"Okay, got it. How did they know Nina was here?" Luca's expression was stern. It seemed that the Mallory family was dead serious about wanting Nina to leave Percy.

However, how was Nina at fault?

She did not cause the misfortune that came upon her blood family nor did she have an option.

Pierre was the one who caused all of Nina's recent suffering. She was the victim!

Nina sighed when she saw Luca's sour expression. "It should be Joanne... They came for me. I'm sorry for putting you in such a difficult position, Luca. I'll go out."

"No, you stay here." Luca wanted to make a call but realized that her phone was not there. She then remembered that she left it in the bedroom.

She said to Aunt Neile, "Aunt Neile, I'm going to make a call. In the meantime, please open the door for the Mallory family and have Lanie and the others go upstairs. I don't want the Mallory family to scare them."

"Okay, I'll do it right now." Aunt Neile nodded and was about to leave the bedroom.

"Another thing, Aunt Neile, please entertain them downstairs. You'll have to leave work a little later than usual today," Luca said.

Aunt Neile replied, "Okay, no problem."

After Aunt Neile left, Luca looked at Nina and said, "You haven't done anything wrong, so you have nothing to apologize for. I'll go meet them, and you can wait here. Don't come down if you don't hear anything from me."

"The Mallory family is very..." Nina hesitated to continue speaking. "Luca, I can't let you face them alone. I'll do it. You're innocent."

"Don't worry. I'll give a call to Mr. Crawford before I head down." After Luca finished speaking, she walked out of the bedroom and closed the door. She then went to her bedroom to grab her phone. She felt uncomfortable when she thought of how they had not been in contact for nearly two days. At that moment, she had no choice but to take the initiative to talk to him.

She did not expect that the Mallory family would pay them a sudden visit. She knew she had to inform Luke about what was happening and get his opinion on how to manage this matter that involved Nina and deal with the Mallory family.

No matter what Luke said, she was determined to protect Nina.

Luca made up her mind and called Luke.

Luke answered her call fairly quickly. Luca did not wait for him to speak before she said, "Mr. Crawford, I need to get your opinion on something."

Luke stayed silent for a few seconds before he asked, "What's the matter?"

Luca could hear the hoarseness and exhaustion in his voice. She lowered her eyes, suppressed her worries about him, and said, "I assume you know about what happened to Nina?"

It had caused a big commotion, so even though Luke was not around, Luca assumed that he was aware as he had always kept a close eye on what was happening in A City.

"Yeah." Luke's response was short and simple. She blinked. If it were not for the silence on her end, she wondered if she had hallucinated his response because she missed him too much.

"She's staying at your villa now, but the Mallory family is at the door. I want to shield her from them. Do you have any concerns?" Luca made it clear that she wanted to help Nina. Nevertheless, it was Luke's villa, after all. She was certain that the Mallory family knew that. As such, she still had to get his opinion.

Otherwise, she might offend the Mallory family and they would blame Luke. If that happened, their partnership would be affected.

"Do what you think is right. If they don't back off, deal with it however you deem fit." Luke said more words this time.

Luca felt at ease when she heard what he said. She understood that he meant for her to protect Nina and not worry so much.

"Mm." This time, she was the one who gave a brief one-syllable response. Her voice was slightly trembling and contained a hint of helplessness.

Luke noticed her emotions and sighed helplessly. He wanted nothing more but to take her into his arms, but he was facing some difficulties with the task at hand. He had to be here to take charge, which was why he had to go on this business trip.

"I didn't expect you to call me for someone else," he said.

His hoarse voice passed through Luca's eardrums. It was electrifying. She was at a loss, and her mind went blank as she was unsure what Luke meant when he said that.

"Huh?" she said subconsciously, her brain a blank slate.

"Don't worry about it. Remember, if Old Master Mallory is the one who came to visit and you aren't able to manage him, call Grandpa and have him step in to deal with this matter. If it's someone else from the

Mallory family and you can't have them settle down, call me." Luke urged. Old Master Crawford was the only one who could ease the situation if Old Master Mallory was involved.

"Okay... But will Old Master Crawford be willing to help Nina?" Luca hesitated. She was unsure if she wanted to involve Old Master Crawford. Têxt © .

There was already a rift between the Crawford and Mallory families. If Old Master Crawford stepped in, the rift would run deeper and it would lead to a negative impact on the Crawford family.

"Don't worry, he'll help. Percy is my business partner. Grandpa will be annoyed at me if he finds out that I didn't help Nina," Luke reassured her.

"Okay, I see." Luca held the phone tightly in her hand and looked at the door. The kids were standing at the door. She could even hear the sounds from downstairs because the door was not closed.

It seemed that the Mallory family had arrived.

"I'll deal with it now," Luca said.

"Mm, I'll help inform Grandpa and let him know what's going on," Luke said.

Luca hung up the phone, looked at the kids who were standing by the door of her bedroom, and walked out with a gentle smile on her face.

Rainie said, "Ms. Luca, Old Master Mallory and the others are here."

"Got it. Could you go to the laboratory to get Aunt Nina and stay in one of the bedrooms with her?" Luca asked the kids to accompany Nina so Nina would not launch herself into a state of overthinking.

"Okay, Ms. Luca." Rainie nodded.

Tommy's chubby face was slightly wrinkled as he was worried. "Ms. Luca, they look so fierce. You have to be careful."

"Okay, I know. If you don't hear anything from me, you and Aunt Nina can't go downstairs." Luca urged them.

The children nodded, walked to the lab, and brought Nina out.

Nina walked out of the room and looked at Luca.

Luca nodded, turned around, and went downstairs as she held her phone tightly in her hand. Even though she was no longer on a call with Luke, she knew that Luke would support her. Hence, she did not feel as panicked.

At the same time, Rainie held Nina's hand, and they went into her bedroom.

Luca went downstairs. She saw Old Master Mallory, Pierre, and a middle-aged couple. She frowned.

'Who is this middle-aged couple? Are they Percy's relatives? How do these people have anything to do with Nina?'

When Pierre saw Luca come downstairs, he looked her up and down with his sinister eyes. 'This woman is indeed dating Luke.'