Old Master Rayne lost two straight games to Luke. He patted Lanie's cheek and said, "But I'm better than your Great-Grandpa!" "Nonsense! I'm the one who taught Luke how to play chess. If you can't beat him, then you're not better than me!" Old Master Crawford was not willing to admit defeat. "And the student surpasses the master. Luke is a better player than you. If you don't believe me, you can stay here for the night, and I'll play you until you're satisfied," Old Master Rayne said. He usually played chess alone, and Old Master Crawford rekindled his interest. "Challenge accepted. After dinner, I'll show you who's the better player!" Old Master Crawford was determined to win. "Let's eat," Luke reminded them. "Right, let's have dinner. We shouldn't let the children starve." Old Master Rayne pushed himself up with the help of the table and his walking stick. His physical condition had declined after the operation, and he could only walk with the help of a walking stick. Bia
Luke was also reluctant to be separated from her for so many days. He hugged her tightly and said, "We'll send the children back to Crawford Manor, and you can come along with me." Bianca knew that the children would be taken care of in Crawford Manor, but there were other reasons she could not leave. She leaned on his chest and said unhappily, "I have to attend to my company. There's St. Heckler's new project, and Nina is in the hospital. I'll have to take over her work." Luke stroked her hair gently, feeling a little sorry for her. She would not have been so busy if he had not supported her decision to start her own company. He could only accept that she was too busy with work to accompany him on a business trip. "I'll be back as soon as I can." "Mm," Bianca replied. She glanced at the suitcase next to them and hugged him even more tightly. Luke held her arm and carefully examined it. The redness had dissipated, but the bruise became even more obvious. He led her out of t
Tommy flopped over, though his eyes remained closed as he mumbled, "I'm not going anywhere today, Mommy. I only want to sleep." Bianca was at a loss of what to do. Her son looked too adorable, and she could not bear to wake him up. Tommy had slept for nine hours since the night before, and he already had slept enough. Bianca opened the closet and took out Tommy's day clothes. Her phone started ringing. Bianca put her son's clothes away and answered the call. "Bea." Luke's voice was heard on the other end of the call. Bianca was surprised; she did not look at the call notification before answering it. "Aren't you flying yet?" "Not yet," Luke replied. "Is Tommy awake?" "He hasn't," Bianca said helplessly. She could not persuade him, but the little boy was too young to be punished. It seemed as though only Luke could deal with Tommy. "Turn on the speaker." Luke had guessed that Tommy did not want to wake up, which was why he made the call. Bianca did what she was told an
Bianca brought the framed five-foot-long cross-stitch into the living room. Queenie quickly went forward and helped her, "That's so heavy! Why didn't you get the caretaker to help you?" After they put the cross-stitch on the couch, Bianca smiled and said, "It's not very heavy, Mom. Where's Dad?" "He knows that Tommy is coming, and he's messing around with something in the study." Queenie bent slightly and patted Tommy's head. "Good morning, Grandma!" Tommy greeted Queenie. "Good morning! You're a good boy, Tommy!" Queenie looked at her grandson lovingly. She grabbed a handful of candy on the coffee table and stuffed them in Tommy's hands. All children loved candy, including Tommy. He held the candy in his hands and said sweetly, "Thank you, Grandma! I love you the most!" "Do you love Grandpa then?" Jack said as he walked down the stairs. He heard what Tommy said earlier. Tommy turned his head to look at Jack and nodded. "I love you too, Grandpa!" Jack was happy as he lo
Bianca did not know what to say when she saw Queenie sigh. She turned around and played with Tommy. If she had known that Leia was bringing Brody home, she would not have come. Jack held Queenie's hand. "We'll see what happens." Queenie nodded, though she remained dejected. "I think we owe Leia a lot, Jack." Leia was already at the suitable age for marriage, but Jack and Queenie did not make arrangements for her. If they had found her a suitable significant other, Old Mrs. Norman would not have introduced her to Brody, and none of that would have happened. Jack rubbed the back of Queenie's hand and was somewhat at a loss. He knew that Queenie was very protective of Leia, and he wondered what she would think if she found out what Leia had done. The living room fell silent. Seeing that her parents were fretting over Leia, Bianca felt bad for them. She was not jealous that Leia received the bigger proportion of their parents' love, but she felt helpless that Leia did not app
Brody was not showered with envious gazes as he would have expected. Leia gently pinched his arm and said with a smile, "Brody, my parents don't like coffee." "Why?" Brody was not embarrassed as he continued to elaborate, "Appreciating coffee is a necessary skill in the upper circles of society. Every party or gathering must have coffee and wine. You'll need to know how to appreciate coffee so that you won't be looked down on. Also, one should prepare some premium coffee beans at home to serve guests." As soon as he finished speaking, the living room fell into an awkward silence. Leia pinched him again. She was getting nervous. Jack hated people who loved to show off, while Brody was very fond of showing off. She thought that he had not done that for some time, so why would his old habits return? It would not have been a problem if he showed off in front of her friends, but they were in front of her parents now… Leia discreetly kicked him to stop him from speaking. Brody
Leia was surprised by what Queenie said. When she divulged everything that day, Queenie felt sorry for her and said that she would not want Leia to suffer anymore. Leia had already treated that as an approval to their relationship. "Mom…" Leia stood up, sat next to Queenie, and refilled her teacup. "Have you forgotten what you said that day?" Queenie sighed. She thought that Leia was more intelligent than that, so why did she behave as though she had been hypnotized? Back then, Queenie did not know Brody's character, but things were different now. She knew of Brody's character after the investigation, and she had changed her mind since then. However, she did not tell Leia about that because she knew that Leia would not want to hear an opposing opinion. Before she could say anything, Brody spoke, "Mrs. Norman, I only want to marry Leia." Bianca, who was playing with Tommy, turned her head together with Queenie and looked at Brody. "Mr. Hilton, we're not a wealthy family. L
Tommy watched all that happened. He thought for a while, then ran upstairs to look for Jack. Jack carried Tommy and walked down the stairs. He saw Leia fall to his knees to beg for forgiveness from her mother. "Please forgive me, Mom. I'm begging you, please don't be angry, alright? I don't want the baby anymore. I'll go and get it induced tomorrow. Don't cry." "Are you crazy? I won't let you do that," Queenie exclaimed in surprise. Jack frowned. "What's going on?" As soon as he spoke, the three people in the living room turned their heads toward the stairs. When Leia noticed him, she stood up and turned her body away. As her adoptive daughter for twenty years, Leia knew her father's temperament. If she remained on her knees, Jack would definitely keep her kneeling as punishment. The floor was hard, and she had a bulging stomach. She would not be able to take it. "Dad." Leia shifted her body to hide the bulging stomach from him. Jack had already noticed her stomach. H
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
“This cup of coffee is from that gentleman for this lady.” The waiter smiled as he explained, placing the cup in front of Luca.Hera followed the waiter’s gaze and immediately recognized the man Luca had been looking at earlier.Her eyes darkened. She had noticed the man glancing in their direction. However, she had assumed he was looking at her.After all, she was dressed seductively, had put on makeup, and was undeniably beautiful. Any man who saw her would be attracted. If a man’s eyes lingered on her, it was not surprising at all.Realizing that the man had been watching Luca the whole time instead of her, Hera suddenly felt annoyed.Luca noticed her displeasure, glanced at Gordan, then smiled and said to the waiter, “Please thank the gentleman for me.”“Of course, miss. Enjoy your coffee.” The waiter, sensing the tension between the two women, quickly grabbed his tray and left before Hera’s sour mood could affect him too.“Hmph, feeling proud of yourself?” asked Hera.Luca