The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Gillian’s grip did not loosen; if anything, it tightened with a fierce determination.

Just moments ago, she had been planning to invite Percival over to her house to negotiate a partnership with the Ellington family following her father’s successful acquisition of the Boyd family.

But then, in a twist of fate as cruel as it was sudden, her father was arrested, the Ashford Mansion was seized, and her family’s fortune evaporated into thin air.

The shock was unbearable; she simply could not accept it! Unable to get her revenge on Percival or Vivienne, Gillian directed all her rage at Mara.

Just as Mara’s breath was being squeezed out of her, agents from the DEA arrived in the nick of time, subduing Gillian.

Mara’s life was saved, but her face was ruined beyond recognition. The infection from the cuts, made worse by the dirty porcelain doll fragments embedded in her flesh, had spread too far.

“Gillian’s been arrested for assault, Mara’s fallen into a depression after her disfigurement, Teresa has divorced Theodore and left the country with her kids, and Nancy has absconded with all of the Boyd family’s wealth, taking her children far from Sea City. Everyone else is in prison. Ms. Vivienne, that’s all there is,” Anna reported the fates of the Boyd and Ashford families to Vivienne.

None of this was surprising or particularly stirring to Vivienne, except Gillian’s breakdown - that was unexpected.

“Got it,” Vivienne said, tucking the translated contract into her bag and donning a baseball cap before getting into her car. “Tell Mr. Wolf to wait here; I'll be back shortly.” Anna nodded, watching Vivienne drive away, already rehearsing the story she would tell Percival - Ms. Vivienne had a date! Vivienne pulled up in front of the restaurant and i i clutching her bag. Inside, the restaurant hosted only one table of diners, reserved by two familiar faces: Zachary, patriarch of the Churchill family, and William, patriarch of the Pendleton family.

“Madam.” Zachary stood first, his eyes glistening slightly.

William was more composed, for Vivienne was his mentor, even though he had never imagined his mentor to be the long-sought daughter of Karen.

Vivienne nodded, indicating that they should sit.

“Why did not you tellthe truth from the beginning?” She asked directly.

Zachary and William exchanged looks before Zachary sighed. “Madam, to be frank, we had no idea you were the boss’s daughter nor that her nwas Vivienne. You seemed familiar when | met you in Havenwood, but | never connected the dots... If I had known, | would have safeguarded you long ago.” Realizing that Vivienne hardly needed his protection, he trailed off awkwardly.

“You didn’t know my name? Then how did Patrick recognizeso readily?” Vivienne had assumed her mother had revealed her nto them.

William snorted. “Patrick, that conniving little weasel. He stole the boss’s tech reports from us and lied that they were lost. He wouldn't have been strutting around Sea City if we hadn't lost touch over the years.” After Karen's death, the three families she had supported had secretly met, agreeing to cut off contact to avoid drawing attention to their past allegiance to Karen. They all suspected foul play in Karen's death and wanted to preserve what she had left behind. For a decade, they kept their distance from each other.

Except for Patrick, the Churches and Pendletons looked for Karen's daughter, intent on protecting her. But aside from knowing she was female, they had no other information.

Little did they know that Vivienne had grown strong enough to protect them.

“Looking back, the boss must have sensed a traitor among us, which was why she disclosed so little,” William said with a grave tone, a flicker of ruthlessness crossing his eyes.

Zachary agreed, slamming his fist on the table, “That Patrick—if I'd known he was the traitor, | would have used my family’s entire might to prevent him from getting away with so much for so long, nearly harming you.” Zachary and William were aware of the incident where Vivienne had been aboard the Ashford family yacht when a bomb was planted. They still shuddered at the thought.

Vivienne, however, was unfazed. She had known Patrick was up to no good, and the bomb was not his doing, nor was it the work of the Boyds. She was still investigating the true culprit.

“Let's not dwell on the past. I've called you here because there's a new task | need you to undertake,” Vivienne said, pulling out the translated documents from her bag and handing them to William and Zachary.

The Churchill family had been surviving on their own merits, without invoking any of Karen's resources, knowing they lacked the capability to fully harness what Karen had left behind.

They knew the gravity of the situation all too well. The mere exposure of these items could send shock waves through their circles. If anyone connected the dots back to Karen's daughter, it would spell disaster.

Meanwhile, William had been tirelessly devoted to the medical field and had even taken Vivienne as his mentor.

As they perused the document, a flicker of surprise danced across their eyes.

They exchanged glances, then simultaneously pulled out another set of papers from their bags.

“Master, you've got a keener eye. Do these add up to the sthing as your document?” William handed the papers over.

Vivienne leafed through them, and a chuckle escaped her lips.Books Chapters Are Daily Updated Join & Stay Updated for All Books Updates...

As it turned out, Karen had divided the bionic research into three parts long before her death, entrusting two parts to the Pendleton and Churchill families and hiding the last piece in her hometown.

She left it for Patrick to uncover.

This meant Karen must have known all along that Patrick was the traitor in their midst.

But then...

Vivienne’s grip on the documents tightened.

If her mother knew everything, why would she take her own life? Vivienne’s mind grappled with confusion. Her mother had set a trap for Patrick without leaving any explanation to her before choosing to leave this world? It just did not add up.

Was there something she was overlooking? “Master?” William called out, noting the increasing severity in Vivienne's expression.

Vivienne snapped back to reality and placed the documents on the table. “Yes, it's the same. When did my mom give these to you two?” Piecing together the documents revealed the essence of the Boyd family’s contract.

It seemed that Karen had indeed completed the research on bionic technology but cleverly divided it into three mixed parts.

Maddox's hunch was not wrong; Karen must have reviewed the initial outline of the bionic technology presented by the Perez family.

Karen remembered everything.

But did she know that she was, in fact, the long-lost daughter of the Perez family?