At night.Luke had nothing planned for the day, so he returned to the villa after he left the office.As soon as he walked into the house, the children surrounded him and handed him their homework. "Daddy, we’ve finished our homework."Luke took their workbooks. He did not see Luca in the living room, so he asked the kids, "Where's Ms. Luca?"Rainie replied obediently, "Ms. Luca is in the kitchen preparing dinner. Aunt Neile asked for some time off and just left, so Ms. Luca is busy cooking alone. Daddy, after you’re done checking our homework, go and help Ms. Luca."Luke put their workbooks down. "I'll go take a look."He walked into the kitchen and saw Luca in an apron preparing dinner for the family. It reminded him of how she was always in the kitchen preparing dinner for him and the children three years ago.At that time, Luca would never let the maid cook since the children liked to eat the meals she prepared. At most, she would let the maid become her helper. "Stop it,"
Tommy, who was on the side, stared at the TV screen intently. When he heard what Luca said, he could not help but mutter to himself, "I don't like Aunt Leia. Aunt Leia looks like she eats children. She's scary."Luca knew that Leia hated her three kids because of Bianca.Although the children were innocent and somewhat ignorant, they still noticed her expression. As such, they were not only afraid of Leia but they also hated her.Although the adults had not told them any of the despicable things that Leia did, they all knew.Rainie asked, "Ms. Luca, is Aunt Leia ill?""Yeah." Luca nodded and said, "Which is why she needs her biological father to help."Tommy put his head on Luca and looked up at her. "Ms. Luca, Aunt Leia is so bad. Will her daddy save her?""He’ll likely agree if their blood type matches..." Luca guessed that there was a chance Dexter would say yes.Even though Dexter did not have much affection for Leia, he would not go against money.She could not buy a live
Dexter thought about it for a moment. He was open to the idea now that he knew it would not kill him. However, he still had some reservations."Why don't you and your wife give your liver to her? Didn't you say that you love her?" he asked."Neither of us is a match. An immediate family member has the highest pairing success rate, so we came to talk to you," Jack said."I'll think about it." Dexter was still a little scared. He was worried that they were lying to him.If he gave Leia his liver and died from it, it would not matter how much money he had.Luke noticed his hesitation and said coldly, "Leia is not doing well. If you need more time to think about it, we might not need you later."Dexter was shocked. Leia's life or death had nothing to do with him.However, if he hesitated and Leia died, he would not get any money.Dexter gritted his teeth, clapped his hands, and said, "Okay. However, I want to sign an agreement with you. If the transplant fails, you’ll still pay me.
Jack agreed.No matter how long this adopted daughter had stayed by their side, she would never be a good daughter. As such, he had no problem with Luke wanting to teach Leia a lesson on behalf of Luca.Nevertheless, Queenie was soft-hearted, so he kept this part from her."I trust Luke, but you have to tell him not to be too rough with her. Leia is a girl, after all," Queenie frowned from worry that Luke would be too harsh on Leia."He knows what he’s doing. You don't need to worry. Promise me you’ll stay home tomorrow and not go to the hospital," Jack said. He did not want Queenie to be in contact and suffer with hooligans like Dexter."Mm." Queenie nodded, but she was still a little worried."Luke did so much for Bea's sake. He doesn't want to see Bea worry about us, so he’ll be mindful," Jack added.Leia would get to stay alive. As long as that was the case, he did not care about the means used to get there.They had done everything for Leia after they adopted her from the
The nerves in Luca’s head tightened, and her breathing became heavy. Luke moved his hand and placed it on his favorite spot. As he listened to her rapid breathing, he could not help but smile and say, "Time to sleep. I'll stop moving."Luca opened her eyes. The more one could not see anything in the darkness, the more sensitive one’s sense of touch would be. She could feel the warmth of his palm coming through the fabric. The frenetic cells in her body were trembling uncontrollably.Luke said he would not move his hands anymore, and he really did not move them. Luca felt uneasy because of his gesture. It took her more than ten minutes to calm herself down and close her eyes. Luke’s hand never moved again. If Luca turned around now, she would be able to see the smile that was overflowing with happiness on his face. The next day.Jason drove to Blue Skies Shelter and picked Dexter up, just like what Luke had instructed him to do.Dexter was stunned when he looked at the lux
