The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Chapter 144

His voice held a rare tinge of vulnerability. After a moment of hesitation, Vivienne moved to his side,

allowing him to wrap his right arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder, and in no time at

all, Percival drifted into sleep.

Vivienne gently removed his arm and dialed Matthew’s number.

“I couldn’t find the two ingredients you asked for on the black market.” Matthew informed her over the

phone.

“Keep looking.” Vivienne commanded him. After pausing briefly, she said, “Put the word out that

anyone who has these ingredients and is willing to part with them will be owed a favor by me.”

Her favors were rare and precious. They were sometimes powerful enough to cheat death.

She believed that once this message was out, the items she sought would find their way to

her.

“It seems you do care a lot about your fiancé.” Matthew commented after an unexpected

pause.

Vivienne didn’t confirm or deny it. She simply hung up.

She glanced at Percival, who lay on the couch with his eyes closed.

Did she care?

Perhaps.

After all, he had always been good to her.

“Percival.” She murmured while gently patting his face.

There was no response. He was running a low fever from the poison, and she could feel the heat

radiating from him.

“Mr. Wolf.” Vivienne called softly.

Percival opened his eyes slightly to look at her. She helped him up. “Let’s get you to bed.”

He nodded. His lips pressed together as she supported him up the stairs to the bedroom. His nearly

six-foot-three frame weighed heavily on Vivienne.

Finally, she managed to get him into the room and settled him onto the bed, where he promptly fell

back into slumber.

After a moment of hesitation, she fetched a basin of warm water from the bathroom. She used a wet

towel to carefully wipe away the sweat on his face and body, then placed a damp cloth on his forehead

to bring down his temperature.

Just as she was about to pull away, Percival grabbed her hand, mumbling while

half-sleeping “Vivienne, don’t go

Vivienne froze. She then sighed and lay down beside him, fully clothed, allowing him to hold

her hand

Late into the night, Percival suddenly spiked a high fever, and Vivienne had to administer

fever reducers

He was delirious for most of the night, refusing to let go of her even in sleep. Vivienne was forced to

stay awake and keep watch over him.

As dawn approached, Matthew called.

“We have leads on the Star Grass and the Seven Poison Flower”

“Is the owner willing to part with them?” Vivienne asked eagerly.

“They are, but…” Matthew began hesitantly.

“Speak your mind.” Vivienne urged him impatiently.

“The Seven Poison Flower is with Brody.”

Matthew let out a long sigh. “Brody is a nutcase. Ever since you beat him once, he’s been looking for a

rematch. If you win, the flower is yours. But if you lose…”

“He wants me to be his guinea pig?” Vivienne scoffed.

“No, he wants to turn you into a specimen.”

Vivienne remembered how Brody had once stormed a high-security prison, using almost a hundred

inmates as test subjects. By the time the Nine Mystics Society arrived, the scene looked like it was

straight out of the horror game ‘Resident Evil.’ Many were so horrified that they vomited on the spot.

They had been trying to capture him ever since, but he was elusive. Now, he was practically delivering

himself to them.

“I’ll take him on.” Vivienne laughed coldly. “The higher-ups have been wanting to nab him, right?

Prepare to capture him once the match is over. That way, I wouldn’t have to break my promise.”

Matthew paused before replying, “As for the Star Grass, it’s with the Owl.”

The Owl was a high-ranking figure in GTO. His exact status within the organization was

unknown.

His appearance, age, and abilities were all mysteries. He was a man who left no traces, a hallmark of

GTO’s upper echelon.

“His terms?” Vivienne asked coldly.

“He didn’t specify but said that he’s keeping this favor for later.” Matthew knew how much Vivienne

despised GTO because of her mother’s experiences.

1 agree Vivienne replied after a moment of silence.

Matthew sighed Technically, with Vivienne’s medical skills, they could wait for the ingredients.

