Bianca felt relieved when she found that Luke was alive. Around noon, Tommy said that he was hungry, while Old Master Rayne said that he was craving cornbread buns with collard greens. He was already quite old, and he missed comfort food from his younger days. Furthermore, he was sickly, and it was natural that he had specific cravings. Bianca almost missed the taste of cornbread too. She had lived with her grandfather since young. They were poor, and they ate cornbread for most meals. Grandpa used to make his own cornbread in the kitchen, and Bianca had learned how to do so by watching him. Cornbread was quite tasteless and rough, but it was delicious to her because she was hungry and poor. Now that her living conditions had improved and the food at every meal was of much higher quality, it was nonetheless healthy to eat grains sometimes. It might help Old Master Rayne in his recovery too. Bianca got the driver to go to the grocery store and bought a bagful of cornmeal a
Bianca hastily put on her slippers and rushed out of the door. She did not even realize that she knocked over a vase. Tommy ran across the yard with his short legs and stretched his arms toward the man that just came out of the parked car. "Daddy, gimme a hug!" Luke picked up the little boy in his arms and straddled him across his shoulders. "You're finally calling me Daddy. Tell me, what do you want me to buy for you this time?" The man's expression was cold, but his gaze was brimming with care and indulgence. "I don't want anything, Daddy. I miss you!" The cute little boy planted a kiss on Luke's cheek and slobbered all over his face. Luke helplessly wiped his face. His son was getting better and better at flattery. The little boy was jealous of him when they first met in Russia. Now that they were back home, he seemed to be quite clingy toward his father. "Daddy, Lanie already has his own car. When can I have one of my own?" Tommy stared at his father with his puppy ey
Luke tried to coax Bianca with a gentle voice. His low and resonant voice had a hint of an indulgent smile in it. The setting sun gave his sculpted facial features a charming silhouette, which made Bianca's heart beat faster. She could feel her earlobes turn hot. "Don't make me worry about you again. Otherwise…" Luke lowered his voice and stared at her gentle face. "Alright, but will you forgive me this time?" Bianca grunted coyly. "What if I don't forgive you?" Luke smiled, and his gaze became gentler. "Then I'll do whatever I can to convince you to forgive me. You know that I love you. I'll even pluck the stars from the sky if you want me to." His words made Bianca bite her lip. Her emotions were undergoing a tremendous change. She pretended that she was still angry, though she could not help but smile. "I want the stars in the sky. Are you going to fulfill my wish?" Luke tousled her hair and said abruptly, "Close your eyes, Bea." Bianca was surprised but did what s
Wayne grunted nonchalantly. "Don't you have anything else to do lately, Vince? You rarely meddle in my business." He was not the pushover third son that he used to be. As lowly as he was in the past, he was now on top of the chain of command. The populous Blatt family had a massive family business with more than a century of history. Naturally, a family like that would place importance on the preservation of their main bloodline. They were a weak and unremarkable branch and had been bullied and oppressed by the main family. All three brothers were competitive and ambitious. They were not going to yield to others so easily. The three brothers joined forces and, in the short span of a few years, eliminated the other branches of the family one by one. Victor Blatt, the eldest brother, was successful in the military circles. Vincent, the second brother, was an influential figure in the business circles. Wayne, the youngest brother, wielded considerable influence in the underwor
Leia's gaze discomfited Bianca, but she did not think too much of it. After all, Leia had never seen eye to eye with her, especially after she had reunited with her birth mother. She had taught Leia a lesson several times, which kept her attitude in check. However, she wondered if she was seeing things. She thought that Leia had lost a lot of weight recently, and her beautiful hair that used to be her pride had become a lot thinner. Her animated gaze was sunken, hollow, and unfocused, as though she was a migratory bird that had lost her way. Leia flashed an unnerving grin when she saw Bianca. Bianca shuddered and turned her head away. She looked at the black jar next to Queenie. She could catch a whiff of something fragrant emanating from the jar. "Are you pickling something, Mom? It smells quite good." "Your dad loves pickles, and so I'm pickling some radishes and gherkins for him. I'll give you and Luke some when it's ready. Do you like pickles too, Tommy?" Queenie said
Leia's sharp nails dug into her palm. She tried her best to remain calm and not let everyone see that she was panicking. However, her slightly trembling shoulders betrayed her composure. Queenie grabbed Leia's shoulder and asked her agonizingly, "Tell me, Leia. You didn't take illegal drugs, right?" Leia's fragile visage was instantly shrouded by a thin layer of tears when she heard her mother's question. "Don't you know my character, Mom? I've always been so timid, and I wouldn't even dare to kill an ant. Do you think that I would take illegal drugs? Everyone else can accuse me of wrongdoing, but you're my mother!" Her sickly demeanor and unrelenting questions made Queenie feel bad that she had even suspected her daughter the slightest. Bianca smirked when she saw Leia's act. 'Not bad. No wonder she can be an actress,' she thought. 'If she had employed her talents in her career, she might have become a famous movie star by now. 'Too bad, her talents are used at all the w
Inside the interrogation room.The lighting was not too bright, but it was a little glaring.There was only one table and three chairs in the interrogation room.Leia sat at the far end and in front of her were two seated police officers who looked particularly serious.No matter how they questioned Leia, she would not give them any answer other than she did not know.The incandescent light made Leia's already pale face look even paler, like a ghoul.Even though the two police officers had questioned her till their mouths were dry, she just remained silent the whole time.They looked at each other and felt that there was no need to ask her any further, so they said to her, "Ms. Norman, follow us to do a urine test. The test results will tell us whether you took the drugs.”Leia sneered, and her tone sounded strange when she said, "If the test results show that I didn’t take any drugs, it means that you guys have arrested an innocent person. If that’s the case, how are you going
Bianca was on the road, driving. When she was waiting at the red light, she was thinking about what Bridget had said.Bridget had asked, "Bianca, you’ve always been talented in design and you’re extremely intelligent. Why would you ever settle to be an ordinary housewife?"Didn't you use to dream of being the best architect in the world? You know how humans are. Once they get into a comfortable environment for a long time, it’s easy to fall into complacency. They’d still be okay if they had strong self-control and restraint. Otherwise, they would just be content with their lives and not do anything to better themselves."Bianca, I think that with the talent you have, whether it’s your natural talent or what you’ve refined throughout the years, it’s more than enough for you to start your own company. You should give it a try because we should use our time while we're still young to work hard. Otherwise, we’d only regret it if we wait until we’re too old.”The truth was, Bianca had 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