“No, he didn’t. It’s him. He’s the one who revealed Leia’s secrets to the press and ruined her life back then,” Jason assured him. After all, he was in the know of this matter.Johann shook his head and said, “They say even tigers would look after their cubs. Leia’s father is more vicious than a tiger. What a misfortune to have such a father.” “Dr. Park, what’s wrong with you? Are you starting to feel sorry for Leia?” Jason asked teasingly. “She doesn’t deserve my sympathy after everything she has done in the past. But having a father like him…” Johann heaved a sigh. Someone worth one’s sympathy was also worth one’s detest. It was probably what it meant.It was a misfortune for Leia to have such a father. However, everything she did and all the pain others had suffered because of her was detestable too.“But she has a pair of foster parents who were kind to her. To be fair, she’s much happier than the others,” said Jason. However, Leia did not know how to appreciate and protect
Johann was able to know people from all walks of life as he was working in the hospital.Many of his patients who had recovered would send their greetings to him every festive season. Some of them would become his friends, and they would hang out and have dinner together. He got to know them through work.However, his encounter with Luke Crawford was slightly different. It all started 11 years ago.Johann was not a doctor yet but a student who was awarded a medical school scholarship. He was the most talented and outstanding medical student acknowledged by every professor. It was nothing at first, but he stole another top student’s thunder because of his Western facial features when he just entered the school. Hence, the other students had been holding a grudge against him. He was obsessed with learning medical knowledge. He could not be bothered to waste his time dealing with others. All he had in his mind was to finish his studies and learn more medical knowledge.That wa
Although Leia was famous for being a difficult patient in their department, the head nurse felt happy for her to be able to get a liver transplant. "The injections are for your late recovery, and you'll have to get the injections for three days consecutively," the head nurse explained to her as she placed the infusion bottles in front of Leia. Following the code of practice, she needed to ask, "What's your name?"“Leia Norman,” answered Leia. She looked at Johann warily, who was standing behind faking a smile. She had this feeling that Johann was up to something. The nurse checked Leia’s patient wristband. The name was correct, so she hung the solution bottle on the IV stand.The bottle was not that huge. The nurse removed the solution bottle there and attached the new infusion bottle. Johann instructed her when he saw that the drip rate was a little slow, “Speed it up.”“Make it even faster?” The head nurse turned around and glanced at Johann with a surprised look on her fac
Luca’s head was slightly tilted, her cheek burning with pain.Abel had not held back at all. The force of his slap was merciless. A numbness spread across her face at an alarming speed.From the next room, someone peeked out again and asked in a low voice, “You okay?”“I’m fine.” Luca’s expression remained calm. This kind of injury was nothing to her.Back on the Island of Despair, she had endured far worse during training. She survived, did she not?Without another word, Luca pushed open the lab door and stepped inside.The man watching shook his head. Her face was already that swollen, and she still said she was fine… What a tough woman. She took a slap that hard and brushed it off like it was nothing.Shanks lifted his head when he heard the door open. When he saw it was Luca and noticed how swollen the side of her face was, his brows furrowed.“Abel did this?”“Who else?” Luca let out a bitter laugh, only to wince as the movement tugged at the pain. She sucked in a sharp b
“No.” Shanks’ tone was cold and firm with no trace of hesitation.Abel still looked doubtful.Shanks added, “Would you like to see her medical report?”Abel was startled for a moment. How did Shanks know he had been thinking about that report?Now that Shanks brought it up, the idea lost its appeal.Abel shook his head. “Even if you showed it to me, I wouldn’t understand it. Shanks, Kassy’s life is in your hands. If you can give her a second chance, I’ll provide as much research funding as you need."Shanks remained silent. He could save Kassy. In fact, his research had always been for Kassy.However, he did not expect Abel to be so ruthless as to insist on using a living person as a donor for Kassy. That was something he could not accept.Kassy’s condition could be treated with organs from a brain-dead patient. Why destroy a perfectly healthy life?Shanks was not acting out of mercy. He simply refused to go against his medical ethics.He was not someone who had to save lives
“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’