At the hospital, Bianca took the elevator and went to the top floor. She noticed that aside from Luke's bodyguards standing outside the door, there were also two police officers. She frowned and quickly walked forward. "Did something happen to Riley?" The bodyguard replied, "There was a small accident, but the doctor said that it's not serious." "Then the police…" Bianca shot a glance at them. "Ms. Riley had asked for them to come," the bodyguard said. Bianca was puzzled. Why would Luke agree to Riley's request? Unless… She opened the door to the ward. Riley was bawling while sitting on the bed, and Johann was bandaging her forehead. "What's going on?" Bianca asked as she walked over. Johann finished bandaging Riley's head and told the police officers, "She's fine. You can record her statement." "Alright. Thank you, Doctor." The police officers went beside Riley. "Have you been here all this while, Ms. Riley?" "Yes," Riley sniffled and continued to answer the qu
Bianca was reminded that the injury on her forehead had almost healed. It was time to remove the stitches. She nodded and smiled. "I'll look for you in your office then. "How about me, Doctor? Will it leave a scar?" Riley touched the bandages on her forehead. It was still hurting a little. She was worried that it might leave a scar. "Your injury isn't too serious. If you don't want a scat, don't touch it for the next few days and watch what you eat." Johann left after saying that. "Sorry to trouble you again, Rain. Please make sure that Ms. Riley is safe," Bianca said to Rain courteously. Rain smiled. "Don't worry, Madam. It shall be done." "Thank you." Bianca was very polite toward Rain. Without her, Luke would not have managed to escape from the Island of Despair. Her respect for the woman grew after knowing that they had nearly lost their lives protecting Luke during the escape. She left the ward, put on the mask, and went to Johann's office. Bianca knocked on th
"That woman is dressed in luxury clothes. Who knows, she might be his wife," another receptionist said as she took out her phone. "I remember seeing her face online." She searched around the Internet for pictures of Bianca. "See? That really is his wife." "I'm surprised that they still have the mood to make out in a hotel. I read in a forum earlier that someone is offering a bounty of a thousand dollars if they could provide Bianca Rayne's location. I don't think the couple will leave that soon, so…" "Don't you know that she's hated online now? Who's going to take responsibility if the hotel is mobbed? I don't think the manager will forgive us. We'd better mind our own business." … In the room, Luke pinned Bianca on the door. She pushed the man's chest and said softly, "I wasn't wearing a mask earlier, and someone might recognize me. How about we go home?" The police might have found out the truth, but they were not going to act so quickly. "No need to be afraid," Luke
Luke got Gale to find several bodyguards that Riley was not familiar with. They wore masks and lurked within the hospital with prop knives. In the next examination, Johann told Riley that she should walk around to aid in her recovery, and he also told her that she could be discharged in two days. Riley could not wait to be free from that closed environment. She begged Rain to let her take a walk in the garden downstairs. Rain initially refused her request, as the plan dictated. Then, Riley name-dropped Bianca, which made Rain comply. Rain pretended that she was helpless against Riley's request. She arranged two bodyguards who were in the plan to escort her. Riley went downstairs with the bodyguards. She was happy but remained cautious, wearing a mask so that she would not be recognized. The bodyguards that were lying in wait pretended to harm her. To make her not suspect anything, they had to injure her a little. They bumped into Riley's forehead, though her bodyguards
The servant instantly pinched Melissa's philtrum. Melissa felt dull pain on her face, but she dared not react. The only chance for her to escape was to feign unconsciousness. The police officers looked at each other. How were they able to bring her back to the police station? If they brought her to the hospital, they could not place her in the custodial ward before Melissa was found guilty. Seeing that the police officers were not of any help, the servant took Melissa's phone and dialed for emergency services. The ambulance arrived very quickly and brought Melissa to the hospital. The police officers followed along to see what Melissa wanted to do. They had been police officers for many years, and they had seen suspects try to wiggle their way out of arrest by pretending to pass out. However, the Lerches were an influential family, so they had to be careful too. … Late at night. Bianca sent Tommy to sleep, went out of the bedroom, and noticed Luke making a call at t
Wildflowers grew along the lakeside. Rainie was restless when she saw those beautiful flowers and grasses. "Alright." Bianca fed Tommy the last piece of apple and watched him chew it happily. She wiped her hands and asked, "Shall we go and pick some flowers with Rainie?" Tommy shook his head. "That's girl's stuff." Bianca was caught in a dilemma. She could not leave Tommy alone there, but she did not want to let Rainie wander off on her own either. Tommy stood up and pointed at where Luke and Lanie were. "I want to go and see the fishies, Mommy." Bianca smiled, held his hand, and brought him to Luke. "Daddy! I want to see the fishies!" Tommy said coyly as he hugged his father's arm. Luke was attaching the bait to the hook. When he saw his youngest son grinning at him, he put the fishing rod away and brought him to his lap. "Alright, but you can't make any noise," he said. Tommy did not understand. "Why can't I make any noise?" "The fish won't bite if you make noise!
Bianca crouched down so that the three children could look at the photo too. "Daddy, Mommy, why don't we print a big one and frame it in the living room?" Lanie suggested. "Alright." Luke thought that it was a good idea. Other than the wedding photo with the children, they did not have any other family photos. The photo would complete their home. Bianca took the camera and snapped many photos of the children. Their laughter echoed at the lakeside. At that time, they did not know that a sinister pair of eyes was watching them from a small patch of forest on the opposite side of the lake. "Luke Crawford…" There was a vicious ferocity in that man's gray eyes. He wished that he could tear the man in front of him into pieces! … Luke, Bianca, and the children went to Crawford Manor the next day. Bianca held Rainie and Lanie's hands while Luke carried Tommy. The family of five entered the door. Before the adults opened their mouths, Rainie and Lanie greeted Old Master Craw
Old Master Crawford chuckled. The two children loved their mother very much. Tommy also tugged Old Master Crawford's pant leg. Old Master Crawford lowered his head and looked at the little boy. "Do you have anything to tell me, Tommy?" "Great-Grandpa, if you scold Mommy like that again, I won't play with you anymore!" The three children looked at their great-grandfather determinedly. Old Master Crawford looked at the three children and shook his head helplessly. "Looks like you don't respect your great-grandpa after all." Lanie corrected him, "We respect you, and we love you, Great-Grandpa, but we'll have to point out your mistake." Since young, Luke had told Lanie that he should be righteous and just. Lanie thought that Old Master Crawford had not been just. "Alright, alright, I was wrong. I won't do that next time." Old Master Crawford felt comforted by the determination in Lanie's eyes. The Crawford family needed people like him to pass on the family legacy. Lu
“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