Therefore, Vyen and Allison conspired to swap Queenie’s healthy and beautiful daughter with a dead baby who had been born to another local girl. After Queenie woke up, she learned that her baby was stillborn and almost went crazy. Her pale face was full of gloom and despair. She held the dead baby in her arms and refused to let go. Her eyes were almost blinded by the excessive crying. She kept complaining that she was useless and had failed to keep her and her husband's child. Vyen was uncomfortable when she saw Queenie's death-like appearance. However, she was consumed by her greed. She prioritized her needs and ignored the guilt she felt for Queenie. She forced herself to persuade Queenie that she was in good health and that she would have a chance to have other children in the future. However, Vyen knew that Queenie had a high probability of being infertile due to this dystocia, and her physical condition would not allow her to carry another child.
Luke carried Bianca to the bedroom and kissed her fair forehead. "Why aren’t you sleeping in the room?"Bianca stayed in his arms like an obedient kitten, and there was still a hint of drowsiness in her voice. "I thought you'd be back soon. Who knew you’d come back so late...""I'm indeed a little busy recently. Something went wrong with the partnership with Vivi Group, and the maid arson case is about to be heard in court. I'll spend time with you and the baby after dealing with these matters." Luke put her on the big bed."Are these things troublesome?" Bianca frowned.Luke said, "The problem with the partnership has been resolved, and we're still working on the arson case."Bianca heaved a long sigh as she recalled Giovan jumping from the building after the arson case.The whole country had been in shock since the arson case.Luke pushed Bianca's messy hair aside, revealing her delicate little face. "Deciding on a verdict isn't as easy as you think."Bianca was upset. "Are w
The hospital.Leia was huddled in the hospital bed, shivering like a madman!It was almost June when the weather was hot, but she had covered herself with a thick blanket.She screamed frantically and would not let anyone get close, including Queenie, the doctor, and the nurse.Several doctors and nurses tried to hold her down to give her a sedative, but the deranged Leia was unusually strong!She was also the heiress of the Norman family, so they dared not push too hard. For a moment, there was nothing they could do with her.Queenie looked at Leia with tears streaming down her face. Why had her daughter, who had always been so understanding and sensible, turn out like this?She remembered how her daughter had told her not to tire herself out when she was going to the office and it was right before Leia went missing in the hospital… Leia even said Queenie had worked so hard in taking care of her these days that Leia would cook a nice meal for her and Ol' Norman when she recover
Shakira's words hit Queenie hard like a bomb, exploding instantly! The fragments penetrated deep into her heart, making her feel throbs of pain...Queenie thought she had misheard her. She grabbed Shakira's arm tightly, her pale face full of shock. "Shakira, what... What did you say?""I said your daughter is alive and well. She wasn't stillborn when you gave birth to her!" Shakira's arm hurt from Queenie's grip. She took in a cold breath and said bluntly, "Queen, would you please ease your grip? It hurts."Queenie let go of Shakira with a look of joy on her face, but then it quickly dimmed again. She mumbled in disbelief, "Impossible. My daughter can't possibly be alive. I gave birth to a stillborn baby! The baby was so stiff that she didn't have any warmth when I held her. I remember it clearly!"Queenie began to cry again at the mention of her biological daughter.Children were her armor and her weakness.Shakira took out a piece of tissue and wiped Queenie's tears. She said w
Bianca rested at home for a few more days and felt almost well enough to go back to work.She was bored out of her mind resting at home for so long.Technology was so advanced now that people could communicate with others through video calls without going to the office. However, if a person was separated from a group for too long, they would not only feel lonely but also out of place when they got back to work.Luke could not resist Bianca's repeated requests. His heart softened, and he relented when she repeatedly assured him that she would not tire herself out.Luke never had the heart to refuse anything Bianca requested.Bianca returned to work and clocked in as usual. As soon as she got to the Design Department's entrance, she came face to face with the cold and elegant Mavis."Good morning, Ms. Laviere," Bianca greeted her with a smile.Mavis glanced at Bianca, her gaze falling on her belly that was clearly showing. Her eyes did not seem to stir."Good morning, Ms. Rayne."
Soon, it was time to get off work.Thinking that he had not taken Bianca out for dinner for a long time, Luke drove Bianca to a fancy restaurant for dinner.Shakira ran the restaurant, and the dining environment here was excellent.The music from the melodious violin wafted through the entire space. The place overlooked the city’s scenic lake and one could admire the sight by the French windows. They also served a variety of delicacies.As they were regular customers she was familiar with, Shakira served them personally.She placed the last dish on the table and said happily, "Luke, what have you been up to all this time? I haven't seen you for a long time. I missed you."Although Shakira got along well with Queenie, she did not have much contact with Allison. However, she was very fond of Luke. Plus, her husband was close with Zachary, so she was naturally more attentive to Zachary's son.Shakira had watched Luke grow up, so to speak, and sometimes, she was even more like his m
Fortunately, Shakira was an agile person, and she was experienced with such situations. She managed to catch the plate before it hit the floor, thus averting disaster. However, what Bianca said earlier rang in Shakira's ears like a clap of thunder. 'Allison was married to Bianca's father, and she said that Bianca was her daughter? How is that possible 'Luke said that he had done a DNA test with Bianca, and it proved that they're not siblings! 'That has to be it. 'The two are not related by blood. 'However, It's undeniable that Allison used to be related to Bianca's father…' Shakira remembered very well that Allison only bore one child, who was Luke. Luke was Allison's tool to enter the Crawford household, but Old Master Crawford had not recognized Luke's status back then. He only wanted to wait for Susan to give birth to a legitimate Crawford child. Zachary did not have the authority in the family, and he dared not go against his father's wishes. The child was not abl
T Corporation. Bianca's daily life had been smooth-sailing. She did not encounter any obstacles at work or at home. She had discussed with Luke, and they decided to get their marriage certificate from the Civil Registry Office at the end of the month. Bianca was especially happy every time she remembered that she would be Luke's legally married wife soon. "Ms. Rayne…" Mavis's impassive voice resounded in the conference room. Mavis was glaring unhappily at the daydreaming Bianca. A hint of disgust flashed past her eyes. Nina pinched Bianca heavily! Bianca suddenly came to her senses and focused on her surroundings! She looked down the long conference table and noticed that all her colleagues were looking at her, including her boss Luke Crawford. Embarrassedly, Bianca smoothed her hair and sat up straight. "Yes, Ms. Laviere?" Bianca looked at Luke. He was sitting up straight in his seat with a serious expression on his face. To everyone else, he was stern and impassiv
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
“This cup of coffee is from that gentleman for this lady.” The waiter smiled as he explained, placing the cup in front of Luca.Hera followed the waiter’s gaze and immediately recognized the man Luca had been looking at earlier.Her eyes darkened. She had noticed the man glancing in their direction. However, she had assumed he was looking at her.After all, she was dressed seductively, had put on makeup, and was undeniably beautiful. Any man who saw her would be attracted. If a man’s eyes lingered on her, it was not surprising at all.Realizing that the man had been watching Luca the whole time instead of her, Hera suddenly felt annoyed.Luca noticed her displeasure, glanced at Gordan, then smiled and said to the waiter, “Please thank the gentleman for me.”“Of course, miss. Enjoy your coffee.” The waiter, sensing the tension between the two women, quickly grabbed his tray and left before Hera’s sour mood could affect him too.“Hmph, feeling proud of yourself?” asked Hera.Luca