In the private room of a restaurant. The guests guzzled bottles upon bottles of alcohol. They had to hide their true feelings and maintain smiles on their faces even though the bitter taste lingered in their mouths. Luke was drinking with Mr. Norman and his men. He had drunk a lot of alcohol. He had a high tolerance for alcohol. Though he managed to decline most of the offers to drink, there were too many people toasting him. Everyone at the table was an influential politician or government official. Luke dared not decline too many of their toasts. He felt a little tipsy, though his mind was still sound. "There's something that I'd like to ask, Mr. Norman. T Corporation has always obeyed the law, and we only start a project only after we obtain the requisite permits. We have checked every document, permit, and schedule at least three times, and we have not found any problems. I would like to know if the company has done something wrong to deserve the stop-work order." He po
T Corporation. Ever since the failed reunion banquet, Julie had been in low spirits. Usually, she would be laughing and chattering. Now, she was quiet and reserved. She did not focus on her work, and she frequently made mistakes. In the afternoon, Bianca corrected several critical figures in her work. After that, she tried asking her, "Julie, you don't seem to be in your element. How about you take a break for a few days?" Bianca felt sorry for Julie that she did not get to reunite with her birth parents because of her, but she did not regret it. If Julie was not truly Jack and Queenie's birth daughter, it was better to expose the lie now than later. Even so, Bianca was surprised to find out that she was Queenie's birth daughter. To her, the Raynes were her family. That was why she was not too keen on returning to the Norman family even after she knew the truth. Julie was different. She was obsessed with finding her birth parents. Julie shook her head and forced a s
Many people rushed over, and Bianca was nearly knocked off her feet. Fortunately, Sean was protecting her. Otherwise, an accident would have easily happened. Sean observed the surroundings while he helped Bianca walk toward a less crowded place. "You shouldn't stay here, Madam. Let's leave now." Bianca's mind was blank as she saw Queenie being held hostage. She could only see Queenie's pale face and the bloody line on her neck… Sean, seeing that Bianca was not moving, said sternly, "We have to leave, Madam. It's too dangerous here. I won't know how to tell Mr. Crawford if you get in an accident." Bianca could not breathe when she saw the thin line of blood on Queenie's neck. Her first instinct was to rush forward to danger. She did not want to see anything happen to Queenie, perhaps because they were mother and daughter. Nina stood next to Bianca, protecting her. She could not help but look in the direction in which Bianca was looking. "What are you looking at, Bian
The white hospital bed had a strong smell of disinfectant. Queenie was groggy and felt as though she was floating in the clouds. She felt a burning pain in her throat. She had dreamt of fire and ants biting her. In a daze, she wanted to touch her neck with her hand, but as soon as she moved her arm, there was a stabbing pain on the back of her hand. She moaned softly and immediately felt her hand embraced by a soft and warm hand. Queenie opened her eyes in shock and saw Bianca sitting next to her. She was looking at her with concern. "Mrs. Norman, are you okay?" Bianca saw Queenie wake up and breathed a sigh of relief. She then handed her a glass of warm water, saying, "Does your throat hurt? Does it feel very uncomfortable? Drink some water to wet your throat. The doctor said that your neck injury is mild but you should still rest in bed for a few days. You don’t have to worry too much. I’ll call the doctor to come over to check up on you.” Afte
The smell of meat wafted in the ward after Leia opened the takeaway boxes she brought. The smell was flavorful but intense. On a normal day, Queenie would have a good appetite if she smelled such delicious foods, however... Bianca could not help but shake her head. Leia had been so spoiled by Queenie that she did not have the EQ to take care of others. Leia did not notice her mother's expression. She brought one of the takeaway boxes to Queenie and intended to feed her. "Mom, try this. Ten Miles is known for its top chefs. The food I got is all your usual favorites. I’m sure you’ll have a great appetite." Queenie wanted to retch when she smelled the meat. She reached out and pushed the food back to Leia. She did her best to endure the discomfort she was feeling and said, "Leia, I have no appetite. I believe that Bianca hasn't eaten yet. You two can eat together." Leia was a little unhappy at Queenie’s reaction and felt annoyed when she heard that
Bianca walked in Luke's direction. She was in disbelief as she uttered, "Why are you here? Aren't you busy..."Bianca was amazed at Luke’s ability to appear immediately after she got into an accident. He was like the Flash. Although she felt very happy, after thinking about it, she sensed that something was wrong. She should not be a burden to him and his career. Luke went straight to the point and forcibly but carefully hugged her. He then gently pushed her to the side of the hospital road and against a century-old Platanus tree. His movements were rapid but his arms were carefully guarding her belly. Bianca looked up in astonishment and saw his handsome face. He seemed angry. Her heart skipped a beat and she felt guilty. She looked at him with a guilty conscience. After a while, she became bold and asked, "Luke, what happened to you today? Did something go wrong with your meeting?" Luke grabbed her slender hands and looked into her deep e
Seeing that he was about to hit Louis again, Susan yelled out as she loved her son, “Dad!” She stood up and shielded Louis. Susan protected her son with her body. "Dad, Louis is weak and won't be able to stand it if you keep hitting him. If you’re still angry, hit me instead!" Susan felt the pain Louis felt when Old Master Crawford hit him. She would do anything to protect him. When Old Master Crawford saw his daughter-in-law standing in front of Louis, he sighed heavily. He shook his head in disappointment and said, "You’ve spoiled this lawless son of yours! Susan, Louis is an adult. You can no longer indulge him like you did when he was a kid. It’ll only harm him!" Susan felt the irony in the situation and reacted with a smile. Allison’s son was involved in a shotgun marriage but Old Master Crawford never said anything. However, as soon as it involved her son, he blamed him for humiliating the family. It was clear that he was biased and it disgusted her!
When Leia saw Allison, she thought that Allison was there to see her and there was a burst of joy in her heart. She opened the door and welcomed Allison warmly. "Aunt Allison, why are you here?" Allison used to have a good impression of Leia. After all, she was not only sweet but always brought all kinds of luxuries for her every time she went to see her. However, since the video of her seducing Dr. Hoover was leaked out, her fondness for this woman was gone. After such an accident, she felt that Leia was no longer worthy of her son. Allison walked in and smiled nonchalantly when faced with the overly enthusiastic Leia. "Leia, where's your mother? Is she home?" "My mother is suffering from a neck injury and is resting in her room. Is there anything that I can help you with?" Leia told Allison the truth. She knew that Allison had a bad relationship with her mother and the two had not been in contact for many years. Why would Allison want to see her mother n
“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.
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