Nancy's mind worked swiftly, and almost immediately after Charlie finished speaking, she connected the dots, "So Micheal came to Liverton and approached me because they failed to catch us back then and had to send Micheal over!"

"That's my guess," Charlie said, his lips curving into a sinister smile. "Otherwise, Micheal wouldn't have come to Liverton alone and tried to get close to you. So, Nan, you need to be cautious of Micheal and anyone else you don't know trying to get close to you. If anything unusual happens, you must tell me!"

Nancy felt a chill thinking about it all. It was just a book, yet it had brought so much trouble.

Linda looked at Nancy with palpable anxiety, "Nan, you really need to be careful. Now that Micheal knows you have the book, who knows what The Thompson family will do next? I think they won't give up on the book, so..."

"They definitely won't give up!"

Henry, who had been silent until now, spoke up with a stern look in his eyes. Anyone who posed a threat to Nancy was detestable to him.

"Sis, I'll follow you around from now on. We work at the same company anyway. I'll accompany you to and from work to protect you."

"There's no need for that."

Charlie gave him a cool look, "I'll protect my wife myself."

"You!"

"What 'you'!?"

Charlie scoffed and took Nancy's hand, "I'll ensure Nan's safety. You just focus on your work."

Linda glanced between Charlie and Henry, feeling a strange mix of emotions.

Being protected by her husband and brother felt enviable.

"Alright, alright, let's not argue. This is Liverton, after all. I doubt The Thompson family would dare to cause trouble here. Do we really need to be this vigilant?" she said.

Charlie raised an eyebrow and gripped Nancy's hand tighter, "Nan is the most important person in my life. I won't let anyone harm her. So, Henry, rest assured, I won't let anything happen to Nan. And about today's incident with The Thompson family and the book, don't tell anyone, got it?"

Henry, Linda, Jilian, and Damian all nodded in agreement.

They understood the gravity of the situation and wouldn't share it with others.

...

After leaving the villa, Micheal managed to calm his agitated heart. He went over the events again in his mind to ensure he hadn't missed anything before returning to his place, feeling more composed.

The Thompson family had no influence domestically, so Micheal had been staying in a hotel. He initially thought it would take a long time to get close to Nancy, which is why he planned to buy an apartment from Mr. Smith for a long-term stay.

He hadn't expected to bump into Nancy at the sales office today. Having investigated her beforehand, he immediately recognized Henry and intervened to help.

What surprised him even more was that Nancy, while somewhat intelligent, wasn't very scheming and appeared quite naive. Otherwise, she wouldn't have so readily shared information about the book.

Nancy's kindness today made him genuinely reluctant to harm her or those around her.

"Grandfather..."

Back at the hotel, Micheal immediately video-called Arthur Thompson. Arthur's wrinkled face appeared on the computer screen...