The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Quincy ducked, but with the wall at her back, there was nowhere left to hide. She had no choice but to succumb to F-Poison’s twisted sense of humor.

“Boss, just how many masks are you hiding behind that poker face of yours?”

As F-Poison leaned in close, the disguise became unmistakably clear.

The face F-Poison was wearing was that of Gillian.

F-Poison patted her own cheek. “Doesn’t matter, as long as it looks good.”

With that, F-Poison pulled a pill from her pocket and popped it into Quincy’s mouth. “Life-saving pill, half a mil a pop, you’re getting a sweet deal.”

The moment Quincy swallowed the pill, the oppressive weight she felt lifted. It was indeed the real Life-saving pill.

“Boss, my bad. I could not keep a lid on Patrick’s factory and let those Vanguard Agency rats find a foothold. And what I said was true: Percival really did get to Patrick’s factory by tailing Gillian. To be safe, Patrick always sent Gillian to fetch the samples. Poor girl was clueless and thought she was just helping Daddy with some paperwork, so we never got made.

When Percival showed up, he focused on Gillian, and that’s when the spot blew up. I wanted to swipe Keco’s formula, but that Thomas was crafty and had bombs rigged up in advance.”

F-Poison waved it off. “I know, it’s not on you. Rest up. We can’t lose our grip on Sea City. I’ll hit you up once you’re back in the game.”

Quincy nodded, watching F-Poison slip away.

Glancing back, F-Poison’s smile shone brighter. “Had you not fired, the bomb you were leaning on would have gone off by now. Congrats, you’ve lived another day.”

With that, F-Poison shut the door and left the safe house.

Cold sweat drenched Quincy. It was clear that F-Poison did not let any detail go unchecked, no matter how small.

And Quincy had not even realized the gun at her waist was rigged to a bomb!

She found the bomb; its countdown halted.

The trigger was the bomb’s remote!

Wiping her brow, Quincy reflected on her hesitation to shoot. With Vivienne’s sudden appearance and her clouded judgment, she could have been an easy mark.

Thankfully, she trusted Vivienne would not meddle.

For now, she had survived F-Poison’s test.

…

At Rivenwood.

place, Leopold drove Percival to the

front of the grand

me up at seven sharp tomorrow,” Percival said, tapping the seat before

out, “Hey, when’s Thomas

“Didn’t he

slapped Leopold’s shoulder, saying, “Congrats, you’re finally

even voice

Griffin? Since when did

he ever

Never!

the car, yelling his frustration

“Thomas, this means war!”

from the shower, Percival

photo of a

away, Percival replied: [That mystery

message me this time, came straight into

chuckled, then added: [Seems like they’ve

surprisingly very familiar with Vance. Could he be someone from the Vanguard

felt the enigma bore no ill will but

Who could it be?

turned in her bed and replied:

[Be careful.]

shut off her phone, gazing at the night

time, it was her mentor sneaking around; now, that mystery man?

to waltz into her backyard like it was nothing. Unsettling,

…

Somewhere in Rivenwood.

water for his guest. “Why

whim,” the

sitting opposite, smirking. “After all this

glanced

leisurely sip. “Just a heads-up. Knowing my apprentice… if she learns the truth, whether she accepts you

the cup, whose expression

“We’ll see,” Finnian added.

chased him down for a mere grand for years was petty beyond belief. This bombshell? Forgiveness seemed a tall order.Books Chapters