The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Chapter 1196

Maddox finally figured out what was happening on the other end of the room. He had initially wanted to stay out of it, but his wife, being the sensitive soul she was, left him no choice but to clear his throat loudly. The sound startled the two gossiping women into silence, their heads bowed, daring not to glance in Maddox's direction.

Floyd, noticing Maddox's intervention, was taken aback. Suppressing his distaste, he nodded and offered Maddox a small, albeit forced, smile.

Maddox, uninterested in responding, turned back to continue his conversation with Willa, leaving Floyd to scan the room, his gaze lingering on the party guests.

"Better keep your wits about you, none of you might make it through the night," Floyd muttered to himself, a sense of foreboding washing over him.

After his cryptic remark, the hall burst back into its usual lively chatter. Not long after, Floyd made his way to the secluded garden, finding solace in its solitude as he waited for someone.

Juliette, passing by, noticed his lone figure and approached, tapping him on the shoulder. "What are you doing out here all by yourself? Aren't you going to join the party inside?"

Floyd, his grip tightening on the object in his hand, barely glanced her way. "I'll head in later, it's a bit stuffy inside for my liking."

"Alright, just don't catch a cold if it gets windy," Juliette muttered as she returned to the festivities, unaware that her brief interaction had allowed her to plant a listening device on Floyd. Her actions were far from coincidental; she had been seeking Floyd out for quite some time, even while he dealt with some nuisances upstairs, all under Juliette's watchful eye.

Now, within the grand hall, Juliette swayed her drink leisurely as she approached Vivienne, who was taking a moment to herself.

"Did he suspect anything?" Vivienne asked, propping herself up on the couch, her interest in the party's frivolities long gone, replaced by a desire to thwart an impending plot.

but feel elated discussing their covert operation. "So, what exactly is his plan? Why choose tonight of all nights? It's all so

intentions were as Vivienne suggested, then the situation was far more dire than anticipated. "He must have rigged the entire place; can we disarm them in time?" Vivienne, staring out the window with a grave expression, remained

never been her desire, but the potential loss of lives forced

her way to the restroom, detected the unmistakable scent of gunpowder-a familiarity bred from her family's business in explosives. She immediately alerted Vivienne, causing a delay in the

first bomb, eerily similar to Griffin's family-designed Sunfloria, hidden within

madness; these bombs are

measure!" Griffin exclaimed, realizing

original designincreased their destructive potential without regard for safety

shifted to the event's coordinator, demanding to

knowing full well the gravity of crossing

restroom before today?" Griffin pressed, his

hesitated under Vivienne's intimidating stare, his

out if you've got something to say!" Vivienne's frosty demeanor left the manager weighing his options before he decided to lay all his

to set up the venue. We had quite a crowd here, and many saw him. Want me to round up some folks for you

manager dashed off, quickly gathering a group of witnesses. As they lined up, Vivienne signaled Leopold

of the line caught a glimpse of a bomb in the corner, his heart skipping a beat before he calmed

a place, jot it down. We'll check

Leopold started to question the

in the kitchen. He claimed to be checking the