The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Vivienne locked eyes with Astrid.

There was no denying it, Astrid was stunning. She really had inherited all of Cordelia’s best features.

Vivienne chuckled softly, “No need to be so formal with me, we’re family.”

She had uttered those words many times before, but this time, it came from the heart.

This Astrid was the one she should truly call Sister.

Astrid felt a rush of emotion. She had, in fact, used her clearance to dig into Vivienne’s past. After all, showing up after years away and causing such a stir in the Brooks family raised suspicions.

Yet, she found nothing.

Vivienne was an enigma, the more Astrid delved, the deeper she sank.

So, when they first met, Astrid had her guard up.

Later, after Vivienne’s visit to Rivenwood, the Brooks family invited them for a family reunion. It was then Astrid received a classified tip.

Alfred was a spy from a rival organization! Just when she was about to arrest Alfred, Mr. B appeared.

Collaborating with Alfred, Mr. B kidnapped her, and she had been in captivity ever since.

Each day, they injected her with a sedative that kept her unconscious for long periods, obscuring any knowledge of the outside world.

On the rare occasions she was lucid, she found herself tossed in the trunk of a car, unable to discern much else.

Vivienne passed a peeled apple to Astrid, “While you were missing, Mr. B impersonated you around us. But don’t worry, he didn’t get anywhere near the core of your work, and Alfred didn’t manage to steal any intel.”

Indeed, Astrid was an agent working on classified national projects, which meant she couldn’t spend much time with Cordelia. Every leave request meant paperwork, waiting for notifications, and getting signatures from top to bottom.

However, those details were classified, so Cordelia remained unaware of the specific nature of Astrid’s work. She only knew that Astrid’s superiors were strict, rarely approving family visits.

approached Astrid precisely because she was a national

even discuss the news with Alfred, let alone work

Alfred, and

let Mr. B get close to Vivienne, while he used

had seen through Mr. B on their second meeting. Meanwhile, Astrid’s organization had been quietly informed of

much, his sole objective being to get close to Vivienne and bring her to

with Mr. B, pretending

handle. Instead of using GTO’s resources, he partnered with

in shady transactions for profit, but she

for the fact that Astrid

Astrid’s transport across various vehicles, following no discernible pattern, making it difficult

hiding made it challenging for anyone to readily trace or

Ellington Group, she no longer had the transportation means to move Astrid,

general route, and Thomas blocked the

to identify the specific car and not daring to make a scene, they risked

exit from the Ellington

of relief. Her work was vital to national security, and it could not fall into enemy hands.

Luckily, Vivienne was shrewd.

I thank you for your contribution to protecting national secrets. I’ll recommend you for the highest medal of honor.

laughter, “I didn’t do it for the country; I just wanted to save you. As for the

honor, coveted even among their own ranks, let alone

And Vivienne wasn’t interested!

curved her lips into a smile. She truly didn’t care for it. Her mother had plenty, Percival had his share, and she was tired of seeing them around. In a family, not everyone needs

would put on

one! I can’t

retorted, “Scram!

“You’re picking up Percival’s

“What did you

“My

spoke, “You need time to recover and can’t leave the hospital just yet. I’ll explain everything to mom. Rest up; I have