A gentle smile appeared on Queenie's face. "You shouldn't trouble yourself. I'm feeling fine." "How did you become like this, Mom?" Bianca gently hugged Queenie and said sadly. She could feel her mother's bony frame in her arms. Queenie gently caressed her daughter's hair and comforted her, "It's an old problem. I've been trying to keep it in check, but it flares up once in a while. I'm already old, and I can't catch up with you young ones. Right, where are my darling grandchildren? I haven't seen them for many days, and I miss them. Why didn't you bring them with you?" "I was in a rush to see you, Mom, and I didn't pick them up. I'll bring them the next time I come to visit." Bianca held her mother's hand tightly and said, "Why don’t you stay over at our house while you recuperate? I'll hire some psychologists to treat your symptoms. You'll recover quicker that way, and I won't have to be so worried." Queenie smiled lovingly and gently patted her daughter's hand. "You don
Leia shuddered when she saw Wayne's savage expression. She patted his chest in an attempt to flatter him and stammered, "D- Don't be like that, Wayne. I'll be scared. Also, you're in my house now, and I'd rather not have bloodshed here. I hate Luke and Bianca as much as you, but this isn't the time to act…" She wished for the death of that couple, but she would not want anything to happen to her parents. If word got out, her reputation would be finished! However, Wayne gripped her jaw tightly, and his body coiled around hers like a snake. "I didn't expect that the usually cruel Ms. Norman would be so kind. Tsk tsk! You learn something new every day…" Wayne's voice was low, and his expression was ghastly. Leia could only struggle in panic. She widened her eyes to express her anger. "Don't… Don't act rashly, Wayne. There are so many people in the house today. What if…" Leia felt something metallic and tubular press on her waist. She glanced downward, and her heart began t
While Bianca was deep in thought, a pure white cat with long hair came through the hedge. Then, it entered the house through the window in the kitchen and landed next to Bianca's feet. Bianca saw that it was a very beautiful chinchilla cat with stumpy legs and blue eyes. "Oh? Where's this cat from? Why have I never seen you before?" Bianca put away the spoon in her hand, crouched down, and gently patted the cat's fluffy fur. The cat meowed and purred, evidently enjoying the attention. Bianca loved small and furry animals. The cat seemed to be the perfect pet. Ms. Lang explained to her while stirring the pot. "The cat's name is Sweetie. Mr. Norman had imported it from overseas for Mrs. Norman. Mrs. Norman loves it very much. She loves pets, but she has never reared one because she's allergic to cat fur. The medication she's taking now helps control the allergy, and that's why Mr. Norman gave her a cat. "Meow…" The cat meowed proudly as though agreeing to what Ms. Lang said
Bianca was not very loud, but her voice echoed in the otherwise empty corridor. "Meow, meow…" Sweetie meowed and wagged its tail after hearing Bianca's voice. Leia's room quietened down abruptly. The wind blew through the open window at the end of the corridor and scattered Bianca's hair. That made her break out in goosebumps. Hearing that there was no reaction, Bianca knocked on the door once more. "Leia, Mom is asking you to go downstairs for lunch. Open the door! Are you inside?" About two minutes later, Leia's angry voice could be heard from inside. "I heard you the first time! What's the rush? You can go downstairs first. I'll go after I change my clothes!" "Alright, I know." After Bianca said that, she did not go down the stairs. Instead, she waited quietly next to the railing. Sweetie blinked at Bianca and meowed twice. Bianca shushed the cat, bent over, and picked it up. She caressed the cat's smooth fur while waiting for Leia to come out of the bedroom. Lei
Bianca tried to regulate her breathing. She did not want anything to happen to Luke, and at the same time, she tried to think of a way to free herself. However, Wayne had a vice-like grip on her throat. She was not strong enough to break out of the grip, so she could only be manipulated and led away by Wayne. Wayne treated Bianca as an inanimate object. As he dragged her away, her head struck the railings and made her dizzy. Luke was blocking the staircase, and Wayne could not go there. Bianca could see Luke's tall and slender silhouette. The man was dressed in a black suit, and his features were harsh and cold. She could tell that he was worried about her condition, but at the same time, his hostility toward Wayne was like a demon. Wayne was about to fire another shot when Sweetie pounced out from nowhere and clawed at Wayne's hand that was holding the gun. Wayne felt the pain in his hand and fired a shot at the cat. "You animal!" "Meowoo…" Bianca's mind went into
Luke and Jack's threats had agitated Wayne even more. Also, he was not worried that Queenie would fight back. He continued retreating while grasping Queenie tightly and pointing the gun to her head. His face was viciously contorted as he said, "Stand back, all of you! Otherwise, I'll kill this woman!" Jack gritted his teeth as he glared at Wayne coldly, though he decided to give in to Wayne's demands. "Don't hurt my wife, Wayne. I'll let you go. Otherwise, I won't forgive you or your family!" Queenie was dripping in cold sweat because of the pain from Wayne's vice-like grip and the gun on her temple. She knew that she had botched Luke and her husband's plan. She tried not to moan in pain and said defiantly, "Jack, Luke, you don't have to care about me. The most important thing is to bring this villain to justice. I…" "Shut up, filthy b*tch!" Wayne could not stand her voice and hit her head with the butt of the gun. Instantly, blood flowed down her forehead. She could not he
Bianca found the first aid kit in the drawer and helped Luke take off the bloodstained shirt. The man's bare chest was filled with scars of various intensities. Those scars bore evidence of his suffering at the Island of Despair for two years. What shocked Bianca the most was the bullet wound that she found on Luke's chest. Blood was still oozing out from it. Bianca dared not touch the wound. With trembling hands, she used an alcohol swab to clean the surroundings. She tried to hold back the tears in her eyes while she cleaned the wound. "This'll sting a bit, Luke. I'll give Johann a call and tell him to come and treat your wound… I'm afraid that I won't be able to extract the bullet and might worsen your condition. How about I take you to the hospital?" "It's fine. I can handle this myself. It'll be some time before Johann gets here." Luke shook his head at her. He found a pair of medical pliers in the first-aid kit, gritted his teeth, and used the pliers to extract the bu
Leia had been in a muddled state after Wayne escaped. The police questioned her for a long time, but she pretended that she was an innocent victim that had suffered from serious psychological trauma. She gave the police no useful information. After the police left, Leia slumped on the bed in her bedroom. Her legs were spread open as she stared at the floor-to-ceiling window. The usually warm sky seemed to be cut into pieces by a knife, and the trees that swayed in the breeze seemed to be man-eating monsters that terrified her. A sudden gust of wind made the windows shake. The glass threatened to shatter. Leia instinctively curled up in a corner of her bed. The silk blanket that covered her offered her no warmth. She remembered how the police had bombarded her with questions in a stern voice and how her father had given her that look of distrust. She suddenly sat up, feeling terrified. She hoped that Wayne managed to escape.If the police arrested him, he would definitely
“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