The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

William pondered for a moment before speaking up, “It was about two weeks before the boss took her own life. She sent it to me over the local network; it was a burn-after-reading kind of deal, leaving only this file with instructions to keep it safe, saying it would come in handy later. Then she just vanished without a trace.”

“It was the same for me. The boss made me promise not to let these secrets out,” Zachary also chimed in.

Vivienne’s brow furrowed with concern. It would come in handy later?

How so?

Her mother was dead. What good could it possibly do now?

“Master, could this be… bionic technology?” William ventured to ask.

Vivienne nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m entrusting to you. I’ve consolidated all the Ashford and Boyd family resources, and the labs are all set up, but I don’t have the time to manage them. I’m hoping you can handle it. Will that work for you?”

“Of course, it’s perfect,” William replied, his voice tinged with excitement. “Master, aside from my work in holistic medicine, I’ve been relying on this document from the boss to research bionics. I always felt something was missing, but now that you’ve brought this to us, it’s all starting to make sense.”

Zachary nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I’ve always wondered what the boss meant by it might come in handy. Turns out she was waiting for you to come to us, Madam.”

Vivienne’s lips curved into a slight smile.

Waiting for her to come to them? Did her mother have the same capabilities as her mentor, to know the future?

How could her mother be so sure that she would come?

A myriad of questions flickered through Vivienne’s mind, slowly shaping into a theory.

“You guys can handle the Havenwood and Rivenwood affairs. Patrick has been making progress with the bionics project over the years, but he never quite cracked it. Keep pushing in that direction, and you’re bound to see results soon.”

After giving her instructions, Vivienne stood up. “If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me.”

With those final words, she left without looking back.

Vivienne felt confident entrusting the bionic technology to the combined expertise of the Pendleton and Churchill families.

With that matter settled, Vivienne made her way to the underground prison where Patrick was being held.

a stint with the DEA, Patrick had been secretly transferred

and shivering in his water cell,

studying his pale and swollen face

drugs, stealing her mother’s

and every act was a

managed to gasp, “Madam… I

she

the chains binding him clanking. “I don’t

you chose to

Vivienne’s icy tone, Patrick shivered and stammered, “Initially, GTO approached me and offered me a lot. They said I could

Patrick could finish, Vivienne’s hand was already

fury in her grip as he struggled for

Please, I beg you, let me

grip, her anger making her want to twist his neck right off. But as she

a moment, he thought he was truly

the truth. I really haven’t seen F-Poison, but I did meet a girl from

loyalty

ever

“Yes… he did. But the technology is still immature. It only functions for

connection

all, the high-purity drugs they produced were extraordinarily lucrative and had sustained GTO’s finances for

chop, Vivienne knocked Patrick out cold. His head

in her car, Vivienne

help of a projector, but no matter what, she could not have escaped from under

leaving nothing behind, was not a person at all—it was a biorobot created by

was all she

bomb; no one had noticed anything odd about

her movements had been logical, but her expressions were stiff, lacking the fear

Vivienne had never expected a biorobot to

also explained why the hair left at the scene was made of

cover up bionic technology—this F-Poison was indeed

of Karen and Percival for so long had

drove away, her mind racing with the implications of