Luke's mind was occupied by other troubles. He could not be bothered to wonder what was going on between the two of them. He nodded at the two women, then went to the balcony and lit a cigarette. "Mr. Crawford, I've already put the contracts you asked for on your desk. If there's nothing else, I'll be back to my office," Tina said politely. "Mm," Luke replied nonchalantly. Tina shot a warning glance at Mavis before turning around and leaving. After that, only Luke and Mavis were left in the office. Luke was standing at the balcony. One of his hands rested on the railing while the other held a cigarette. His silhouette was sharp against the bright blue sky. He looked like he was the ruler of the entire concrete jungle under his feet. He stood there without saying a word, emanating the bearing of an overlord. Mavis greedily locked her eyes on his handsome face. That man made all other men feel inferior. He was elegant, noble, and gentlemanly, but his character was asser
Susan continued to drink her tea, but in her heart, she despised Allison even more than before.This woman really did not have the slightest bit of shame. Not only did she become Zachary Crawford's mistress, but she also encouraged Old Master Crawford to remove her son's original spouse so that other more powerful women could take the top spot. She did whatever it took to achieve her goal.At this time, she was somewhat sympathetic to Bianca.Although Susan and Bianca did not see each other often, she had been maintaining a hostile attitude toward Bianca as she was Allison’s daughter-in-law. She had done unforgivable things to Bianca out of the hatred in her heart.There was no denying that Bianca was definitely a gentle and virtuous wife.She and Luke Crawford were the epitome of a ‘loving’ couple. She fought alongside him in the business scene while also being independent and strong enough that Luke's accident two years ago did not affect her one bit. She still lived elegantly.
6:30 p.m.Luke Crawford originally wanted to work late into the night, but because of his grandfather's words today, he felt uncomfortable mentally and left work early.He previously thought that his father had a failed marriage and failed to deal with the relationship between the elders and his mother until his death, causing the family to turn into a mess. Grandpa must hate the immoral act of abandoning one’s wife more than anyone else.However, he vastly underestimated his grandfather’s ruthless nature as a businessman.He only had his own best interests at heart. He would ultimately be inhumane to achieve his goal.Perhaps his father, Zachary, inherited the least genes from his grandfather’s side.It was peak hour. There was heavy traffic on all roads. Luke drove the plainest BMW he had, and instead of feeling relaxed like his usual self, he was anxious.For some reason, his right eyelid had been twitching frequently the entire day. He had a hunch that something bad was abou
Soon, the traffic jam in front of Bianca's car was gradually dispersed by the traffic police.She rolled down the window and looked in Luke’s direction. Seeing that it was still heavily congested where he was, she decided to go first and wait for him near Forest Park.After making up her mind, Bianca was just about to roll up the car window when she suddenly noticed a few cold glances that seemed to be staring at her.Bianca looked through the rear-view mirror, trying to catch a glimpse of whoever was staring at her. She saw a black car not far away from them, their windows being rolled down.Inside the car sat two men in sunglasses with scary tattoos.They furtively glanced in her direction and spat out smoke rings in her direction every now and then.Having experienced several deadly encounters, Bianca naturally became more vigilant. All sorts of alarms were going off in her mind!Who the hell were those people?‘Why are they staring at me with that sort of look in their eyes
In the middle of nowhere.The heavy forklift brought Bianca's car to a remote place in the middle of nowhere. They viciously smashed the car’s windows with sledgehammers and then aimed guns at the passengers’ heads, forcing them to get out from the bulletproof car.Right after that, several black Rolls-Royce vehicles surrounded them.Many masked men came down from the cars and brought Bianca and the others captive.To prevent accidents from happening, the driver was taken to a different car from Bianca and her children.Bianca was thankful that the group of thugs were not completely heartless. She would have completely lost her mind and done something foolish if they separated her from her children.Bianca was taken to a military vehicle, and her phone was taken away.The thugs smashed it to pieces right before her eyes.Bianca’s mouth was covered with tape while her hands were bound. It was almost impossible for her to even move an inch.The three children were also tied up w
Meanwhile… Luke had listened to Bianca on the phone while she was kidnapped by the group of unscrupulous thugs. Flames of anger ravaged his entire being. The sheer audacity! Only the people from the League of Shadows could be this bold and put on such a display of arrogance! Kassy was the first person that came to mind when he wondered who could be pulling the strings behind the scenes. He knew full well about Kassy’s ruthlessness. Fearing for his wife and children’s lives, he abandoned his luxury car, hijacked a motorcycle, and bolted to the scene of the incident as fast as he could. However, he was already too late. The crime scene had been cordoned off and about a quarter-mile of the main road was blocked. About 120 people in total were gathered at the scene, comprising of security, special police officers, firemen, and police forces. Dozens of police vehicles could be seen. A large number of police officers and good citizens were helping with the accident. Many were inj
Bianca looked around, observing her surroundings as if looking for an escape route…One of the thugs used the butt of their rifle and slammed it into her head before roaring at her, “You’d better sit still! I’m going to dig your eyes out of you if you look around again!”The eerie echo of his voice rang throughout the factory, making it sound even more spooky.Bianca moved her gaze away as she felt her head pulsing with pain from the blow.She glared fiercely at the thug who hit her in the head, but at the same time, they were already pushing her toward a metal pillar that had a girth of two grown adults.The pillar was at the gates of the factory.The vile thug tightly bound Bianca onto the pillar with a thick rope. The knots that he tied seemed to have no gaps in between them at all.Then, he gripped her face with his black, sticky hands as he snickered. “So soft, this little lady is so soft...”He had never given up his lust for Bianca. He grabbed her slender waist and sniff
The sound of high heels clicked as they touched the floor, reminding one of the doom of hell. The noise rang throughout the entire factory, sending shivers down one’s spine.The thugs who were hiding in the dark fell into two files as they welcomed the woman’s arrival.Bianca’s eyes could not help but constrict the moment she noticed a woman’s tall and slim silhouette.The blonde woman looked very young and beautiful, but there was an air of arrogance around her. The arrogance came from her very core. Her arrogance felt different from Mavis’ as if she was born to be an empress. She looked down on every single person as if they were beneath her.Kassy.Despite the fact that Bianca had never met Kassy and everything she knew about her was from what Luke had told her, her sixth sense told her that this was the Kassy who had unfinished business with her husband.Kassy was tightly surrounded by six bodyguards. They had a bulky mass around their waists, and Bianca was sure that those w
“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