The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

When Vivienne and Percival turned to look again, the woman in red had vanished without a trace.

Vivienne wanted to chase after her, but Percival grabbed her wrist. “Vivienne, let it go. She hasn’t shown us her full hand yet.”

Even for Vivienne and Percival, it had been a stalemate at best. If they pursued her, their chances of victory were slim.

Besides, their main reason for coming to M State was to rescue people, and now that they had, their mission was complete. However, they still hadn’t figured out why the puppet master behind this charade had gone to such lengths.

Vivienne peered in the direction the red-clad woman had disappeared, her gaze murky and unreadable.

Atop a nearby hill, the woman in red stood, her eyes fixed on the scene below where she could see Vivienne’s group.

Lucky for her, she had packed a smoke grenade, which briefly obscured their vision, allowing her a swift escape.

It had been years, and it was time for her to return to Veridia.

She scoffed disdainfully, snapped her fan shut, and walked away. “Wait for it. We’ll meet again.”

…

Elsewhere.

Huxley had fainted from fright during the scuffle and was now jabbed awake by Vivienne’s needle.

“You guys alright?” Vivienne asked, looking toward Larry and Carl.

Larry, clutching his chest, replied, “Vivienne, we’re fine.”

He had sustained some injuries, but they weren’t a big deal for him.

too, indicating he was

faces – and the red-clad woman gone – he knew he had been saved and burst into

I was a

wanted to punch him out of frustration but restrained himself

asking. The woman had given him an odd sense of familiarity as if they had met before. The mention of having held Vivienne as a child had also piqued his

face under the

disguise; they wouldn’t dare show their true faces in

she mentioned Samantha.

from Vivienne, part of which was to investigate Samantha’s whereabouts. Instead, he ended

chuckled, looking at Percival. “Mr. Wolf, it’s time to head home. Some

home without having completed their mission.

“Okay,” Percival nodded.

going to cause a problem.

from being

and Percival: Don’t

You get used

this was the first time Vivienne had encountered such tactics. The silver needles from her fan were coated in a deadly poison, which would have required her

examining them and finding only minor injuries, a cracked rib for Larry, and a severely shaken Huxley,

then, Mom lost everything for that man, leaving my sister and I with only each other to depend on. Later,

almost lost it, she suddenly brought me to this

lowered, hiding the

come back with us?” She

replied

curved in a mysterious

outside. The uncles

help but ask, “Just two planes? How

and I will head back first. In a day,

Everyone was puzzled.