The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Wendy was the first to pick up her milkshake and take a gulp, setting off a reluctant chain reaction among the others. They had no choice but to follow suit and sip away.

It was not until the last drops of the milkshake were consumed that Vivienne stood up, flicking her wrist in dismissal, “That’ll do for today. Get some rest, folks. See you all tomorrow.”

With that, Vivienne and Percival left the Boyd residence and returned to the house Maddox had prepared for them to catch some sleep.

No sooner had they left than Wendy, forgetting her cane, bolted to the bathroom and began to hurl.

The other Boyds followed suit, much to the dismay of the household staff, who pinched their noses in disgust.

It was revolting.

To have so many people retching at once was unheard of, and Yannick even spewed on Wendy’s beloved woolen rug.

Already, the house was tainted with the smell of barbeque and smoke, and now this collective upheaval of recently chewed food added insult to injury.

The odor was insufferable.

The Boyds spent a grueling half-hour vomiting before they finally collapsed back onto the couches, utterly spent.

The once prized woolen rug had been relegated to the trash, a sight that made Wendy’s heart ache.

Theodore, drained and pale, leaned on his wife’s shoulder, still dry-heaving.

Teresa, repulsed, shoved him away. “Get off me. You stink of decay. It’s disgusting.”

Theodore weakly slapped Teresa, not because he could not bear to hurt his wife, but sheer exhaustion. “You wench, you think you smell any better?”

“You dare hit me? Believe it or not, I’ll divorce you for this!” Teresa howled, her voice nearly giving out from the strain.

Dehydrated and powerless, no one had the energy to argue further.

the couch, accepted a glass of water

hadn’t eaten so much, we wouldn’t have followed

so many glances, but you just kept eating, forcing us to

you really think

were taken

mother.

I didn’t want to eat either, but my hand acted on its own, reaching for food and bringing it

back a sob. “Dad, could it

and Yannick felt similarly manipulated. Teresa confessed, “It was indeed like being possessed. I moved when Vivienne moved and ate uncontrollably even though I was fully

shuffled closer to Hayden, frightened. “Don’t scare me, not this late at

is,”

thoroughly investigated Vivienne—or so

in Havenwood before going to Rivenwood. Maybe she picked up some dark arts there

a country girl. She must have bewitched him. What

handle it,” Yannick growled, still seething from the recent nausea. “Some backwater girl isn’t

just a girl. Even if she learned something, it couldn’t be that powerful. The real

let her be with Percival, or who knows how much he will suffer.”

other Boyds agreed with

for inviting Percival to Sea City—to marry him to Gillian Ashford and cement an alliance between the

Vivienne and Percival were

curious about Vivienne’s earlier antics. “What did

supposed to control people for half an hour, making them do as they wish. I simply enhanced it a bit,

Vivienne’s hair with pride. “Look at you, my

into the villa, where the servants had everything prepared for

just press the button by the bed, and we’ll be at your service. We won’t disturb you any further—have

smile broadening as she scurried off, as if she could not

and Percival exchanged a puzzled

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