The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Flynn took a deep breath. Sure enough, the agony coursing through him was beginning to subside.

He sat up straight, his gaze steady on Vivienne. “You came all this way to see me. What else do you want to know?”

Vivienne tossed her lollipop into the trash can without a second thought. “I’m more interested in what you have to say.”

“I have nothing to say to you.” Flynn leaned against the headboard, his eyes closing, signaling he was done talking.

Vivienne, unfazed, shifted to a more comfortable position. “Is the infamous F-Poison your mentor? Is he dead?”

A flicker passed through Flynn’s eyes, but he remained silent.

“You’re not still waiting for F-Poison to come to rescue you, are you? That’s naive, Uncle Flynn!”

Standing up, Vivienne seemed ready to leave.

That got a reaction. Flynn called out to her, “You’re here to get the scoop on your mom’s abduction, right? Sasha’s.”

Vivienne froze, a piercing look shooting from her eyes like daggers sinking deep into Flynn’s skin.

Suddenly, Flynn felt as if flames were raging inside him, threatening to consume him entirely.

“Vivienne, I’m the only one in this world who knows what happened to your mom after she was taken. If you want the truth, you must cure me of this poison!”

Vivienne’s gaze softened, and Flynn felt immediate relief.

Struggling to his feet, Flynn approached the balcony. “Bring someone from the Perez family to see me.”

Vivienne’s frown deepened, but she left without a word.

Flynn chuckled, his eyes glinting with meaning. “There are things in this world that defy description. Only the ordinary can be understood.”

Vivienne gave Flynn a long, hard look before walking out of the stifling cell and exhaling heavily outside.

Maddox opened the car door for her. “How did it go?” He asked.

Vivienne shook her head. “He didn’t spill anything.”

steering wheel. “Flynn’s a

Uncle Maddox. I’ve had enough

all about her

really trust

what else did he say?” Maddox asked as

someone from

and Yuri. What the

you think he wants to see you or

know that Diana and I are in Rivenwood?” Maddox scoffed. “Maybe

Only the ordinary

knows? The ramblings of a madman, yet strangely

smiled faintly, choosing to remain

dropped her off at her home before

Vivienne sank into the

wanted to see someone from the Perez family,

family in her

Willa.

and Willa was his only daughter. Flynn would want to see the one who

a towel to dry her hair, and then reached for her phone

search for Vesper going?”

even get a

this frustrated since he joined the

10 feet, and after so many days, they

someone like Vesper would not be easy to track. “Stop chasing shadows

the other end, and then Draven said, “Vivienne, about Willa Perez,

Vivienne asked,

rarely described

come across some clues about her, but they vanish every time I get close. At first, I thought it was the Perez family cleaning up, but it’s not

amid the steam, and opened the bathroom door. “Who’s helping Willa from the

thick with concern. “There’s a mysterious force backing Willa, a force we can’t quite grasp. I’m sorry, Vivienne,

just one but two assignments, Draven found it hard to face Vivienne with his

a task it could not tackle. Yet now, they had hit two dead ends in rapid succession, a blow that Draven

all, the two people she had tasked the Nine Mystics Society to investigate were unlike any they had encountered before. Running

of this mission was not solely dependent on her or Draven’s capabilities but rather on how much the