There was dead silence in the villa. Old Master Crawford was frowning while keeping quiet. He knew in his heart that it was pointless to hide Luke’s driver's license. If Luke insisted on obtaining a marriage license with Bianca, he would find a way to get his driver's license. He had always wanted an arranged marriage for Luke, just like he did with Zachary. Old Master Crawford believed in business interests rather than true love. However, Old Master Crawford was acutely aware that Luke was not like his cowardly father. He was strong and assertive, not at all as easy to control. Moreover, his grandson was king of the corporate world. Meanwhile, Old Master Crawford was getting weaker as time passed. Old Master Crawford eventually warmed up to the idea. He believed that Luke would be more responsible after he married Bianca. Luke and Bianca had three children together, so if he continued to object, that would only lead his grandson to rebel! Given the s
At home, in the bedroom. The light-colored curtains were blowing in the night breeze, and the temperature tonight was a bit cooler. Bianca looked at Luke who was smoking on the balcony with a frown. Since she got pregnant, he had quit smoking at home.Bianca knew that he must be in a bad mood. She quietly walked over, grabbed the half-burned cigarette from his hand, and pinched it out in the ashtray. She looked at him accusingly before putting her arms around his waist. "You promised me that you’d quit. You broke your promise." Luke’s eyes were dark, and he hid the complex emotions he was feeling. He took off his coat and put it on Bianca, saying slowly, "Sorry, I was a little out of control today. I promise it won’t happen again." Bianca wanted to ask him about his private conversation with Allison earlier in the day as she was not sure what led to the tension between them. However, she kept her questions to herself when she noticed Luke’s
Leia drove a convertible sports car. The night breeze brushed across her face as she drove to a nightclub. Julie followed her cautiously. She kept a safe distance with the car in front, ensuring that she would not lose Leia while also staying hidden from the woman’s sight. Julie was very grateful for the limited edition sports car that Queenie gave her. Otherwise, she would not be able to keep up with Leia's speeding. Leia parked the car at the club. She threw her keys to the jockey, put on her sunglasses, and walked inside. Julie was afraid of losing Leia, so she left her keys with the jockey as well before hurrying to catch up with her... Leia arrived at an extremely luxurious VIP room. At the entrance of the room, two men in black stood guard. The door opened, and Julie, who was hiding in the corner, saw more than 20 men and women inside. It was unsightly. On the crystal table, there were blocks of well-packaged white powder. Se
The next day, T Corporation. It was lunchtime. Bianca and her colleagues went to a restaurant for lunch. The restaurant was on the second floor. Through the large transparent glass windows, she could get a bird's eye view of the beautiful scenery outside. Bianca ordered fish and chips with a salad and tomato soup on the side. She sat at the table in front of the window with Sue, Nina, and Julie. She began eating. Bianca no longer suffered from morning sickness so her appetite had increased as well. On the other hand, Sue was more than eight months along and almost vomited whatever she ate. "Bea, why is your appetite so good? Why can't I eat anything?" Sue was envious of Bianca's appetite. She put her hands on her cheeks and watched Bianca eagerly eat her fish and chips. Sue went for vegan food, and there was not a trace of meat in front of her. "Sue, is the baby in your stomach a picky eater? Would you like to eat some chili to suppress it?"
Luke's eyes followed the Lamborghini as it drove off. A hint of ferocity flashed across his deep eyes. When he learned that there was a man named Anand outside the office building who brought flowers to confess his feelings to Bianca, he immediately hurried over. He did not expect to be so infuriated with what he saw and decided to look into Anand. "You’re the mother of three yet you’re still so popular. Do you think I should hide you somewhere?" Luke's low voice was attractive but it was clear that there was a hint of complaint in what he said. Bianca explained, "There’s nothing going on between Anand and me. I don’t know what’s going on. I’m not even that close with him. We met a few times because of work and barely interacted. I didn't expect him to do this..." Having said that, Bianca looked at Luke's stern but handsome face again, saying softly, "I don’t know what’s wrong with Anand. I’ve told him that I have a husband..." "Silly, I don’t need an expl
Desperate for answers, Bianca pushed Luke's office door open without even knocking.However, what she saw was Mavis, dressed in a sexy V-neck suit, leaning over and whispering something in his ear.Her flirtatious side right now was a far cry from the persona of a strong woman she usually displayed in front of everyone.When she saw Bianca come in, Mavis looked at her quiet little face and smiled faintly at her. Then, she said to Luke, "Mr. Crawford, we'll finalize the tendering project like this for now. As for the details, I'll make a detailed proposal and send it to you in a few days. You can carry on with your work. I'm going to go first."After Mavis left, Luke put down his pen, looked at Bianca with a gentle gaze, and beckoned her. "Come."Bianca pressed her lips slightly and lowered her head without going over.That was because she had caught a whiff of another woman's perfume, which made her a little uncomfortable."What's the matter? You seem to have something on your m
