Susan was not convinced. Allison’s skin was good, but it could not be attained from just getting enough sleep. She mockingly said, “What a joke! You spent God knows how much on your face. Just admit it if you’re old, there’s no need to spend a lot of money to try to maintain your aging face. Fortunately, Luke still has money. Otherwise, your face would be rotten now!"Allison sneered and said, "Susan, you’re jealous that I’m better-looking and younger than you!"Bianca saw that the two were quarreling again and glanced at Luke. His expression was neutral and he did not seem to plan to do anything.She thought that it was not appropriate for them to quarrel in front of the children, especially since they were back for the first time in a while. When she wanted to say something to ease the tension, Old Master Crawford’s majestic voice sounded. "Both your ages combined add up to 100 years old. Enough with the fighting!"Susan and Allison looked at the old man. Even though they were st
Bianca fantasized about the carefree lifestyle after she and Luke retired. Their hair would have been graying, and they would be living a relaxing life with their children and grandchildren without the troubles from work. As the sky continued to darken, the family walked back to the mansion. Old Master Crawford was sipping tea in the living room and watching financial news on the television. Susan and Allison had already retired to their bedrooms because they were not interested in that. Louis and his family were not in the house. They were at a dinner banquet. Only Old Master Crawford was in the spacious living room. Bianca looked at Luke and said, "I'll go and help Lanie and Rainie with their homework." "Mm." Luke nodded and let go of her hand. He went to the couch and prepared to spend some time with his grandfather. "Grandfather." "How was the walk?" Old Master Crawford turned his head and glanced at Bianca and the three children. Bianca smiled gently and replied, "
"That's not what you originally told me, Madam." Jon thought that it was very troublesome. Allison had told him that he could dispatch anyone that tried to stop him, and that would have been a much easier job. "What do you want then?" Allison was getting annoyed. If things went her way, she would not have wanted Luke to stay in the mansion for the night. Other than Luke and her three grandchildren, she did not care if anyone else in Crawford Manow lived or died. Jon saw the antiques in the study and thought that Allison had paid him too little. It was the right opportunity to ask for more. "It'll be easier if you pay up," he said. "How much?" Allison had expected him to say that. However, she had no other choice. "Five hundred thousand," Jon said. "That's daylight robbery!" Allison was reluctant to part with that much money. After all, that was ten days' worth of living expenses. "Those antiques are worth a lot of money, even in the black market. The more I take, the more
Luke quickly drove his car to the front door. Louis carried Thea into the car while Yuri pressed the bandage tightly on her head. Susan also went along to the hospital. Bianca looked at the bloodstains and the broken shards of the antique vase on the corridor. The stench of blood was thick. She could not forget how lifeless Thea seemed as she lay on the floor. "I'm scared, Mommy." Rainie took a step back and hid behind Bianca. She stuck her head out to look at the blood on the floor. "I'm scared too." Tommy also hid behind Bianca. He did not know why Thea was bleeding or why she did not answer when the adults called her name. Bianca covered the children's eyes and glanced at Lanie. His cute little face remained cool, and Bianca was impressed by his maturity. "It's fine. Let's go back to bed," she coaxed the children softly. "Mm," Rainie replied softly and looked away from the bloody floor. After Tommy fell asleep, Bianca went to Rainie's bedroom to check on her. The lit
Allison's heart skipped a beat when she heard that. "You can restore the footage?" She blurted. "The surveillance system is the most advanced in the world. Barring a power disruption, there's an eighty percent chance that the footage can be restored," the manager said. They would use the best technology for their important clients. "How about the remaining twenty percent?" Allison asked. "If the jamming device is too close to the camera, then our technicians can't do anything about it." The manager did not want to admit it, but he could not hide the facts when he saw Old Master Crawford's gloomy expression. "Don't worry, Old Master Crawford," he said, "We'll do our best to restore the footage and cooperate with the police." The stolen antiques were worth at least a hundred million dollars, and the culprit had injured someone. The manager knew how serious the incident was. "Mm." Old Master Crawford nodded as he saw the caretaker come over with cleaning equipment. The police ha
"Faster," Luke urged because he thought that Johann was too slow. "There's no point in hurrying. A mercury thermometer needs time to work," Johann said leisurely. He shook his head when he saw how anxious Luke and Bianca were. "It's normal for kids to have a fever, especially Lanie, who hasn't fallen sick in a while. It shouldn't be surprising that the fever hit him hard." As the saying went, "Sickness comes on horseback and leaves on foot." Bianca was nonetheless anxious when she heard that. She had been focused on taking care of Rainie and Tommy the night before and had neglected Lanie. She did not even know when he started to have the fever. Five minutes later, Johann took out the thermometer and glanced at it. "103.1 degrees. Don't worry, Lanie is a strong boy. He'll be fine after an injection and an IV drip." "Alright. Sorry to trouble you." Bianca's heart wrenched when she saw Lanie's lips cracking from the fever. She took a cup of water and a straw and said, "Drink som
Johann raised an eyebrow and looked at Lanie's handsome little face. "Why would you want to stay here? I thought you hated hospitals." Lanie glanced at his parents and said, "Daddy and Mommy want to visit Thea. I shouldn't go, in case I pass my germs to her." Johann turned his head to look at Luke and Bianca. "Am I a babysitter too?" "Fifteen minutes," Luke negotiated with him with his glacial demeanor. He meant that Johann would only have to take care of Lanie for fifteen minutes. "That's too long. Ten minutes." Johann did not hate Lanie, but he felt uncomfortable looking at the boy's face. It reminded him too much of Luke. He would try to avoid Luke whenever possible, and looking at a copy of Luke's face would give him a headache. "Twenty minutes," Luke said with finality. He took Bianca's hand and left the room before Johann could say anything. Johann pouted. "What a hard sell. I haven't even agreed to it." Even so, he had no other choice but to take care of the bo
Luke frowned, and his gaze turned sharp. If the signal jammer was in the mansion and close to the cameras, how did the thief manage to sneak it in? Bianca noticed the grim expression on her husband's face and could guess that he was thinking about the incident. She did not want to disturb him, so she said softly, "I'll bring Lanie upstairs." "Mm. I'll get the caretaker to bring breakfast upstairs later." Luke kissed her forehead and went to the couch. Bianca held Lanie's hand and said softly, "Let's go upstairs." "Alright, Mommy." Lanie still looked a little weak. The two of them went up the stairs. After seeing his wife and son go up the stairs, Luke went into the kitchen to tell the caretaker to prepare breakfast for them, then walked around the living room. "Why are you so sure?" "It's like this, Mr. Crawford. The technicians have managed to restore the footage from outside the mansion, but they haven't managed to do so for the footage within the mansion. The footage g
“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