The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Everyone looked up as Vivienne walked in, her pace slow and measured. Clad in a plain tee and jeans, the simplicity of her attire was offset by the icy expression that seemed permanently etched onto her delicate features.

Kala watched her, emotions churning within her.

After a moment, she spoke up, “No need. I’ll handle it myself.”

She was at a loss for how to treat Vivienne now.

After all, it was not Vivienne who had affected her work, but there was an undeniable discomfort whenever she saw Vivienne.

Did she blame Vivienne?

No.

After all, her grandmother had genuinely committed murder, and not just once, but tenfold.

For twenty years, the families of the victims had been deprived of the truth.

Her grandmother’s fate was deserved.

She just could not face Vivienne.

It seemed ever since Vivienne’s return, everyone she was close to had changed.

Vivienne approached her, her face serious. “Judith’s death was a consequence of her actions. If she hadn’t resisted arrest, she wouldn’t have been shot in front of you. And the media exposure you faced wasn’t my doing. I covered your penalty fees as a gesture of goodwill. You were the only one who treated me with genuine kindness after I joined the Brooks family.”

When the Brooks first took her in, everyone had been considerate, but there was always an ulterior motive.

Only Kala had been genuinely kind to her.

That was just how Vivienne was unable to ignore those who were sincerely kind to her.

somewhat related to her, she

would never blame herself

unsure

back, she had been a woman of few words, never using two where one

word, Vivienne walked over to Baron and stated flatly, “Baron, I’m here to pack

you think you can just bail when the going gets tough? I’m not dead yet. Even in hard times, I wouldn’t

if it weren’t you and Percival, I wouldn’t have spared her. This case… Richard and I have been investigating it in the shadows for years. If we had discovered the truth sooner, perhaps the Brooks family wouldn’t have ended up like

raised an eyebrow,

worry about anything else,” Baron said with finality. “We’re discussing the future of the Brooks family. You

mind where I stay as long as you all are willing

glared at her. “Do

over at

embarrassed expressions. It was not that they blamed Vivienne; it

now, Timothy was coming to terms with

lives on her conscience, and she could not

Vivienne and Percival had done merely brought everything

then fell on Scott, who remained silent with a stern

not say more and took the

fee, it’s up to you whether you want to stay in show

Karen’s daughter could not be doing too badly, especially with that black card filled with funds, and

Kala nodded. “Alright.”

tasks and finally got to the crux of the matter. “Since Judith was one of our own and made a mistake, we can’t shirk responsibility. I’ll issue an apology and provide compensation for the victims’ families. On top of that, we need to push forward new

was intrigued. She had assumed Scott would be the one to turn things around, not

the thumb of Richard and was frequently in the sanatorium, had appeared

orchestrating a comeback with new projects and had even

ancient warrior lineage? Were the Rivenwood families not

tired and need

others busied themselves with