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.

your ship,” she stated, her legs shifting position as she lounged back

the ship, my daughter

murmured absentmindedly,

began to rise, “Could this be connected

sharpened as she looked at

the bionic tech, I could not completely sever our relationship. I thought of sending an invite, and the Boyd family’s

he would represent her. I agreed, and during preparations yesterday, my men told me the Boyd family’s head wanted to drop off a floral arrangement. I did not question it, but

signal beeped in her

The shipment had arrived.

it but could not do so in front of Vivienne, so he

yawned, her eyes closing.

that, she

move. He knew Vivienne was not dozing off but

a nerve, and his pale excuses and baseless suspicions held little

grew increasingly anxious as his phone continued to vibrate in his

had arrived, just deliver

Why bother messaging him?

had left their post outside the cabin and were now at

and Thomas had secured the docks, sealing off all incoming shipments

reported, handing over a bag of

a notorious new drug on the black market, identical to flour and often sold alongside grains to avoid

brow furrowed. “How

a glance with Leopold before revealing an astonishing

“Three tons.”

Anna gasped. “How much?”

“Three tons,” Thomas repeated.

tons of Keco could profit enough to buy a small

significant haul but had not imagined it would

we’ve found nothing

research base, following leads to the Ashford family’s harbor,

the base, so Leopold and

their eyes on Patrick’s movements from the ship’s cabin; each of his moves was a potential key to unraveling the web of intrigue surrounding

of securing the experimental substance, they had

all people, was neck-deep in drug trafficking, a kingpin

Three tons of Keco was no small find, and it demanded the intervention of the local

gear and coordinate with the DEA officers,” Percival instructed as he took the Keco