Marcus smiled faintly and gave Natalie''s fingers a gentle squeeze. "Alright. Do you want to take a nap?"


    Natalie shook her head. "I already slept on the way here. I''m not tired anymore. I''ll catch up on some work."


    Then, she pulled out her phone to check her emails. Strangely, ever since she went to Scarlet Hill, there had not been a single message from that mysterious Code Zero.


    Natalie could not deny that the silence bothered her. It was like someone had been watching her life from the shadows, yet she did not know who they were-or whether they were a man or a woman. Still, there was no need to rush.


    She opened her inbox and quickly scanned through her business updates. Everything at Goodwill Pharmacy was running smoothly, Nouvelle Zara''s profits were still impressive, and the fashion brand gifted to her by her birth parents was thriving-especially with Sophia contributing part-time.


    Sophia''s designs had a fresh spark, and the recent collection sold better than expected. Natalie had left Sophia a path to return when she first handed thepany over, and now that Sinir Group was back under Sophia''s control, she was bncing both roles.


    Though Zachary and a strong executive team supported her, Sophia still needed to review reports and attend meetings regrly, so she did not go full-time with Natalie''spany-which Nataliepletely understood.


    After finishing up her reviews, Natalie logged into another email ount to check if Connie had assigned her any new patients. Connie had filtered a few cases for her, but after reading through them, Natalie told her to decline all of them.


    Even though Laura had been cured of Umbrahex, her body was still recovering, and that responsibility still fell on Natalie. Moreover, Federrick had only returned because he knew Natalie struggled with poison-based cases. He wanted to help -and also protect her.


    By the time Natalie finished her work, the car had already pulled into The Herbalist''s Sanctuary.


    "Nat, we''re here," Marcus said.


    "Perfect," she replied, slipping her phone away. "I had Hector prepare a helicopter. We can head straight back from here."


    "Sounds good."


    Hector had moved quickly, as always. As soon as he got Natalie''s message, he jumped into action.


    Charlene, unsurprisingly, looked irritated with him—but that did not stop Hector from casually lifting her by the cor and leading her along.


    Just like that, the group boarded the helicopter and flew out of The Herbalist''s Sanctuary.


    ...


    Meanwhile, at Holden Residence in Dithoria State, Charlotte and William stepped out of the car with gift bags in hand. They followed Sheldon into the estate, where they found Charles out in the garden. He had just finished sipping some herbal tea and was now doing a slow stretching routine.


    As soon as Charles saw the two of them walking toward him, all smiles, he stopped mid-motion. A slight unease crept into his heart. Still, his expression remained warm as he greeted them, "William, Charlotte, what a pleasant surprise."


    Charlotte said cheerfully, "Mr. Holden Senior, we came by today to invite you over to our home so you can see the wedding gifts we''ve prepared for Nat. Since the kids are officially dating and Laura''s health is back on track, we thought... why not double the joy?"


    She added, "I already spoke with Laura and Wesley. They told me Marcus was raised by you, so of course, we wanted you to review everything first. Once you''ve had a look and given your blessing, we''ll go over it again with Laura and Wesley to see if there''s anything else we should add for the kids."


    "Well, since you''re already here, we can discuss it here too," Charles said, finally breathing a little easier. If they were here to talk about the kids'' wedding, he was more than happy to be involved.


    William chimed in with a smile, "Come to our ce. We''ve already prepared some of Nat''s wedding gifts, and a few of them were chosen based explicitly on Marcus'' preferences.


    "For us, this marriage means Marcus bes part of our family too. And we want to treat him with just as much love and care."


    He continued, Mr. Holden Senior, you know Marcus better than anyone. We''d love for you toe by our home and take a look at what we''ve prepared for him. It''ll give Charlotte and me some peace of mind."


    "Sheldon shoulde too," he added, turning to Sheldon. "You helped raise Marcus, so you''d definitely have valuable insight."


    Sheldon nodded without hesitation. "That''s true. I know Mr. Holden''s tastes like the back of my hand."


    Then, he turned to Charles and said, "Sir, I say we go have a look. That way, we''ll know exactly what kind of gifts we should prepare for the future Mrs. Holden."


    Just hearing they were officially discussing marriage made Sheldon immediately switch to calling Natalie "Mrs. Holden".


    Charles thought for a moment, then gave a firm nod. "Alright. Let''s go check it out. Then, we''ll know what kind of return gifts we should prepare for Nat. I can''t have people saying I treated my future granddaughter-inw unfairly."


    "That definitely won''t happen," William assured him with a smile.


    Charles was confident. After all, when it came to wealth, who could outdo the Holdens?


    He quickly went inside to change into more formal clothes and shoes, then left with Sheldon, following William and Charlotte to the Walker residence.


    When they arrived at the Walker residence, Charlotte had Gorge prepare top-tier tea and a beautiful spread of fruit and supplements, all selected with an older gentleman''s needs in mind. She made sure Charles had everything he needed to rx before she and William slipped into the study.


    Right after Natalie had called earlier, Charlotte had asked Lincoln to prepare two long, luxurious, and extravagant wedding gift lists. Sure, luring Charles to the Walker


    residence was part of Natalie''s n, but Charlotte was absolutely serious about putting together wedding gifts worthy of her daughter.


    Now, Charlotte and William walked back into the room, each holding one of the two lists, and sat across Charles with warm, confident smiles.


    "Mr. Holden Senior, take a look at this. This is the wedding gift list we''ve prepared for Nat. And this is the one we prepared for Marcus." She ced both in front of Charles.


    Lincoln had personally overseen both lists. Although he was still annoyed over Marcus calling off the engagement before, Natalie loved him, and as her elder brother, all he could do was give Marcus a warning punch, reminding him to treat her right from now on.


    Nheless, when it came to what


    Marcus should receive, they were not going to hold back. They were a respectable family. The more generous the Walkers were, the


    clearer it became that N


    .n


    had a


    powerful family backing her one that Marcus could never afford to take lightly.


    The Holdens might have more money, but the Walkers were not marrying into their fortune. They already had enough wealth and influence of their own. If the Holdens ever dared mistreat Natalie, her brothers would make sure Marcus regretted it.


    Sky was still detained at the bureau, so only four brothers were avable. Even then, it would be four pairs of fists against one man.


    "Mr. Holden Senior, here you go," Charlotte said, handing Marcus'' list to Charles.


    Sheldon immediately handed Charles his reading sses. Thetter put them on and began reading carefully.


    The Walker family had prepared impressive wedding gifts for Natalie-shares in Walker Group,mercial properties, luxury real estate, high-end jewelry, designer couture, and multiple luxury vehicles.


    But the list for Marcus? It was no less jaw-dropping. In fact, it even included a 200-million-dor yacht.