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.

of water from a servant and said weakly, “Enough

until now, finally spoke up. “Mom, if you hadn’t eaten so much,

glances, but you

you really think I wanted to

were taken

puzzled, looked at her mother.

eat either, but my hand acted on its

a sob. “Dad, could

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

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

is,” Wendy

had thoroughly investigated Vivienne—or so she thought. What

connected the dots. “Vivienne stayed in some convent in Havenwood before going to Rivenwood. Maybe

for a country girl. She must have bewitched him. What do we do

handle it,” Yannick growled, still seething from the recent nausea. “Some backwater girl isn’t going to best us, especially not

amiss. “She’s just a girl. Even if she learned something, it couldn’t be that powerful. The

can’t let her be with Percival, or who knows how much he will suffer.” Mara pressed, her lips

agreed

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

villa, Vivienne and

earlier antics. “What did you do to

Brody. It’s supposed to control people for half an hour, making them do

said, ruffling Vivienne’s hair with pride.

where the servants had everything prepared

the button by the bed, and we’ll be at your service. We

broadening as she scurried off, as if she

Percival exchanged

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