After Jason left, Bianca looked at Sue who was close to breaking down and helped her sit down on a chair outside the restroom.Taking out a tissue, Bianca wiped the tears from the corners of Sue’s eyes and asked with concern, "Sue, what on earth is going on with you and Mr. Doyle?"Sue reached out her hands to cover her pale face and threw her head back to push back the tears. "Bianca, I really don't know what to do..."Although she and Bianca had only known each other for just over a year, their relationship was more than just that of colleagues. They were sisters who could talk about anything.However, there were still some things she kept to herself. She had been bottling it all up inside of her that she was now confused and helpless without a clue what to do next.Although she had many friends around her, she had no one to confide in except Bianca."Sue, you can tell me anything. Did Mr. Doyle bully you?"If he did bully you, I'll have Luke teach him a lesson!"Sue could se
It was almost time to leave work.The conference room in T Corporation. There were 20 or so people in the conference room. There were a mix of older and younger people as well as both men and women. However, most of them were older. There were only a few young business elites, but they were undeniably T Corporation's great talents. Dressed in a couture suit, Luke sat calmly at the head of the table. The man's tall height and impressive aura made him particularly eye-catching.Everyone sat around the conference table in order, discussing business.However, except for Luke, there was a somewhat distressed look on everyone's faces.The silence lasted about ten minutes.It lasted until Jenson Zook, a gray-haired senior member of the company, finally spoke in exasperation, "Mr. Crawford, I refuse the proposal to acquire Easy. Our company is mainly involved in technology, real estate, chemical engineering, international trade, finance, and so on. Our properties have expanded everywh
“As long as he stays out of your sight, I won’t make a move,” said Ray.If Gordan were not one of Luke’s pals, he would have been long gone.Anyone who dared to mess with someone Ray cherished would not be let off easily. The only reason Gordan was still breathing was thanks to Luke.“Alright, Ray. Just let it go. I’ve moved on and started a new life. Plus, I’m studying at Capital University. We have mutual friends, so running into him is inevitable. If that happens, we’ll just be strangers. There’s no need to step in for me or act impulsively.” Just as Vivian finished speaking, the doorbell rang.“Is it the clothes delivery?” asked Ray.“No, while you were talking with Mr. Crawford, I asked someone to buy some medicinal cream. The ones here work better than the ones in Russia. A little massage with it should help you heal faster,” Vivian said, grabbing a mask and hat before heading to the door.“Miss, is the boss alright?” asked one of Ray’s subordinates.“He’s fine. Did you ge
When Ray heard that there was a 90% chance of success, he could not help but ask, “Can you walk me through your plan?”“The prison where Kassy is being held actually has an underground passage. I’ve already spoken with the prison officials, and we can use that passage to transport her out. It connects to the sewage system, which leads directly to another detention facility. "The only catch is that this facility’s underground pipes don’t connect to the outside world, so the remaining 10% risk lies in moving Kassy onto the main road and securing her at the new location.“This whole operation can be done without anyone noticing, which is why I’m confident it’ll work.” As Luke explained, he pulled out a detailed map of the sewer system. “Here’s the layout I had someone retrieve. This is the starting point, and this is the destination. If we take this route, we can move Kassy without alerting Abel’s people.”Abel’s men were keeping a constant watch outside the prison now. That was prec
Luke had no idea what kind of mindset the person who poisoned Vivian had. However, he found Gordan’s current behavior quite intriguing.“Luke, what’s with that look?” Gordan felt uneasy under his gaze.“You seem pretty concerned about Vivian,” Luke leaned back on the couch and said thoughtfully.Gordan froze for a moment before laughing it off. “What? No way! Why would I care about her? Come on, Luke, don’t say stuff like that. If she hears it, she might start getting ideas.”Luke could not be bothered to expose his act and got straight to the point. “Why are you here?”“Speaking of that, I almost got sidetracked by that woman.” Gordan quickly pulled out his phone, grimacing. “Man, Ray really didn’t hold back. I need to get some treatment for these bruises later.”Luke took the phone and tried to unlock it. It needed a passcode. He handed it back. “Unlock it.”“All set, boss.” Gordan unlocked the phone and went back to pressing an ice pack against his face.Luke scanned the scr
