The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Gillian’s scream pierced the silence of the night, startling her from her dreams into a gasping reality as she fell to her knees on the floor, breath heaving in her chest.

“Mr. Ellington, Mr. Ellington…” She gasped.

Patrick rushed to his daughter’s side, steadying her with a firm grip. “Gillian, are you alright?” He asked, concern written all over his face.

Confusion clouded Gillian’s eyes as she noticed the cluster of people around her, her last memory of being tucked into bed by Percival, wrapped in a cozy comforter.

She was quick to react, though, sobbing as she collapsed into her father’s arms. “Dad, I… with Mr. Ellington, we’ve already… We’ve…”

Her words hung in the air, leaving an unspoken understanding among the gathered crowd.

The sight of a naked beauty would test any man’s resolve, and poor Yannick had been dealt a rough hand, his legacy usurped by another.

A flicker of rage crossed Patrick’s eyes as he turned to Percival, his voice rising in anger. “Percival, what do you have to say for yourself? You animal!”

Mara quickly came to the defense. “Mr. Patrick, there were drugs in the room. It was not intentional; it was the drugs that took control. Just think about how Gillian was acting!”

Gillian clung to her father’s hand. “Dad, I remember bits and pieces. Mr. Ellington saved me from Yannick. We tried to leave, but… I smelled something strange. Even though my mind was clear, our bodies would not listen…

It’s not Mr. Ellington’s fault. It’s all Yannick’s doing. Really, it’s not his fault.”

Tears streamed down Gillian’s face as she clutched the blanket. “Dad, I’m so ashamed.”

Mara, with tears in her eyes, looked at Percival. “Bro, it was Gillian’s first time. You can’t just abandon her.”

Patrick was at a loss, torn between anger and the need to comfort his daughter. He looked at Percival with a mixture of anger and pleading. “Mr. Ellington, given the circumstances, if you don’t take responsibility, Gillian will have no future.”

“Yeah, Percival, we can’t just leave things like this.”

Their performance could have outshone even the likes of Meryl Streep and Anthony Hopkins.

Vivienne smirked. “Ms. Ashford, ever heard of Rainbow Entertainment? If you’re interested in signing, I’ll have someone contact you.”

A talent like Gillian’s could not be wasted. She could cry on cue, immerse herself in the role—who would not be enticed?

a money-making machine,

how broke are

completely, and

should ask Vivienne how much she loves

completely, and absolutely in

away her tears. “Ms.

give you another shot?” Vivienne’s lips curled in amusement as

of anger passed through Gillian’s eyes. “Vivienne! I know you’re upset about me and Mr. Ellington, but I would never lie about my reputation. I remember what happened,

to Mara. “Are you absolutely sure

nervous, knew she could not change

only one there. Now that Gillian’s awake, there’s

I have something interesting here. Care to take

a sleek tablet that was not available on the market, foldable to

baffled, having no idea where

the screen a few times, and soon, a high-definition video began to

away, and I’ll place the hallucinogenic drugs in the room. Once I’ve had my way with Mr. Ellington, we can blame it on

help you. Just to get that Vivienne out of the way and ensure you marry Percival. Be careful,

every detail of Gillian and Mara’s conversation, even filtering out the background noise so every word

have anticipated that their private exchange would be recorded

indignation, now felt the weight of shame. His daughter had drugged a man to offer herself to

reputation would be

a sigh of relief. They had been present from the start of

saw a chance for a counterattack, perhaps even to implicate Gillian instead of

drugged Gillian or not. Thus, they could totally say that

Percival and Vivienne, it looked like their chance for revenge

the priority was

way through the crowd, ready to defend

that!” Teresa fumed, her voice a tempest of maternal fury. “I knew there was no way he’d just pass out for no reason. You’re scared of getting caught, so you knock him out? Well, let’s see how you like

Teresa lunged at Gillian and

the sharp pain snapped them to the harsh reality. There was

strong, and she threw them to the ground without

now she lay exposed and defenseless as Teresa pinned her down and

to intervene, but his body was frozen