The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Victoria's gaze followed Vivienne's motion, turning to face the screen. The dim room, lined with high-tech medical paraphernalia, flickered with the sterile glow of the monitors. There, in the cold embrace of the hospital bed, lay a woman whose pallor was so ghostly it seemed to drain the life from her surroundings. Only the misty rhythm of her breath against the pale blue mask of the respirator bore witness to her clinging to life.

The footage was silent, yet Victoria could almost hear the incessant beep of the heart monitor haunting her ears. She held her breath, her heartbeat thundering, threatening to burst through her eardrums. She didn't need to be a medical expert to know her mother's condition was dire.

The arms that had once held her so tenderly were now a roadmap of scars-a patchwork of pain. Some were old, their wounds healed to leave nothing but pale ghosts on her skin. Others were fresh, angry, and brown, each one a raw nerve in Victoria's heart.

"Mom..." her lips trembled, teeth chattering, a broken cry tearing through her throat.

Her sobs filled the living room, spreading like a sorrowful tide.

Vivienne watched in silence, gesturing to Anna and the others, who quietly ushered Kaitlyn out of the room, their steps retreating up the staircase.

Kaitlyn couldn't resist glancing back to see Victoria, who always seemed so formidable, now as vulnerable as a child who had lost her favorite toy. Her shoulders shook with helpless despair, a mirror to the time Kaitlyn had stood amid the rubble, feeling the world collapse around her. Maybe she had misjudged Victoria all along?

Her thoughts were cut short as she ascended the stairs, leaving behind Vivienne, who leaned over to pick up the laptop lying on the coffee table.

"All these years, you've been helping Gavin, hoping he'd take care of your mom, right?" she said softly.

as she sank to the floor. Her voice was hoarse. "I thought... if I did well enough, he'd tell

either," Vivienne reassured, patting her

know these men?" she asked, referring to Emrys and the others trying to make

looked over with red, swollen eyes. Suddenly, her gaze froze, and

voice. "Gavin's brother?" Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ (F)indNƟvᴇl.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels

to the Abernathy family records, he died

mention of his name, Emrys-who had been tied up by the Nine Mystics Society like a hog for slaughter-stared wide-eyed at Victoria, writhing on the ground with desperation in his eyes. Vivienne approached and ripped the duct tape from his mouth. "What

you're in cahoots with her, aren't you? Gavin promised me. He said if I kept an eye on this Ellington woman, he'd take me back once it was all over.

"All these years, you've

dawned in his beady eyes. "So what if I have? You better release me, or else I'll report

took the head of the Abernathy family right from under him! You think Gavin wouldn't betray you?" Victoria's voice rose with a hint of mirth. "How about I show you the family tree? I bet you won't find

impossible! He promised me!" Emrys was in denial,

to power. How could you expect any loyalty from him?" Twirling her hair, Vivienne mused, "Before your father died, he must have

before approaching. "Why would he? Gavin used that money to curse the woman he despised. He paid a fortune to ensure her ashes would be forever bound, damning he soul. That woman was your mother! He used your inheritance

with rage as Victoria's words echoed around him, revealing