It was the sound of a body slamming onto the ground.Gordan’s furious curses rang out. “Damn it! You're really going all out, huh? Do you think I'm scared of you?”Another loud thud followed.Vivian frowned. What the hell were they doing? Were they really going to fight until one of them won?Both of them were skilled fighters. If they kept this up, neither would walk away unscathed.“Enough!” shouted Vivian.The two men locked in the fight froze for a moment.“Vivian, stay out of this. I’m beating him to a pulp today,” growled Ray, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He was not in great shape, but neither was Gordan.“Ray, I don’t want to see him,” said Vivian. She did not want Ray fighting him. It was not to protect Gordan but because she did not want Ray getting hurt.Also, she definitely did not want Gordan to see her like this. She could already picture his smug face, his sarcastic remarks and his gloating.“Fine. If you don’t want to see him, I’ll just beat
After returning to the hotel from the hospital, Vivian felt much better.To her, the fact that Ray had taken her to the hospital meant there was hope for the future, which lifted her spirits. She picked up an apple from the fruit platter the hotel had provided and took a bite.“Ray, this apple is really good. Want to try one?” asked Vivian.Ray shook his head. “You go ahead. By the way, can I take a look at the luggage you brought from Russia?”Vivian nodded. “I only hung up my clothes. Everything else is still in the suitcase. You can just take the things out.”Ray walked into the bedroom, pulled out her suitcase, and opened it. Inside were just books and a few other small items, nothing unusual.“You didn't bring any food with you?” asked Ray.“I haven’t really been in the mood, but the food here is way better than Russian food, so I didn't feel the need to bring anything.” Vivian’s tone was lighthearted now that she was in a better mood.“That's true.” Ray agreed, then asked
Ray's tone turned serious. “Alright, I'll make the arrangements immediately. Dr. Craw, once the toxicology report is out, we’ll still need your help.”“For toxicology cases like this, I recommend combining both modern medicine and traditional herbal medicine. Don’t worry, if I can help, I definitely will,” Luca assured him.“Alright, thank you.” Ray expressed his gratitude and ended the call before updating Luke on the situation.Luke reassured him, saying, “If Vivian was really poisoned, don’t worry. Previously, Luca discovered that her biological mother had been poisoned with a slow-acting toxin. She prescribed herbal medicine and used purely traditional herbal medicine to detoxify her. It didn’t take long for all the toxins to be expelled, and her health fully recovered. So, rest assured. If it’s something she can fix, she’ll do everything she can.“Besides, once we identify the exact problem, the doctors will be able to step in and help, right?”“Yes. Thank you both in advance
Gerald walked over. “Ms. Sanchez, what's wrong?”He was eager to get back upstairs and stash his cigarettes before someone noticed and took them.Hera yanked open his bag, glanced at the cigarette brand, and scoffed. “I thought it was some expensive brand. But it's just this? And you’re acting all deferential to her over this?”Gerald was rendered speechless. “I knew Ms. Craw was going out, so I asked her to bring these back for me. This is the brand I’m used to. Maybe it’s not expensive to you, but for me, it’s what I can afford.”Realizing she had misspoken, Hera felt a bit awkward. She quickly changed the topic. “Still, is a pack of cigarettes really worth you being so grateful to Luca? How much could it have cost?”“It’s not about the money,” replied Gerald. “It's just a nice surprise. I never expected to get anything out of helping Ms. Craw, and this kind of unexpected gift has nothing to do with the price. Besides, I'm not being overly grateful. I'm just happy.”He was ba
Luca’s lips were already swollen and flushed from Luke's kisses.That deep shade of red, reflected in Luke’s eyes, was utterly captivating. It tugged at his nerves, stirring an uncontrollable desire within him.At that moment, he had only one thought, and it was to completely lose himself in her.…The two of them stepped out of the bedroom.Vivian quickly turned her back and greeted Luke when he saw him coming out, “Hello, Mr. Crawford.”“Vivian, don’t worry. Everything will get better,” replied Luke.Vivian simply hummed in response.Ray gave them a grateful nod as Luke took Luca’s hand and led her away.It was only after hearing the door close that Vivian finally turned back around.Ray glanced at her and said, “Vivian, they’re your friends. You don’t have to act this way around them. They won’t judge you.”“I know they won’t…” Vivian let out a soft sigh. “I just feel like I look terrifying right now. I didn’t want to scare them, so I avoided facing them directly. But it’
“I once treated someone who had been slowly poisoned over a long period of time. Their pulse was similar to Vivian’s. Given that your family has good genetics, yet Vivian is different from the rest of you, and her skin improved after leaving her original environment, all of this confirms my suspicion.“Could it be that someone in your family has been poisoning Vivian? That would explain why her skin ended up like this.”“If she really has been poisoned, then would staying away from that environment or identifying the person responsible help her get better?” asked Ray.Luca shook her head.“The poison I’ve encountered before was a slow-acting toxin that kept the victim’s skin dark. I don’t know exactly what it was, but long-term exposure to any poison has an effect on the body. It's just a suspicion now. I need to consult someone I know. And honestly, I can’t be sure what’s really causing Vivian’s condition.“Is her skin deteriorating so quickly because she was poisoned once more a