to his woman would have cost at least millions. Would she be bothered about your diamond necklace? What nonsense!" The other guests in the clubhouse exclaimed in surprise. Indeed, Luke Crawford was richer than some countries. Any of his woman's accessories would have cost millions. Would she be bothered about stealing a 900,000-dollar necklace?The woman had been yelling that Mr. Crawford's woman was a thief, but she did not have any evidence. She must have lost her mind for accusing Mr. Crawford's woman in public. Melissa had been slapped first by Xavier, then by Luke. She was like
In the private room, a purebred Persian cat was sleeping lazily on the snow-white fur carpet. The Persian cat's long fur blended perfectly with the carpet… Bianca did not notice it. She nearly stepped on the cat's tail with her high heels, which caused the sleeping cat to suddenly pounce. As it pounced, it bared its teeth and hissed at Bianca, which gave her a huge shock! She instinctively took a step backward, and she lost balance. If not that Luke supported her in time, she would have fallen on the floor! "Are you OK?" Luke held Bianca in her arms while staring daggers at the "perpetrator." The Persian cat was not intimidated by the man's imposing aura. It shook its fur and started at the family of four with its sky-blue eyes. It looked like an arrogant but graceful noblewoman. Rainie could not help but fall in love with that cute and furry creature. She excitedly crouched down and stared at the cat while petting its soft fur. "Wow, Mommy, this cat is so pretty!"
Leia knew from Allison that Luke was having dinner at Blue Honors. She dressed up and wanted to surprise him with her appearance. She did not expect that Bianca was together with him. 'What's so good about Bianca that he loved him so much?' What made Leia even more disconcerted was that she had met Scarlett Quincy, a girl from the same orphanage. Leia closed her eyes, trying hard not to think of those detestable memories. Unfortunately, scenes from the past replayed in her mind like a movie. When they were taken in by the orphanage at the same time, Leia was six years old, while Scarlett was five. Back then, Leia was emaciated, and she did not speak much. She looked as though she came out of a refugee camp. Meanwhile, Scarlett was dressed in a puffy princess dress and wearing a tiara. She was as beautiful as an angel. Scarlett had a good temperament, and she knew how to sing, dance, and tell stories. Every child in the orphanage, no matter girl or boy, liked her and con
Leia's hand clenched onto the handbag tightly as she stared at the scene.Even though it was as if a stormy sea was rumbling in her heart, she still had to put on a look on her face to show and pretend that there was nothing wrong."Scarlett Quincy, room number three." Suddenly, a woman who looked like the maître d'hôtel called Scarlett in a hurry."Got it, I'll be there soon! Excuse me, miss, I have something else to attend to.” Scarlett smiled apologetically at Bianca.Bianca smiled and nodded, motioning her to go ahead.After Scarlett left, Luke thoughtfully picked up Bianca bridal style and walked into the private room.When Leia saw how thoughtful Luke was when taking care of Bianca in front of her, she was deeply hurt.‘Bianca Rayne?!‘Bianca Rayne??!‘She’s nothing but a plain old Jane! Why should Luke treat her any differently?’Leia thought about all the things she had done for Luke, how much she had devoted herself to him, but he had never treated her that tenderly
After Leia took the item from the man's hand, she carefully stuffed it into the pocket of her jacket.She walked toward Blue Honors.When she passed a crossroad, a dirty hand suddenly grabbed the corner of her coat. "Miss, can you do me favor? Can you spare some change?”Leia took off her sunglasses.She frowned in disgust when she saw a shaggy homeless person tugging on the corner of her clothes.The homeless man was drunk and wore a shabby jacket with holes. His clothes were dirty, and his natural skin color was barely visible from all the dirt. His face was in a horrible mess and it seemed as if he had not washed his face for at least a week.Leia could not stand his sloppy and dirty appearance."Piss off!" Leia rudely kicked the homeless man away with her high-heeled boots.When she saw the stains on the corner of her clothes where the homeless man had touched, Leia's brows furrowed deeper.It seemed that the new coat that she had just bought not long ago was about to be t
“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.