The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Mara gasped, thinking, “Aaron is such a… a sucker for love, isn’t he? A real bleeding heart, the patron saint of lost causes. Even the good ol’ boy scout would tip his hat to him!”

“It’s not like it’s entirely his fault, you know. There’s been a bit of a mix-up. I’m not even sure if you can call it that. But apparently, Percival’s high school sweetheart, the one who got away, has come back into the picture. Sadly, she’s fallen ill, sought out Percival, and, of course, his heart’s just bleeding for her. He’s been doing the hospital dash non-stop.

Oh, and get this: he even had Vivienne step in for surgery. You know Vivienne is the Specter Healer. Bet she agreed to it in a heartbeat.”

Aaron clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. “What did you say? The one who got away? I thought Vivienne was Percival’s first love!”

Mara couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter. “You can’t be serious. My brother’s way past that age. His first love, Vivienne? Come on, it’s an open secret in our family. Don’t believe me? Go check out the hospital yourself. That ‘one who got away’ is currently in the VIP ward of my brother’s hospital, getting the royal treatment.”

“What’s her name?” Aaron’s voice was dark as storm clouds, his words almost grinding through his teeth.

Mara took a sip of her coffee, feigning ignorance. “What’s that?”

Aaron’s hand slammed down on the table, causing Mara to jump. “Her name! What’s the woman’s name?”

Startled, Mara nearly spilled her coffee. “Her-Her name’s Karen…”

Upon hearing the name, Aaron stormed off toward the hospital.

Mara exhaled, setting down her coffee cup and dabbing at the splatters on the table with a napkin. Her lips curled into a wry smile. “Such a firecracker, that one. Absolutely hilarious.”

No sooner had Aaron left than another figure took his place.

Mara turned and let out a scoff. “Well, if it isn’t the stray dog kicked to the curb by Vanguard Agency. What’s the matter, got too much free time on your hands now?”

The woman opposite her was Gillian. But today, Gillian was different. She didn’t bite back at Mara’s sharp tongue.

quit this pointless banter? As your boss, it’s quite embarrassing,

trembling. “Boss, I… I had no idea it was you. I’m so

woman with Gillian’s face—F-Poison—gestured for her to sit. “No worries,

hard. Laid back,

in her place, making her wary of Gillian’s face for

out a tablet and showed her a video. “Look, your younger brother’s doing just fine. I’m here to reassure

F-Poison’s presence was anything but reassuring; it was a

wedge between Aaron and Vivienne. Aaron’s

spoke, her voice was a mix of

stirred her coffee absently, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

heard from my aunt Cecilia that Karen had surgery at the hospital, and Percival has been looking after her. So, I spun a tale about the ‘one who got

is Karen?” F-Poison cut her off, a sly

in the dark, wanting to spare Vivienne any interference. Mara didn’t press; she wasn’t

seeing F-Poison’s expression, curiosity got the better of

What about it?” she

a slow chuckle that grew into a full-blown laugh, hands pressing against

her spine. F-Poison’s laughter was more terrifying than her

and looked at Mara. “Have Aaron take out

“How do I even bring

through her phone for a while before

message—a photo of Karen working on a virus experiment at GTO, clearly wearing a lab coat and engrossed in

“This is?”

is Karen. Show this to Aaron, and he’ll understand why he

she glanced at

resembling Vivienne

when Mara looked up again, F-Poison

let out a sigh of relief and, clutching her purse,

me, could you tell me which VIP ward Karen’s in? I’m Perc… Mr. Ellington’s driver, here to