The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Patrick’s limbs were beyond his control, his body betraying him as he followed Vivienne’s retreating steps.

Behind him, Gillian’s heart-wrenching cries for her father echoed through the air, but he was powerless to respond.

Patrick finally felt the command of his body returned when they reached a secluded cabin on the ship.

But now, with both Percival and Anna guarding the door, escape was an impossibility.

“Kneel,” Vivienne commanded, her voice serene as she sat on the seat representing authority.

Patrick fell to his knees with a thud, not out of compulsion but from the sheer force of Vivienne’s presence.

His legs tingled with numbness, sharp pains shooting through his knees as if a thousand needles were pricking them.

Beads of sweat formed on his brow, trickling down his temples and disappearing onto his shoulders.

Vivienne sat with her legs crossed, her slender neck held high with disdain, a hint of scorn in her gaze.

As Patrick knelt, Vivienne wondered what her mother had seen in him. How could such a spineless man be entrusted with the critical technology of bionics?

She regarded him with contempt and curiosity, slowly pulling the small “Morning Glory” from her pocket and tossing it at Patrick.

Instinctively, he caught it, his forehead bulging with veins, paralyzed with fear.

When he saw what it was, he finally heaved a sigh of relief.

He had thought she had thrown a knife at him!

“Madam, what is this?” he stammered.

Vivienne raised an eyebrow, her voice calm. “A miniature bomb.”

Shocked to his core, Patrick scrambled behind the couch for cover.

He thought it was a knife, but it was even worse – a bomb! Vivienne was more reckless than his boss.

Who in their right mind tosses a bomb around like a toy?

Observing Patrick’s reaction, Vivienne could almost be certain of his innocence regarding the bomb incident that evening.

her legs shifting position as she lounged back on the sofa,

towards her, panting, “Madam, I swear I had no idea about this. Even if we set aside your presence on the ship, my daughter and I were there, too. I would never risk our lives by planting a bomb.

murmured absentmindedly,

began to rise, “Could

she looked at him. “You know

it odd. After the engagement party fiasco, I cut all ties with the Boyd family. But for the sake of the bionic tech, I could not completely sever our relationship. I thought of sending an invite, and the Boyd family’s head came to

my men told me the Boyd family’s head wanted to drop off a floral arrangement. I did not question it, but it’s suspicious now that I think about it. I had always dealt

signal beeped in her earpiece—it was from

The shipment had arrived.

it but could not

yawned, her eyes closing. “Let

she went

to move. He knew Vivienne was not dozing off

matter of the bomb had touched a nerve, and his

increasingly anxious as his phone continued to vibrate in his

shipment had arrived, just

Why bother messaging him?

post outside the cabin and were now at the Sea City

docks, sealing off all incoming shipments and detaining the

handing over a bag

new drug on the black market, identical

furrowed.

glance with Leopold before revealing

“Three tons.”

Anna gasped. “How much?”

“Three tons,” Thomas repeated.

could profit

haul but had not imagined it

than Keco, we’ve found nothing else,”

to uncover GTO’s virus research base, following leads to

so Leopold and Thomas

the ship’s cabin; each of his moves was a potential

substance, they had stumbled upon a whopping three tons

neck-deep in

experimental substance was a dead end by now. Three tons of Keco was no small find, and it demanded

as he took the Keco bag. “And keep this under wraps; we don’t