The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Outside the courthouse, Arthur hopped into his car without a second glance.

Seeing this, Shane hurried over, his voice full of panic. "Arthur, you're leaving just like that?" Arthur waved dismissively, "Yeah, I'm off. You guys head back!" Shane was visibly frustrated. "But how are we supposed to explain this to the boss? We were sent here on a mission!" "What's there to explain? I've been single for nearly fifty years for the sake of the country. Do I not deserve a wife and kids for my sacrifice? Doesn't the boss owethat much?" Arthur declared righteously.

Shane was speechless. "You've got a point, but you haven't found your true love yet. You randomly decided to hand Harrison and Gavin over to Vivienne, and now the higher-ups are going to be furious. Those two were key to wrapping this whole operation up..." Before Shane could finish, Arthur cut him off, "Nothing is more important than finding my wife and daughter! Tell the boss I'm done. I'm off to find my wife!" "What?" Shane and the newly arrived Dante were stunned.

Was this even allowed? Quitting on the spot without a formal resignation? He was just going to leave with a few words? Shaking off his shock, Shane quickly said, "Look, Arthur, we're all for you finding a wife, but that doesn't mean you have to quit your job!" He hadn't heard the conversation between Arthur and Vivienne in the courtroom.

"It absolutely does! I've already managed to upset my own daughter! If I don't make it up to her by sending those two her way, who's going to take care ofwhen I'm old?" Arthur exploded.

"What?" Shane and Dante were utterly confused. "Daughter? Arthur, since when do you have a daughter? How cwe didn't know?" Arthur had his reasons, which Shane and Dante were privy to. They had been helping Arthur look for someone ever since he returned to the country. Yet, they hadn't found any leads, and they certainly hadn't heard anything about Arthur having a daughter.

"I just found out!" Arthur exclaimed.

"Found out? Just now?" Shane was baffled.

Dante was quicker on the uptake, suddenly asking, "You mean Vivienne is your daughter? But wasn't she Karen's?" "Karen might just be Winnie!" Arthur added.

He wasn't clueless. Vivienne looked so much like Winnie, and though he hadn't met Karen, the brief conversation with Vivienne was enough for him to connect the dots.

The Winnie he had been searching for might just be Karen.

Dante hesitated, "But Karen was Scott's girlfriend... It's still unclear whose child Vivienne is." Although Scott had acknowledged Vivienne, the Brooks family's scandal had sealed many secrets. However, they had discovered that Vivienne wasn't really Scott's child.

Vivienne's origins were a mystery.

Even if Karen was the Winnie in Arthur's heart, after so many years apart, who knew if she had fallen in love with someone else? "Bullshit!" Arthur glared at Dante. "Vivienne is my daughter! She's the one Winnie had for me!" Vivienne didn't resemble him, but he was certain she was his daughter! Considering the timelines, even if Winnie had found someone else after leaving Scott, any child she had would be under eighteen now.

Vivienne was already twenty-one.

No matter how you sliced it, she was his daughter! He wasn't the type to harbor doubts and investigate slowly. One look at Karen, and he could confirm whether she was Winnie. If she was, he could take Vivienne for a paternity test.

Why bother with a slow investigation when he had a lead? He'd been searching slowly because he lacked any clue. Now with a clue in hand, why continue the slow pace? "Still..." Shane and Dante wanted to protest, but Arthur waved them off, "Enough with the chatter. If my wife gets laway, are you going to findanother? I'm warning you, don't bother Vivienne again. Whatever she needs, give it to her." S Shane and Dante were speechless.

Hadn't Arthur been the one causing trouble for Vivienne from the start? Arthur: Are you questioning me? Why would I reject my own daughter? Shane, Dante: ...

Without giving Shane and Dante a chance to respond, Arthur instructed the driver to head straight for Vivienne's lab.

The lab was quiet, with fewer than a dozen people including Brody scattered around.

Upon his arrival, one of the researchers approached. "You're War God?" Arthur was taken aback for a moment before nodding, "Yeah." He hadn't expected anyone in the lab to recognize him! "Ms. Hawthorn has informed us of your visit. Please, follow me," the researcher said, leading Arthur inside.

Karen, under Brody's charge, had her own set of labs here, normally off-limits to others.

As Brody was analyzing Holly's condition in one of these transparent labs, Arthur caught sight of Holly and paused, a smile creeping onto his face. His daughter sure knew how to stir the pot, even managing to fool him! "War God, please wait here. I'll inform Rex," the researcher told Arthur.

Everyone in the lab was aware of Brody's real identity, but they still preferred calling him Rex.

After a brief exchange inside the lab, Brody looked up, saw Arthur, and couldn't help but laugh. He then waved the researcher away.

Quickly, the researcher emerged, leading Arthur to another room.

Karen remained silently lying on the bed, seemingly peaceful except for her closed eyes, showing no signs of consciousness yet stable in her vital signs.

As soon as Arthur entered, his gaze immediately fell upon Karen's face, and he swiftly moved closer, kneeling beside her bed with a rare tenderness in his voice, "Winnie, is it really you?" There was no response from the comatose Karen.

Holding Karen's hand in one of his, and gently caressing her cheek with the other, Arthur's eyes brimmed with unshed tears, "I'm sorry, I've been too late. You've been through so much alone, raising our child." In that moment, seeing Karen, he was certain Vivienne was his daughter.

It was just a man's intuition! Still, Karen gave no response.

As Arthur touched her cheek, his et expression suddenly darkened, and he spoke with a fierce intensity, "Rest assured, whoever hurt you, even if they're dead, I'll find them and make them suffer beyond the grave. And if they're alive, I'll ensure their fate is worse than death Just then, the door to the room burst open.

Brody leaned casually against the doorframe, a mischievous smirk on his face, "War God, Vivienne sentto conduct a paternity test for you two." Privacy