The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Gavin glanced at the bruise beneath his eye, so faint it was almost invisible.

A flicker of disdain crossed his eyes, but for Madeline's sake, he tempered his expression. "What's the rush? As long as you all stick to your story and don't budge on Julian's harassment charges, I can't believe Vivienne, that little tramp, has any chance of overturning the case!" "But what about the bribery allegations from before..." Kipling wanted to say that since they'd filed charges, they'd surely not focus only on the hardest to prove. Back in the day, to climb the ladder, he had done quite a few things to undermine Julian. If all that cto light, who would believe his judgment? Gavin waved his hand dismissively, as if such concerns were trivial. "You took bribes? As if Vivienne's people are clean? That country girl from nowhere, how does she have the clout to sue you?" Kipling's eyes lit up with understanding at the implied message. He slapped his thigh, "Right! How does Vivienne have the nerve? It must be her man behind her! Gavin, I know what to do now. Don't worry, this time, I won't let Kaitlyn and Vivienne get away with it!" Gavin nodded with satisfaction, "Then get to it. And don't mess it up." Kaitlyn, Vivienne. You really think that by handing over the secret recipe, you'll be worry-free?! Just wait. The real show is yet to come! Watching Kipling's eager departure, Gavin dusted off his jacket and stood to leave.

Unnoticed by all, two figures had been standing in the most hidden corner of the side hall the entire time. Victoria only emerged from the shadows once the room cleared.

Looking in the direction Kipling had left, then at Gavin's retreating figure, she said with a mix of mockery and wistfulness, "Vivienne really does have stalent, pushing Gavin to this point. The old man's truly a waste of space!" Seaton dared not speak; lately, Victoria seemed to have less and less restraint in her speech. She'd just had a spat with Harrison, and now she was insinuating against Gavin. She was practically declaring war on him without saying it outright! Victoria didn't expect Seaton to say anything. After venting, she remembered the task at hand, "Did you find what I asked for?" "Miss, everything you requested is on this flash drive." Seaton instantly becserious. He handed the silver flash drive to Victoria.

Victoria toyed with it in her hand for a moment before pocketing it, "This should make things interesting. Vivienne had better not disappoint me." Seaton asked, "Miss, about earlier-should we report to Ms. Hawthorn?" Ever since Victoria had him switch the Littleton family urns, Seaton was no longer surprised by any of her actions. After all, anyone capable of desecrating her own grandmother's remains to spite her father was capable of anything.

Unaware of Seaton's internal commentary, Victoria waved him off, "No need. Vivienne surely knows already. Just make sure our current plans go smoothly and wait for her next move." She had other matters to attend to and couldn't afford to be exposed because of Vivienne.

Seaton bowed, "Understood." Their conversation remained their secret.

Meanwhile, Kipling stormed out of the Abernathy estate and immediately called Zinnia.

What they discussed was known only to them.

The trial began at noon.

Zinnia slipped into the jury undetected, and in the courtroom, Jerry laid out one piece of evidence after another. Kipling's defense sounded almost laughably weak, yet each point was crafted to steer the judge's thoughts elsewhere. "The plaintiff's accusations are unfounded. At the time, Tobin lied, and it's normal for my client to be unable to discern the truth and to make a mistaken judgment. There was no malicious intent to retaliate against Julian." Jerry wasn't worried; he leaned forward slightly, picking up a crumpled paper from the table, "There's a difference between lying on one's own and being coerced to lie. Kipling, to entrap Julian, bribed the then-impoverished Tobin with a thousand dollars and a year's college tuition to slander Julian for taking bribes. Here's the receipt from back then, Your Honor." Despite the years, Tobin had always felt guilty about what he had done to Julian, carefully preserving Kipling's note, hoping to one day right his past wrongs.

Thus, despite the passage of time, the writing on it was still clear and legible, and the court had no shortage of experts to verify handwriting.

After examination, it was confirmed beyond doubt that the note was indeed written by Kipling.

The robed judge looked solemnly at Kipling's side, "The plaintiff's evidence is valid. Defendants, do you have anything to say?" "I object!" Kipling hadn't expected Tobin to still have that piece of his past.

His venomous gaze swept over, but Tobin was no longer the vulnerable kid he once manipulated, meeting his eyes with a calm and steady gaze.

Though Kipling's lawyer wasn't on Jerry's level, he was still expensive, and seeing the turn of events, he quickly raised his hand, "Your Honor, handwriting can be forged. Without video evidence, how can you claim this was written by my client?" Jerry sneered, "Do you really think that Tobin, a child at the time, had the opportunity to access the handwriting of education officials and mimic it? Or are you suggesting that someone here managed to obtain a sample of Kipling's handwriting?" The opposing lawyer was momentarily speechless. How was he supposed to answer that? Of course he knew that Tobin couldn't produce the handwriting, but his mission today was to fight for a retrial.

Turning this losing garound was going to be tough.

He sighed inwardly, but kept a poker face. "Your Honor, the plaintiff has no direct evidence that our side tampered with the witness. I request that a verdict be scheduled for another day!" Vivienne received Jerry's call just as she and Percival had arrived at the hospital where Zinnia's daughter was admitted.

Listening to Jerry's account of the entire court proceeding on the other end of the phone, her face betrayed no surprise. "The judge agreed to schedule the verdict?" Jerry's voice was grave as he replied, "Agreed. Claimed the evidence was insufficient. Kipling brought in sof Tobin's old classmates. They all insist that Tobin was specially favored by Julian to get in. The situation now is a toss-up." Vivienne, arm in arm with Percival, walked into the hospital ward, speaking as they went. "Then we wait for the retrial. Keep an eye on the online front, too. Zinnia and her crew won't let things lie." Her phone was on speaker. Kaitlyn was tutoring Amelia in math.

Media outlets have been hounding Amelia's school wanting to corner the child. Tyler and Kaitlyn feared an incident, so they'd taken Amelia out of school. They were homeschooling her in the meantime.

Hearing Vivienne's words, Kaitlyn pushed the notebook towards Tyler and called out, "Vivienne, are you suggesting they might still use the media to achieve their ends? What more can they stir up, keep playing the card of the indecent case?" Leopold, in his attempts to avoid Sophie, hadn't even been visiting Griffin lately. He'd been hiding out in d.ne the villa Vivienne arranged for Kaitlyn, At the mention, he sat from the couch, "It's quite possible. Isn't that their trump card right now?"