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.

was a national agent, aiming to steal

her work and personal life separate. She wouldn’t even discuss the news with Alfred, let alone work matters, leaving

Alfred, and they

to Vivienne, while he used the impostor Astrid to attempt

on their second meeting. Meanwhile, Astrid’s organization had

believed he had gone undetected, falling short only in gaining access to the core secrets. Moreover, he didn’t care much, his sole objective being to get close to Vivienne and bring her to a lab for GTO to

played along with Mr. B, pretending to be duped

to handle. Instead of

shady transactions for profit, but she had never

the fact that Astrid was Vivienne’s sister, she wouldn’t have

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

for anyone to

Group, she no longer had the

the general route, and

daring to make

Fiona’s dramatic exit from

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

Luckily, Vivienne was shrewd.

secrets. I’ll recommend you for the highest medal of honor. Without you, who knows what crisis

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

The medal was a symbol of the highest honor, coveted even among

And Vivienne wasn’t interested!

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

probably would put on a

one! I

retorted, “Scram! You

picking

interjected, “What did

“My

hospital just yet. I’ll explain everything