The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Jeffrey had always been a hothead, and Vivienne’s challenge sent him over the edge.

In a fit of rage, he hurled his phone at her, shouting, “Are you behind all this crap?”

Vivienne merely glanced at the phone lying on the floor, her elegant features cool and detached. She

did not move an inch, just quietly observing Jeffrey.

At that moment, Percival stepped forward and crushed Jeffrey’s phone underfoot, swiftly turning it into

a heap of electronic waste.

The next second, Jeffrey found himself unable to move. Panic crossed his face. “Vivienne, what the

hell did you do to me?” His eyes bore into hers, but other than his eyes and his mouth, nothing else in

his body responded to his mind.

With a casual flick of her hair behind her ear, Vivienne replied indifferently, “An eye for an eye. You

have a problem with that?”

“You!”

Before Jeffrey could retort, Vivienne’s fingers twitched, and a silver needle flew from her fingertips.

Jeffrey’s words were instantly cut off.

Seeing the scene unfold, Henry realized his options were dwindling. The only path left was to plead

with his father, Richard.

He dropped to his knees before Richard, begging, “Dad! I messed up. Please give me another chance.

I swear I’ll never do this again. I can’t go to jail!

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I just wasn’t thinking, Dad. Please, for all the years I’ve dedicated to our family business, forgive me

this once.”

He knew the gravity of his situation.

The money he had embezzled over the years was enough to land him behind bars!

Richard placed his cane down and slowly sat on the couch, his aged face void of expression. “As of

today, you are no longer welcome at the company, and don’t you dare show your face in this house

again!”

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Henry felt as though he had been struck by lightning.

Was Richard casting him out from the Ellington family?

What about the tax authorities?

Could he even get out of this?

“Dad, I’m your son! Fiona’s still suffering, Jeffrey’s still sick, and we have no means of income. You

can’t just kick me out, Dad!”

Henry clung to Richard’s leg, wailing.

But Richard pushed him away. “If it weren’t for this mess, would you still be here begging me? All of

you, get out! I never want to see you again!”

Heloise was dumbfounded. Her son was a wreck on the sofa, her husband was to be taken away, and

her daughter was still in jail. The future looked bleak.

Heloise’s heart hardened when her eyes landed on Vivienne, sitting there with a faint smile. She

grabbed a vase from the table and hurled it at Vivienne.

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“You little wretch, this is all your fault! I’ll kill you!”

With a swift kick, Vivienne sent her flying.

Heloise landed on the broken vase, a shard slicing a long gash across her face. She always prized her

beauty, and now, disfigured, she felt worse than dead.

She looked at the blood in her hands and screamed, “Ah! My face!”

Vivienne frowned at the noise.

So annoying.

Another silver needle flew out with a flick of her wrist, silencing Heloise’s cries.

Vivienne cleared her ears.

Much better.

Why could it not always be this quiet?

And so, a bizarre scene unfolded in the Ellington household. There was crying without tears, bleeding

without sound, their mouths agape but silent.

Richard barely glanced at Heloise before addressing the tax officials. “Officers, my son has broken the

law, and the Ellington family will not shield a criminal. Take him away.”

The officials stepped forward and escorted Henry out.

Heloise tried to intervene, but her face ached, and her voice was gone; she could only watch as Henry

was taken away.

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Once the tax officials and Henry had left, Percival gestured to the servants to remove Heloise and

Jeffrey.

Quickly, they were dragged out of the house.

With the troublesome people gone, peace returned to the Ellington home.

Richard, red-faced and fuming, took his time to recover on the sofa.

Vivienne approached, pressing acupressure points on Richard’s hand to help him relax.

“Vivienne, my dear, we owe you a great debt today. If not for you, who knows how long that ungrateful

son of mine might have kept me in the dark!” Richard thought of Henry’s misdeeds and felt his blood

pressure rise again.

He had known about Henry and his brother Ryan’s sneaky dealings, but since the sums were

insignificant, he had let it slide.

After all, Isolde’s face was disfigured because of the poison aimed at Percival; Percival wanted to keep

a low profile; Richard was old, and his ideas were outdated. All of these reasons combined, Richard

had decided to leave the business in the hands of his three sons.

He trusted Nathan implicitly and had given him the reins of the company, while Henry and Ryan were

kept away from crucial positions. To Richard, a little mischief was tolerable.

In a family as large as the Ellingtons, some were bound to be not exactly angels.

Richard knew his sons’ true colors but just could not be bothered.

Yet he never imagined Henry would embezzle such a staggering amount.

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Vivienne’s lips pursed slightly, a hint of remorse in her eyes. “I’m glad you don’t blame me, Grandpa.”

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There were not many whom she did not want to hurt, and Richard was one of them.

“Blame you? Far from it, I should thank you for excising a tumor from the company and the Ellington

family.” Richard genuinely held no grudges against Vivienne.

The money Henry had stolen could have supported a small company.Books Chapters Are Daily

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For years, he had been generous with his monetary support to the secondary branch of the family and

even gave them extra attention and care, particularly because of Fiona.

Now that trouble had arisen, it was nothing less than their just desserts.

Vivienne remained silent, choosing not to comment.

“Percival,” Richard sighed deeply, “I want those bad debts cleaned up. Take care of it, will you?” He

sounded weary. “I’m exhausted. I’m going to take a break.”

Vivienne and Percival watched as Richard retreated to his bedroom.

Afterward, they left the Ellington estate.

On the road, Percival made calls to have Henry’s mess sorted out.

The money the secondary branch had squandered, provided by the Ellington family, was long gone.

The 10 billion dollars Vivienne had requested had also been given to him to cover that particular

shortfall.

He had not needed that 10 billion dollars and could have managed without Vivienne’s help, but since

she had insisted, he had accepted it.

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Henry’s accounts were straightforward enough to settle, but Fiona was a more complex problem.

Fiona had been conducting shady deals in the shadows, creating an illicit network that stretched from

Ellington Group to Jeffrey’s art gallery.

However, Fiona was stubborn and had not yet revealed any of her secrets.

Seeing Percival’s grim expression, Vivienne inquired, “Is it that difficult to handle?”

Percival put away his phone, his austere face showing no emotion. “Her backers are part of an

organization known only as CK. That’s all we’ve managed to uncover so far.”

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