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.

worry, Mom, he's clueless about our suspicions. Probably too caught up in his own delusions," Juliette couldn't help but feel elated discussing their covert operation. "So, what exactly

was far more dire than anticipated. "He must have rigged the entire place; can we disarm them in time?" Vivienne, staring

her desire, but the potential loss of lives forced

of gunpowder-a familiarity bred from her family's business

inspection, they discovered the first bomb, eerily similar to Griffin's family-designed Sunfloria, hidden within

is madness; these

Griffin

their destructive potential

coordinator, demanding to know

for words, knowing

here? Who had access to this restroom before today?" Griffin pressed, his impatience growing as the complexity of the bomb's installation suggested

previous visitors, hesitated under Vivienne's

demeanor left the manager weighing

of stuff claiming he needed to set up the venue. We had quite a crowd

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

corner, his heart skipping

stood by Vivienne, "Whenever they mention a place, jot it down. We'll check these spots later for

Following her lead, Leopold started to question the witnesses one

claimed to be checking the freshness of