However…

By agreeing to this, she would owe the Owl

But Vivienne didn’t seem to want to dwell on this. “As for Brody, set up a time with him. The sooner, the

better.”

“He’s a lunatic and a sadist. Matthew cautioned her. “Be careful.”

“You should worry about Brody Vivienne retorted casually.

I’m just worried that you’ll let your feelings cloud your judgment.” Matthew sighed.

Vivienne glanced at Percival beside her. He was asleep, but his brows were furrowed in discomfort

while his right hand still held on to her left.

Would she let her feelings get in the way?

Two hours later, the Star Grass was delivered. Vivienne inspected it carefully, ensuring that it hadn’t

been tampered with, before notifying Matthew.

The meeting location with Brody was also set. The address Matthew sent made her pause. N&S

Psychiatric Hospital?

So that freak, Brody, had been hiding out in Havenwood, tucked away in the N&S Psychiatric Hospital,

huh?

Quite the coincidence, wasn’t it?

And their showdown was set for tonight.

Percival has been out cold all day. Vivienne, concerned about his strength, hooked him up to an IV drip

and changed the dressing on his wounds.

The lingering effects of the poison still left a tinge of blue-purple on his arm.

When Leopold saw this, he felt a chill run down his spine. Thank God for Vivienne. The doctor he

brought yesterday wouldn’t have been able to save Percival’s arm.

As the time for her appointment with Brody approached, Vivienne handed over the care of Percival to

Leopold and prepared to leave.

“Who’s this guy you’re getting the antidote from? It’s not dangerous, is it?” Leopold asked, a trace of

concern in his voice.

“Just another nut job.” Vivienne replied.

Leopold blinked in surprise.

Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm

Vivienne added, “As for danger… it’s just a bit.”

But a defeated enemy was hardly a threat to worry about.

Chapter 145

N&S Psychiatric Hospital.

By the time Vivienne arrived, the sky had turned black, and the hospital building looked hauntingly

ominous in the dark.

She wore a sophisticated ghost mask on her face, standing with her hands in her pockets before the

large iron gate of the hospital. Soon, a small door creaked open from inside.

As she stepped through the small iron gate, it banged shut behind her.

Without looking back, she continued walking forward, only to see a plump man sitting on the steps of

the hospital building, tilting his head and drooling. His eyes were red, as if he had been crying.

He was the only one in the courtyard, so Vivienne took an extra glance at him. Upon seeing her, he

immediately smiled at her, staring at the ghost mask on her face. “Miss, what’s that that you’re… you’re

wearing? It’s… it’s so scary.”

Vivienne didn’t answer and just stood in front of him, looking down at him coldly. He wanted to reach

out and touch her ghost mask, but was frightened by her icy gaze and withdrew his hand. “I… I just

wanted to… to see if you… you’re pretty.”

“Am I pretty?” Vivienne asked coldly.

“Miss, your voice…is nice.” The plump man started laughing again. “If… if you’re pretty, then become

my wife.”

But it seemed like he remembered something sad and immediately started crying again. “They…

they… they took away my… my wife! They… they… said… said I’m impotent, so there’s no… no point

in me having a wife.”

Then he started bawling. “Give me back my wife! I want my wife!”

“Shut up, you fatso! You’re so noisy!” A gloomy-faced man walked out of the building and shouted at

the plump man. “What are you shouting for?! You’re impotent! What do you need a woman for?! Of

course, they’re for us!”

After scolding him, the man looked Vivienne up and down, licked his lips, and said, “Even with the

mask, her figure is top-notch. Brody didn’t mention that a woman was coming tonight.”

He tried to pounce on Vivienne with a lecherous smile but found himself suddenly unable to move,

standing stiffly in place. He looked at Vivienne in horror. “What… What did you do to me?!”

“You’ve been poisoned” Vivienne bypassed him and walked into the hospital building.

“Poison?!” The man was taken aback and started shouting, “You bastard! You actually

poisoned met Brody, come out and cure me!”