The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Two days later.

Dorian’s company had finalized their new perfume line, and Vivienne found herself with some free time to visit the hospital.

Anna had already returned to school, but Natalia and Yasmine were still hospitalized, though they had been moved from intensive care to a regular VIP ward.

Jasper sat beside the crib with two plush toys in hand, smiling at the sight of his granddaughters’ joyful faces, an involuntary chuckle escaping his lips.

Vivienne knocked on the door. “Excuse me, sir.”

Jasper’s face lit up with excitement. “Ah, young lady, you’ve finally made it. I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me.”

“How could I forget such a charming gentleman?” Vivienne teased.

It was the first time Jasper had been described as charming, and he basked in the novelty, “My, my, your words warm an old man’s heart.”

Vivienne smiled.

Just then, Yuri and Zelda came in, and Jasper immediately boasted. “Vivienne just called me charming. Take that, you bunch of brats who always call me stern. She doesn’t think so.”

He then turned to Vivienne. “I can call you Vivienne, right? It feels more personal.”

“Of course,” Vivienne replied with a laugh.

Yuri sighed, “Vivienne, my dad’s only ever this happy when he’s chatting with you. When he talks to me, he’s far from charming.”

“Cheeky boy, go fetch Vivienne’s gift, will you? That’s all you’re good for,” Jasper scolded, glaring at Yuri.

This boy was no good!

“Dad, I’ve brought everything. Don’t look at him. He’s useless,” Zelda said, also shooting Yuri a teasing glare.

to himself, feeling like the black sheep

box from the cabinet, its craftsmanship clearly that of a master’s

accept this small token of my father’s

was a set of Hope Blue Diamond jewelry in gold, which had sold for 80 million dollars at an auction the year before, the Heart of Hope! The rarity of the craftsmanship

Not much?

collection, there

to rescue the captured babies; it was all in a day’s work. There was nothing she had done that

placed the box in Vivienne’s hands, saying, “You can’t refuse an old man’s gift; it’s bad

take it. We can’t imagine what our girls would have gone through without you. Words can’t express

insist on personally delivering

him with his cane, but not too hard. “Who said you could hold

hold my daughters? Dad, you’re being too harsh. Vivienne, you have

their persistence, Vivienne finally accepted, then said to Yuri, “Mr. Perez, they say you owe a favor to the hand that gives. I’m afraid I can’t help

Unconsciously, she had come to think of this room as

the hospital, it was getting dark. Percival was waiting downstairs and approached her as

her coat tighter around herself, asking, “Why didn’t you

taking Vivienne’s hand and noticing the bag she was carrying. “What’s that?”

glanced at it and smiled. “It’s

a paternity test back in Sea City

an offense, hence the gift as a form of

did not take much offense; she understood the Perez family’s desire to find their

was not the

mother was not

her biological family. Perhaps they had not been kind, so

the paternity test report, a deep regret filling his

felt so familiar, so much like his

the test showed no genetic link between them

How could this be?

report from Jasper. “Dad, stop looking

the test, feeling that Vivienne