The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Barnaby chuckled, a hint of steely resolve behind his humor. “I choose to have the chip removed even if it means I have to be conscious during the process.”

No matter the pain, she refused to let someone else dictate the course of her life!

“The chip is currently lodged in your brain, and I’ll be performing the surgery with my mom. We’ll keep chatting with you throughout, and you’ll even hear and feel us poking around in your noggin, so brace yourself.”

It sounded simple enough, but only those who have been through it knew the agony was beyond any normal threshold of endurance.

It was akin to the trauma Arabella suffered after Brody and Vivienne had planted and then diffused a bomb inside her. The psychological scars were likely still unhealed.

Not that she had much time for healing.

Barnaby nodded in agreement. “Alright, let’s get on with it.”

Time was of the essence. The chip could travel through her bloodstream to any part of her body.

Noah had met his end when a similar chip had migrated near his heart. Barnaby was luckier; the chip was near her stomach when Karen intervened, sparing her life.

But now the chip had moved to his brain, and if F-Poison struck again, it would be too late.

Soon, Barnaby was wheeled back into the OR, with Karen and Vivienne scrubbing in together.

Throughout the procedure, Barnaby’s eyes remained open. She could feel the drill and other surgical instruments stirring inside her skull, each nerve echoing the whine of the drill, her glands vibrating with every movement.

The sensation was indescribable.

If she had to label it, ‘terrifying’ would be a vast understatement.

“When was this chip put in? Can it track our location?” Barnaby inquired, curious despite the circumstances.

“No idea, but it was after Belle was captured. Belle, Scott, Rowan, and Ismene don’t have chips, or they’d be dead by now,” Vivienne said, her gaze fixed on the screen displaying Barnaby’s brain scan.

Karen, manipulating the scalpel, added, “The chip can track and explode inside the body, undetectable even to the latest scanners. Think back to when you might have lost consciousness and had it implanted.”

pondered for a moment, then said, “I can’t recall anything.

possibility,” Karen agreed,

we swallow a chip without

just pried open another part of the skull and switched instruments to dig

“That’s a promising lead. We should engineer something similar. Imagine being able

even link it to the pet’s retina, offering a pet’s-eye view of the world,” Vivienne rambled

not expected her casual question to spark such a lucrative brainstorm between mother

they were quite the pair—money-minded through

I see it!”

later, Karen and Vivienne successfully extracted the chip from Barnaby’s

slipped

my sister going to be okay?” Caspian

and my mom ensured she won’t remember any

Madam, thank you, former captain. I’m in your debt,” Caspian said,

was only thanks to Vivienne and her team that they could

the thanks. “If you’re truly grateful, go do

eager. “Anything you need, just say

keyboard. Soon, a satellite map appeared

to Caspian. “Take this to

dots were

“Yes, right away!”

task; it was an opportunity to make

map in hand, Thomas, Leopold, Soren, and their squads arrested every marked individual, using a jamming device developed by Karen and Vivienne to block

words, even if F-Poison wanted to kill them now,

F-Poison, who remained at large, all GTO members

since the “Destruction Plan,” earning Thomas, Leopold, Soren, and even Anna medals

grave. After years, she

and Vivienne, who could not quite

inside the Vanguard Agency seemed eliminated, F-Poison was still a serpent lurking in the shadows, its venomous fangs poised to strike anew. As long as F-Poison was at

and Vivienne, toting a fruit basket befitting a hospital visit, came to see