The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Flynn’s pupils contracted slightly at her words, and then he let out a scornful chuckle. “F-Poison? And who’s Samantha? You’re speaking gibberish to me.”

Vivienne regarded him coolly. “You insinuated yourself into Flynn’s life, became his confidant, and waited till he let his guard down. The day before the shooting, you two switched identities.

In that massacre, the real Flynn died a hero, saving lives. And you—you lived on, wearing his face.

Francis, you’ve schemed for eternity at the cost of everything, even delivering yourself into our hands. Did you ever calculate that this life would be your last within these walls?”

Flynn—no, Francis now—his expression cracked at her words, but he quickly masked it with laughter.

His face, or rather the lifelike mask he wore, began to split, revealing a much younger visage underneath.

Vivienne couldn’t help but feel a pang of surprise. Willa was well into her forties, yet the man before her, supposedly her father, looked to be in his early twenties.

“Vivienne, you’re even sharper than your mother,” F-Poison admitted defeat. There was no point in hiding anymore. He had lost, utterly and without a chance to turn the tables.

Yet, losing to her didn’t feel like a disgrace. Vivienne was the most formidable adversary he had ever encountered.

Her mother, Karen, was formidable too, but he sensed in Vivienne that rare quality of the student surpassing the master. Given time, she would certainly eclipse her mother.

“But I’m curious, how did you unravel my secrets?” Now that his true identity was exposed, he abandoned all pretense, his youthful face twisted with a grotesque smile that was wholly unsettling.

“I’ve explained once to Samantha, and I don’t fancy repeating myself,” Vivienne replied, her gaze piercing.

She leaned in slightly, a smirk playing on her lips. “But there is one thing I will tell you.”

Francis raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“While you and Samantha devoted your lives to the quest for immortality, I haven’t concocted an elixir of eternal life, but I have created a life-extension pill that adds five years to a person’s life. It’s based on your ST-1, and it’s given me a direction for my own studies into immortality.”

The life-extension pill was indeed real.

Vivienne had stumbled upon during her

her first attempt could prolong life—though it wasn’t what she was

brought

her, tampering with the natural order of life and death was a sacrilege, even

mere extension of life, but

people killing for just one dose. That wasn’t something she wished to

ten pills and kept

the concept of an immortality drug intrigued her—not to sell, but

dilated in shock. “What did you

had invented

all the elaborate schemes of RST would have

him dismissively. “I don’t waste words on

took Percival’s hand and strode towards the exit, pausing only to deliver a parting shot. “Francis, remember to please your masters in your next life as a lesser creature, to atone for your sins in this one. Otherwise, you’ll be trapped in

out. From her backpack, she pulled a

Boom!

valley as Vivienne and Percival drove away from the

was silent, his face etched with

turned to him, held his hand, and said, “Mr. Wolf, let’s go

one person in

another man wearing his uncle’s face. Before uncovering Francis’ identity, he had despised Flynn for his perceived betrayal

the truth—that it wasn’t his uncle who betrayed him,

and knew how unsettled he must feel. Now that Francis was

suffer a torment that gnawed

at large, they couldn’t afford to let them continue

luxury of keeping

that Francis, Samantha, and the shadowy figure behind her were

Francis on the spot

wave of warmth coursed through Percival’s

best