The investigation in the office lasted until nighttime. However, the invigilators' attitude toward Bianca had improved a lot. Now, Julie was willing to be a witness for Bianca's innocence, and that had made Bianca feel less helpless. However, Bella remained insistent. "I don't care what she says, she has indeed cheated. I saw with my eyes that the ball of paper fell from her hands!" "I did not cheat, Sir." Right after Bianca finished speaking, Julie nodded. "I can testify for Bianca, Sir. She is telling the truth. I saw Bianca put her notes in her handbag. Bella saw that things were not going her way. She instantly shouted, "Sir, I believe that they are complicit with each other. They must be friends that have known each other for a long time, so she's willing to give a false statement to help Bianca!" Julie spoke to the invigilator in a serious tone. "No, Ms. Rayne and I knew each other earlier today, and we have never met before. I volunteer to speak out for her because
The atmosphere instantly became tense. Bella felt her life flashing before her eyes the instant she saw Luke appear. However, there was no turning back for her. She braced herself and said, "Mr. Crawford, I really saw Bianca cheating. I was sitting behind her, and I saw everything…" "Is that so?" His icy gaze fell on Bella's face. Bella was stricken by panic when she saw that bloodshot gaze. Bella thought that Mr. Crawford had given up on Bianca after the humiliation she put him through at the engagement ceremony! After that, Mr. Crawford was rumored to be dating Leia Norman, and they were even one step away from being engaged… That was why Bella thought that Bianca had left A City. She had never seen Bianca appear next to Mr. Crawford for a long time… The woman next to Mr. Crawford during that period had always been Mavis. She had even seen her boss going out to dinner with Mavis on several separate occasions. That was why she thought that Mavis had replaced Bianca as
Late at night. Bianca was dreaming of being framed for cheating on the test. In the dream, Bella was pointing condescendingly at herself and shouting at her that she was a shameless cheater! The crowd around her were looking at her impassively. Some of them were even laughing and insulting her together with Bella! No one believed that she was innocent! "No, I'm not…" Bianca was flustered. She tried to explain to the people around her, but no one believed her. "Bianca, you cheater, you've ruined your future. Don't ever think of becoming an architect ever again. I say, people like you don't deserve to live!" Bella in the dream was laughing maliciously. Suddenly, she opened her bloody mouth and morphed into a fanged beast. It pounced toward Bianca and reached for her neck. "No! I didn't cheat! Why doesn't anyone believe me?" Bianca screamed in panic and suddenly opened her eyes. The scenes in the nightmare were still fresh in her mind. Her heart was thumping wildly, an
Luke and the others drove their cars to Misty Mountain. Misty Mountain boasted fantastic scenery. The mountain was shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, as though it was part of a fantasy dreamscape. Every year, it attracted tourists from many countries. Surrounded by several mountain peaks was a waterfall with a lake at the bottom. The water was clear and reflected the blueness of the sky, which was why it was called Azure Waterfall. The group of people went to the Cottage in the Clouds, a popular lodge located next to Azure Waterfall. It was built entirely with logs, though the interior was spacious and comfortable. The owner of the lodge was a young couple. They seemed to be loving toward each other. The male was tall and gentlemanly, while the female was beautiful and diligent. They were dressed in unique ethnic wear. They received Luke, Bianca, and the others with warm smiles. Even though they could see that the guests were dressed in luxurious clothes, they di
When Scarlett saw Jim, her grip on Simon's hand became tighter, and her clear eyes were fraught with unease. She even timidly hid behind the little boy, even though his height only reached her thigh. Jim was angry when he saw how Scarlett was trying to avoid him. However, he was not going to lose his temper in front of everyone, and so he glared at his precious son. Simon grinned at his father and clung to Scarlett's leg as though he was claiming dominance over her. At that moment, Jim had the urge to toss his son into the lake! However, he was also frustrated seeing how Scarlett was not keen to get close to him. His eager gaze was transfixed on her body, as though he was going to strip her clothes away with his eyes! Scarlett averted his hungry gaze and tried to strike up a conversation with Bianca to alleviate the awkward atmosphere. The two women standing together was a charming sight, even though they were pregnant. They were beautiful in different ways. Bianc
The adults were interested when the two little fellows said that they were going to spar. Even Luke and Bianca stayed to watch the show with the others. Soon, the two little boys started to trade blows. Lanie was well-trained in martial arts, and each punch and kick exuded power. Simon was not as well-trained, but he was used to brawling with other kids, and he was a more experienced fighter than Lanie. For a moment, no one knew who would be the winner. If they continued with the fight, they would not gain anything except for new bruises. "Stop fighting, boys. You'll hurt yourselves. Please stop…" At first, Bianca thought that it would be fun watching them play with each other. However, she soon became nervous when she saw that the two meant business. She wanted to go forward and pull them apart. Luke stopped her. He was quite interested in watching the children fight. The two boys had already disliked each other. Lanie thought that Simon was being a pest to his sister an
"You're Shania who was terribly ill last year?" Bianca ventured. The girl nodded happily, and Bianca smiled. "How are you recovering? Are your parents fine?" Bianca remembered that Shania used to be skeletally thin because of her illness. Now, she was spirited and energetic, totally different from what she was before. She should be in good health. "I'm so happy that you remember me, Madam! Thanks to your help, I went for surgery last winter, and my condition has been improving since. Look, I'm very healthy now." Shania twirled around in front of Luke and Bianca. Bianca could not help but laugh at how energetic the little girl looked. She pinched Shania's face and said gently, "Not bad. You look a lot better than before. There's so much color on your face now." "Thank you, Madam." Shania smiled shyly. She became curious when she saw Bianca's bulging stomach. "Are you pregnant, Madam?" "Yes, I'm bearing another life in my womb now." Bianca lovingly caressed her stomach.
Jim did not say a word. His face was scrunched up, and veins bulged on his temples. It seemed that he was trying to hold back intense anger! He continued to drag her deeper up the mountains! Scarlett was very tired. She wanted to suggest taking a rest, but she dared not. Instead, she tried to keep up. Suddenly, Jim pinned her on a thick and sturdy tree, and she shrieked in panic. "Ahh! Let go of me! What do you want?" Angrily, Jim pressed his lips onto Scarlett's lips, not giving her the chance to escape. "Jim, you're… you're hurting me…" Scarlett struggled and shoved timidly. Tears were welling up in his eyes. Jim ignored her protests. He continued kissing her overbearingly, drawing blood from her lips. Scarlett's eyes were filled with tears of humiliation and resentment, and they silently flowed down her cheeks. She stopped struggling. However, her piteous looks only made Jim angrier! Jim gripped so tightly that Scarlett's jaw was almost crushed to pieces. His eyes
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