The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

The butler lay on the ground, a victim of a vicious attack.

Someone had been here.

They had taken her children!

Vivienne followed the scent trail outside with urgency. She had sprinkled her children with a special blend of spices, leaving a trace wherever they passed. The trail ended at the base of an old hill.

This was the same place where Abigail had set up her ritual circle years ago, inviting Vivienne and Mr. Wolf into its snare.

Now, Abigail stood at the center, holding fragments of the ancient artifact known as the Millennia Aegis, chanting incantations that seemed to belong to another world.

The ritual was ready, with Vivienne's twin children placed at the very heart of it, lying on a crimson cloth.

Silent and observant, they watched everything around them without a fuss.

Sensing Vivienne's approach, Abigail's lips curled into a triumphant smile. "You really thought I needed your heart to complete my plans, but alas..."

Her gaze fell upon the two children, a boy and a girl, and she laughed, "My true goal was always them!"

"Twins are naturally aligned with darker forces, and now, with the ritual, not only will I achieve immortality, but I will also gain the power to obliterate anything in my path. From this moment forth, none shall stand against me. I, Abigail, will reign supreme over this realm." "After all, you should be thanking your children. Were it not for them, you would be the one lying here."

"You plan to use my children as conduits for this power without my consent?" Vivienne's icy stare bore into the madness that had overtaken Abigail, her eyes simmering with danger.

"You?" Abigail scoffed. "Once I possess this power, you'll be nothing but an ant to me. I can snuff your life out in an instant."

Vivienne simply gave her a meaningful look, her tone cool, "Is that so?"

something off about Vivienne but unable to pinpoint

The ritual had been activated before Vivienne's arrival, and now, all that was left was to repair the Millennia Shield with the unique abilities of her assembled

solely with ensuring the ritual's completion and, if necessary, sacrificing their own abilities to mend the

no

This was Abigail's design.

as sacrificial offerings, their powers drained until nothing

intention of charging into the

Abigail proceeded with the ritual, Vivienne's calm demeanor only grew more

its climax and the repaired artifact began

twisted in confusion;

She couldn't believe it.

energies from Vivienne and supposed to be brimming with dark

diving towards the children to verify

twins let

bewildered, searched for Vivienne but found she had vanished, with only the

ritual continued, its demands unmet, and a bolt of lightning

consumed by the ritual, intended to correct

her survival depended on her abilities, Abigail desperately sacrificed her army to

everything, sparing not even the blood of the non-human soldiers, leaving Abigail weakened and trapped within her

backlash was swift; Abigail's body was pulverized by unseen forces, her powers and

ritual's dark mists began to clear, Vivienne reappeared, stepping

a mirror, Vivienne spoke, "Take a good look at yourself, Madeleine Hernandez, the lone survivor of the Hernandez family. This is your true

the mirror in disbelief, only to

me... How could I become this... This isn't my