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.

shook his head, too, indicating he

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

I was

him out of frustration but

if they had met

no use. The face under the

masters of disguise; they wouldn’t dare

she mentioned Samantha.

a solo mission from Vivienne, part of which was to investigate Samantha’s whereabouts. Instead, he ended up being the one kidnapped, a

at Percival. “Mr. Wolf, it’s time to head

wondering why they were returning home without having

“Okay,” Percival nodded.

in red. However, she was not exactly going to cause a problem. After all, they had deliberately allowed some things to happen so they

M State? Apart from being third wheels, what else did we accomplish?” Vivienne’s three

Percival: Don’t

get

Vivienne checked them for injuries. The woman in red’s moves had been bizarre, and this was the first time Vivienne had encountered such tactics. The silver

examining them and finding only minor injuries, a cracked rib for Larry, and a severely shaken Huxley, Vivienne addressed the latter, “Didn’t F-Poison

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

when I almost lost it, she suddenly brought me to this sanatorium,

hiding the look in her

want to come back with us?” She

replied without

in a

private jets could be heard outside. The

but ask, “Just two planes? How

“Uncles, Vivienne and I will head back first. In a day, someone will come to take you back to

Everyone was puzzled.