The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Clutching her mother tightly, Vivienne’s tears erupted like a fountain. She wept uninhibited, her sobs echoing through the car like a child’s.

In her mother’s embrace, time seemed to stand still. It was different from the time she had swindled Finnian out of 80 million dollars; this was raw, unfiltered emotion.

After crying herself to near exhaustion, Vivienne finally ceased her tears and remembered she had a bone to pick with her mother.

“Mom, you…” Vivienne started but stopped as she noticed Karen dozing against the car window.

How could any mother be so absent? She was crying her eyes out!

“Vivienne, honey?” Karen murmured, waking to her daughter’s voice and wiping drool from her chin. “Oh, it’s been ages since I heard you cry. Still puts me right to sleep.”

Vivienne was speechless, gazing intensely at her mother, who seemed so different from when she had first seen Anna.

“Mom!”

Karen pulled Vivienne into a hug. “Frost, I’m starved. How about we grab some beef stew before we get into all that?”

Overhearing from outside, Percival could not bear the scene any longer and climbed into the car. He had hoped for a heartwarming reunion, yet Karen’s mind was preoccupied with thoughts of beef stew!

Now he knew where Vivienne got her appetite.

“Master, is food all you ever think about?” Percival complained as he got into the car. Vivienne had been crying her heart out, and Karen had not even tried to comfort her.

Karen slapped Percival’s arm. “Shut it and drive.”

“Mom, please don’t knock the sense out of my Mr. Wolf,” Vivienne said, rubbing the back of Percival’s head tenderly.

Percival chuckled softly, grateful for Vivienne’s gentle touch.

Karen scoffed. “It’s not like you peed on him when you were a kid!”

Vivienne blushed crimson, having no memory of such an incident.

about to retort when Karen continued, “Or the time you cried about diapers and not wanting to break the rule of ‘no touching

it; Karen always

up at Rivenwood’s finest stew house, where Karen feasted to her heart’s content. It was then that she circled back

reclining in

“I tossed that rock to

quietly. “It only shows the androids inside GTO

by the Brooks family and the two samples Karen had left behind, had reached their

scene was the pinnacle of these experiments—an android

android was given to Vivienne by Zachary Churchill just

years, but now they

brows knitted. “It seems we have a mole among us

Karen to check on Zachary, William Pendleton, or the Brooks family. She thought

the Brooks family is clean, and Baron has long retired.

the Brooks family has been under surveillance. No issues

“Because of the airborne particles, we couldn’t risk using any chemicals. Even

bill, caught the tail end of

thought they’d switched guns. Could it

Vivienne in the same

Vivienne, why don’t we head

the mention of home, Karen

family must

everything. It was only because Diana had pushed Vivienne to the brink that

hesitation, Vivienne reached out and took Karen’s hand. “Mom,

much for the term ‘family.’ In fact,

is, there is always a tender

she had been deeply wounded by her foster parents—left battered and bruised, both emotionally

a state of isolation, building walls so high that she would not let

been searching for her for over thirty

waiting for us,” Vivienne said, her hand warm in Karen’s—a comfort akin to the cozy sweaters her mother

the Nine Mystics Society, witnessing her