The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Without a word, Percival stepped forward and yanked the man being pecked at by the parakeet away from Birdie.

The man, powerless against the bird and certainly unable to resist Percival’s grip, allowed himself to be escorted to the lounge.

“Old Geezer! Old Geezer!” The parrot squawked triumphantly upon reaching Vivienne, ceasing its pecking frenzy to perch atop the man’s head, its tiny head held high in a display of pride as if to say: “Praise me, con, praise me!” Fuming, the man plucked Birdie from his head and, gripping its neck, growled menacingly, “You dumb bird, | should've wrung your neck when | had the chance. You ungrateful creature, what made you betraythis time?” Flapping its wings in a futile attempt to escape, the parrot broke free and landed on Darren’s shoulder.

“Chicken tenders, chicken tenders!” It chirped.

Chicken tenders were Birdie’s favorite, and Darren had stocked up on them at home, dedicating half the freezer to the bird's preferred snack.

Pounding his fist in frustration, the man lamented, “All for schicken tenders, Darren? After all these years, couldn’t you have spoiled it with something fancier?” The treacherous bird, selling him out for mere chicken tenders, just like that wretched girl! Darren, still puzzled, asked, “Excuse me, sir, do we know each other?” Percival, unfazed, stepped forward and ripped off the man’s disguise, revealing his true face.

Darren nearly collapsed in shock.

It was Finnian, Vivienne’s elusive mentor whom she had Ba. hunting down for debts! “Holy smokes! Finnian! Is that really you?” Although Darren was a mere associate member of the mentorship, having fled the fold soon after joining, Finnian was still his mentor.

Caught off guard by Percival’s bold move, Finnian scrambled to cover his face with his elbow, exclaiming, “Wrong guy, you've got the wrong guy!” Vivienne gritted her teeth fiercely. “Finnian! Put your hands down!” Everyone in the room, including Percival and Finnian, was taken aback.

Those familiar with Vivienne knew she was genuinely enraged.

Seeing his upset disciple, Finnian quickly tried to smooth things with a sycophantic smile. “You silly lass, | was just pulling your leg. Why the long face?” “Pulling my leg? You faked your death for this long, and you tellit was a joke?” Vivienne stood up, her eyes brimming with tears as she glared at Finnian.

Finnian, always fond of Vivienne, felt a pang of guilt seeing her cry and hurried to comfort her, “Oh, look at you, shedding precious tears. I'm fine, see? Stop crying, and ccheck the injury that dumb bird inflicted on me; it hurts like hell.” Vivienne sniffled, standing up to inspect Finnian’s head, but to everyone's surprise, she suddenly burst into heart-wrenching sobs.

“You lied again. You're not hurt at all!” Finnian was in a fluster, pulling out tissues and wiping away tears while apologizing profusely, “I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Oh dear, | haven't seen you in a while, and you've becsuch a crybaby. Please, stop crying, be a good girl.” Darren was too shocked to utter a word.

Vivienne crying? The merciless Vivienne, weeping uncontrollably? Was this not entirely out of character? Meanwhile, Percival lounged casually on the sofa, pulling out a piece of paper and scribbling a few lines before silently sliding it in front of Vivienne.

Finnian, too busy pacifying his disciple, paid no heed to Percival’s action.

However, the weeping Vivienne suddenly grabbed Finnian’s hand, sliced his finger just enough to draw blood, and pressed it onto the paper with such speed that Finnian was taken by surprise.

Vivienne stopped crying, softly kissed the paper, and flicked away her remaining tears. “Finnian, this is what you owe me. Don’t forget to pay up!” Finnian, gobsmacked, looked closely at the document.

It was an 10U for 80 million dollars! “You... you ungrateful girl, conspiring with this outsider to swindle my money!” Vivienne pocketed the IOU, her face devoid of any sorrow, replaced by a sly and triumphant smirk.

“That's where you're wrong. Mr. Wolf here is my fiancé, not an outsider. And don’t you think it’s fair to add a little interest to that thousand dollars you've owedfor so long?” Finnian pointed an accusing finger at Vivienne. “A thousand dollars... Just a thousand, and you've been fixated on it for years! And now you're chargingthis outrageous interest, you ungrateful child! Oh heavens, why don’t you strikedown and savefrom this ungrateful girl's treachery? Why is my life filled with such suffering!” Vivienne ignored his dramatics, even taking the tto pour Finnian a glass of water so he would not get hoarse from all the shouting.

Percival watched the scene, reminded of his grandfather. It seemed that the older generation all fancied playing the mischievous old rascal.

Finnian then pointed an accusing finger at Percival. “You dare to collude with this ungrateful girl to steal my money? You will never be welcomed into my home! I'll never approve of your marriage!” Percival was momentarily taken aback but quickly recovered.

Placing Finnian’s hand gently down, he smiled. “I'll pay that 80 million dollars for you.” “You're an amazing man. | knew | had not misjudged you. Look at that face, the epitof a gentleman, truly one in a million. If that girl ever gives you trouble, you cstraight to me, and I'll sort it out!” Finnian’s face-switching was so rapid that even Darren, seasoned in the acting world, had to applaud.

It appeared that Finnian had not wasted his tin solitary; his acting chops were as sharp as ever.

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Percival smiled at Finnian, finally understanding where Vivienne got her mercenary nature.

Vivienne waved at Darren. “Go tell Kala | had to jet early, okay?” Darren knew, without a doubt, that Vivienne needed a private chat with Finnian. Besides, he was no longer Finnian’s disciple anymore; it was not his place to eavesdrop.

He left, his arms cradling Birdie, whose thoughts were probably all about chicken tenders, and thoughtfully shut the lounge door tightly behind him.

Now, it was just Vivienne, Percival, and Finnian left in the lounge.

Vivienne's expression grew serious. “Finnian, don’t you think you owe us an explanation?” The day Finnian had unexpectedly kicked the bucket, they had wept as though their world had ended.

Vivienne, though not as overtly devastated as the other nine, had shed her share of tears, too.

It was only after Vivienne noticed someone had tampered with Finnian’s grave—finding an empty casket in the earth—that she began to suspect he was not as dead as they had thought.

“Con, Vivienne, you know there was a good reason for all this,” Finnian said, sipping his water. After all the shouting, his throat was indeed parched.

“What could possibly justify faking your own death? If you don’t start spilling the beans, that 80 million debt of yours is going to balloon into 800 billion—believe it or not.”