The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Percival's lips curled into a smile, his eyes twinkling like stars in the night sky.

The divine beauty of Vivienne's face, akin to a masterpiece carved by the gods themselves, made even someone like her—who

prided herself on being no stranger to handsmen and beautiful women—pause in sheer admiration.

She belonged to him, and the fierce surge of possessiveness that rose from the depths of her heart quickly spread to her eyes.

Unabashed by her desire, Vivienne discarded her drenched dress. Her pale arms wrapped around Percival's neck. "What's so

funny?" she asked, her voice sultry.

Percival's gaze flickered. "I've already shared my thoughts," he said. "Now's not the time, so we have to... postpone ‘it’ a bit

longer."

Vivienne rolled her eyes internally. Who was really being put out here?

"You're not worried about Kaitlyn?" Percival asked just before their lips met, voicing the final question of the night.

Before Vivienne could respond, the sound of labored breaths filled the steamy bathroom, spreading throughout.

As her mind hazed over, she thought she heard her phone ring. But then she was pulled into a sea of desire by Percival, all

thoughts forgotten.

At the Hawthorn residence, the clock struck midnight.

Dorian sat up in bed, sleep nowhere in sight. His gaze then shifted to the emails on his laptop, feeling as if a boulder weighed

heavy on his chest, making it hard to breathe.

[By tomorrow, | want to see that Hawthorn Group has terminated the endorsement deal with Kala.]

He had been on edge for days, and those few words made his heart tremble once again.

He opened and closed Vivienne's contact on his phone, looking years older all of a sudden.

The once gentle and resilient eyes were now filled with weariness.

After a while, a long sigh echoed through the empty room.

What was he supposed to do now?

The next day.

Vivienne and Percival were determined not to follow the path laid out for them, which suddenly left them with plenty of time.

Seizing the opportunity, they decided to visit the Hawthorn residence with Leopold in tow.

"Seriously, Percival, with all the cars in your garage, do | really have to play chauffeur?" Leopold complained as he followed

Vivienne into the house. He'd been up late with Griffin the night before and had barely hit the pillow when Vivienne's call came

through.

He didn't dare ignore Vivienne's orders. Before he knew it, he was waiting in his car beneath the couple's apartment building.

Percival was unrepentant. "Got a problem with that?"

"Nope, no problem at all," Leopold replied, shaking his head like a tambourine. "Besides, I've got nothing else going on except for

hanging out with Griffin lately."

Percival stopped in his tracks and glanced back at him. "What? You're on suspension?"

"No way!" Leopold nearly jumped. "The War God is on a mission to root out corruption in the Vanguard Agency. Right now, anyone

not assigned to an important person is basically on house arrest. Micah and Vance, too. The ones with assignments get their orders

directly from the War God."

As he spoke, something else cto mind. "Oh, and Thomas tried calling you yesterday. Said he couldn't reach you. He asked me

to tell you that they've found Huxley."

Percival nodded in acknowledgment. "I've already arranged for him to be taken back to the Boyd family."

"Back to the Boyd family?" Leopold didn't understand. Wasn't that the sas letting the tiger return to the mountain?

Percival hummed in response, apparently not inclined to explain, and followed Vivienne upstairs.

"Dorian? Cordelia?" Vivienne called out several times, both upstairs and downstairs, but received no response, which soured her

mood.

She had tried calling that morning with no answer and wouldn't have cover if it weren't for the lack of news from Hawthorn

Group.

If she didn't find anyone soon, she was ready to call on the Order of Nine Mystics Society to search the city.

Soon, Vivienne reached the master bedroom on the second floor and pushed open the door.

Seeing the person inside, she paused, "Dorian, why didn't you answer when | called?"

Dorian sat at his desk, impeccably dressed in a suit and tie, ready to walk out the door at a moment's notice, yet he was just sitting

there, typing away at the computer.

"Hm?" Dorian looked up, seeming to just now hear Vivienne's voice. "Vivienne, what brings you here?"

Vivienne's clear eyes noticed the fine sweat on Dorian's forehead.

She glanced at the air conditioner blowing above and spoke softly, "I called you yesterday, and you didn't pick up, so | cto

check on you. Are you hot? It's 79 degrees outside, and you have the air conditioning on?"

"I, uh, just worked out a bit. Got a little hot, so | turned it on to cool down," Dorian said, loosening his tie.

Being naturally honest, he was terrible at lying.

Percival entered the room behind Vivienne and merely glanced around before turning to whisper something in Leopold's ear,

causing a shift in his demeanor.

A pang of anxiety hit Dorian, but before he could ask, they were already looking elsewhere. He stood up, resigned. "Let's not stand

around here. Let's go to the living room. You and Astrid are both so busy, and it's rare for you to be together. What would you like

for lunch? I'll make it."

Vivienne's gaze remained fixed on Dorian. "You decide, I'm good with anything."

After a pause, she glanced back into the room. "Where's Cordelia? Did you send her on a business trip?"

"Oh, right!" Dorian hesitated for a second before answering, "There's a lot to do with the company just starting, so | had her go

take care of sthings."

The father and daughter made their way downstairs, where Leopold re-entered from outside, giving Percival a confirming look.

Percival wrapped his arm around Vivienne unabashedly in front of Dorian. "Dorian, why don't you cstay with us for a while?

Vivienne and | have sfree tsince Cordelia's out of town, and Vivienne is worried about you."

Under normal circumstances, Dorian, the doting father, would have frowned upon seeing such intimacy between the two.

But today, his mind seemed elsewhere, distracted.

Seeing Percival's gesture, a wistful look that others found perplexing passed fleetingly across Dorian's eyes.

Vivienne pursed her lips and spoke before Dorian could muster his usual resistance. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Almost reflexively, Dorian's gaze snapped to Vivienne, and then he shook his head quickly. "No, what could | possibly be hiding

from you? I'm fine, really. Both of you..."

"Dorian, the surveillance equipment in the house has been temporarily disabled. Rest assured, no one will overhear what you're

saying right now."

Leopold thought Dorian was still in denial, perhaps worried about the security devices in the villa, and reassured him in a gentle

voice.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Leopold finished speaking, Dorian's expression turned grave. "You're saying the cameras in the house are

down?"

Startled by Dorian's sudden ferocity, Leopold stepped back. "Yes, Dorian, you..."

Before he could finish, Dorian bolted, shooting out of the room like an arrow. "Cordelia!"