The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Evening had settled when Eliza stepped into Wendy’s room.

“Mom, why are you still up at this hour?” Eliza perched herself beside Wendy, the picture of a dutiful daughter.

Wendy cherished Eliza deeply, having protected her like the apple of her eye since she was a child.

Now, in her current state, she trusted no one more than Eliza.

“Eliza, with me in this condition, I would not put it past my daughters-in-law to have all sorts of ideas. We can’t let them get the better of us, darling. Your brothers are no use either, only seeing dollar signs.”

Eliza nestled close to Wendy, chuckling softly. “Don’t worry, Mom. The Boyds won’t be played by my sisters-in-law. Our family’s assets won’t fall into the wrong hands, not on my watch.”

Wendy nodded in assurance. “I knew I could count on you to ease my worries. Eliza, I’ve taken note of your ambitions all those years and prepared for it. This visit from Percival, it’s so you can get acquainted with the Ellingtons, you understand?”

Relief washed over Eliza with those words.

As long as she could see Nathan Ellington again, she would do anything.

“Yeah, I know you’ve always got my back, Mom.” Eliza leaned on Wendy’s shoulder, briefly catching sight of her amputated hand and quickly averting her gaze with a hint of distaste.

Wendy’s hand was already skeletal, a ghastly sight, and with the stump so starkly exposed, it was downright macabre.

“Mom, what are your plans regarding the Specter Healer?” Eliza inquired.

Wendy scoffed. “He’s just after money, isn’t he? I have plenty, though it might be a bit tricky to come up with 800 billion dollars at once. But, opportunities are not nonexistent.”

Eliza looked at Wendy skeptically.

Plenty of money? What a joke.

As the CFO of Boyd Group, she was all too aware of how much the Boyd family had.

Not to mention 800 billion, even 800 million would require careful consideration.

Where was her mother getting this confidence from?

Noticing Eliza’s doubt, Wendy smiled. “Have you forgotten our ace in the hole?”

hole?”

grabbed the remote and switched on the news channel where Patrick’s arrest

The screen also showed Gillian besieged by

dawned on Eliza

seize control of the Ashford family’s fortune,

more than feasible

can you be so sure Patrick will turn to us for help?” Eliza

hot potato right now. Who would dare get involved? And with Gillian’s reputation in ruins, who would want her? But, just one call from you, inviting her to turn to the Boyds, bringing all Ashford business under our roof,

exploiting

Patrick in trouble, Gillian, as the sole Ashford heiress, would

one was a fool. With the gravity of Patrick’s offenses unclear, who would lend

extend help, Gillian would agree to any terms,

the Ashford business and unveiling

I’ll make the call right

it would be about more

operation had to be kept secret from the other Boyds, or they would certainly

her control to negotiate with the

Ellington family’s next daughter-in-law

be cast

…

barely processed Patrick’s arrest when she was

such a large company and its numerous projects, Patrick had inevitably borrowed heavily from

with his arrest, the banks were aggressively seeking

her phone aside, clueless on

her had vanished into thin air,

rang. Surprisingly, it was

eyed her warily. “What are

I go way back, and I’ve watched you grow up. I could not just sit by while your family faces such

heard in a while, and tears sprung to her

Gillian rushed forward

close to Mara and had

circumstances, there’s only one thing I

entirely out of her depth with business affairs. Having someone

quite simple. You’re now the sole heir to the Ashford Group. After your father’s incident, you’ll take over as CEO. All you have to do is sign the Ashford Group’s over to the Boyd Group. That’ll help you tackle some of the debt with the banks. Once we stabilize the company, we can focus

was lost in the fog. “Auntie, I don’t really understand these

here and leave the rest to me. The Ashford will still be the same, just under the umbrella of Boyd Group.