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

before Vivienne's arrival, and now, all that was left was to repair the Millennia Shield with the unique

her army of gifted individuals, tasked solely with ensuring the ritual's completion and, if necessary, sacrificing their own abilities

they made no move against

This was Abigail's design.

sacrificial offerings, their powers drained until nothing

charging into the circle

Vivienne's calm demeanor only

neared its climax and the repaired artifact

confusion; the ritual chant

She couldn't believe it.

born under such ominously auspicious conditions absorbing vast energies from Vivienne and supposed to be brimming

this, diving towards the children to verify their

the twins let out a cry and became lifeless, like dolls devoid of

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

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

were being consumed by the ritual, intended to

sacrificed her army to the ritual's vortex, hoping to satiate its hunger.

not even the blood of the

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

to clear, Vivienne reappeared, stepping forward to confront Abigail, now a shadow of

a good look at yourself, Madeleine Hernandez, the lone survivor of the Hernandez family. This is your

long, Abigail turned to the mirror in disbelief, only to see a visage as withered as old bark staring

face, "Impossible... This isn't me... How could I become this... This isn't my face..."