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.

feeling like

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

isn’t much, but please accept this small token of my father’s gratitude. Do

in gold, which had sold for 80 million dollars at an auction

Not much?

in Vivienne’s collection, there was

and Yasmine as a byproduct of trying to rescue the captured babies; it was all in a day’s work. There was nothing she had done that could justify

in Vivienne’s hands, saying, “You can’t refuse an

our girls would have gone through

on, take it. Otherwise, my dad will insist on personally delivering it to your house,” Yuri joked, holding his twin

his cane, but not too hard. “Who

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

you owe a favor to the hand that gives. I’m afraid I

heart. Unconsciously,

getting dark. Percival was waiting downstairs and approached her as

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

to see you sooner,” Percival said, taking Vivienne’s hand and noticing the bag she was carrying. “What’s that?” He

and smiled.

secretly collected her DNA to conduct a paternity test back in Sea City but had not yielded

seen as an offense, hence the gift as a

the Perez family’s desire to find their daughter, perhaps noting some resemblance between her and their memories of their

she was not the

mother was not

never spoke of her biological family. Perhaps they had not

the hospital, Jasper stared at the paternity

so familiar, so much

test showed no genetic link between them

How could this be?

sat down, taking the report from Jasper. “Dad, stop looking

also held out great hope for the test, feeling