The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

The chill in the air took everyone by surprise over the next few days.

Vivienne, thanks to her pregnancy, found herself succumbing to sleep more than ever, spending the majority of her day either eating or curled up in bed.

Percival, worried about leaving her alone, stayed by her side constantly.

One afternoon, while Vivienne was deep in slumber, her phone on the bedside table began to vibrate.

Seeing the caller ID, Percival picked it up and stepped outside to answer.

"Boss!" cDraven's voice through the phone.

"It's me," Percival replied with a stern voice. "Vivienne's asleep. What's the matter?" Draven paused briefly, then quickly said, "Percival, Declan's made another move. But these symbols, only you can decipher them. We think he's trying to send a message out." Percival frowned. "Did the surveillance catch anything unusual?" Draven's response was firm. "Nothing at all." Percival's gaze darkened slightly. "Keep an eye on him. Report back with any suspicions. I'll inform Vivienne." When Vivienne woke up, she turned to see Percival sitting by her side, which warmed her heart. "Mr. Wolf, what tis it?" Percival looked at her, closing his laptop gently. "You're awake. It's seven in the evening." Vivienne rubbed her temples. "Why do I feel like I can sleep forever?" Percival took her hand and massaged her temples gently. "Hungry? I'll whip up something you love." She glanced outside at the night sky and nodded. Her morning sickness had been particularly bad before she fell asleep, leaving her stomach feeling incredibly empty.

As Percival stood to leave, he handed her the phone. "Draven called. There's been sactivity on Declan's end. I've forwarded the details to your phone. Take a look while I get started on dinner." After Percival left, Vivienne sat up and unlocked her phone.

The message from Draven was already two hours old, containing a surveillance video. She watched it, noting the addition of several cryptic gestures she hadn't seen before. These symbols didn't seem to relate to Abigail but rather looked like Declan paying homage to his "faith." Percival returned with a tray of food just as Vivienne was puzzling over the phone. "Any leads?" he asked.

Vivienne shook her head. "Sof these gestures are coded. I can't decipher them." Percival, guessing her thoughts, handed her a bowl of soup and said, "I'll have Thomas stick close to you from tomorrow. His current task is nearly done." "What about Leopold?" she asked, taking a sip of the soup.

Percival sighed. "Kellan's got him running errands for the Martinez family. He'll be tied up for a day or two." Vivienne remembered Leopold's engagement party, orchestrated by their mentor. She couldn't help but feel a sense of amusement and sympathy for Leopold, who was unaware that these gestures of goodwill were merely offhand remarks by their mentor. The reputation of Emerald Mountain hinged on such subtleties.

"But we don't need to rely solely on Thomas," she suggested to Mr. Wolf. "Let Anna stick by me." Percival considered this for a moment then nodded. "That works. Anna, being a woman, might be more attentive to your needs right now." The next morning, before Percival and Vivienne even left the house, Anna was already waiting outside.

Seeing Vivienne, Anna quickly approached and stood at attention. "Vivienne, I'm here." Vivienne nodded slightly. "Are you feeling better?" "Yes, completely fine now," Anna responded, opening the car door for Vivienne.

As they drove away, Vivienne received a call from Mr. Wolf.

"Vivienne, the Watson family has unearthed the Wright family's blueprints. I'm heading there now.

Let's meet in half an hour." Content belongs to en.kikistoriesVivienne raised an eyebrow, puzzled by the timing of the Watson family's discovery.

She ended the call and instructed Anna, "Turn around. We're going to the Wrights'." Anna executed a perfect U-turn and sped off in the opposite direction.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the Wright family estate nearly simultaneously with another car. Matthew, who had been waiting, greet them, "Vivienne." She nodded in acknowledgment and then turned to see Percival approaching.

"Mr. Wolf, where's the item?" Percival, hands empty, met her gaze, sparking a silent question between them. Percival glanced toward the car with a hint of anticipation.

Then, a loud voice boomed from beside the vehicle, "Over here, Vivienne!" Leo, clutching a roll of blueprints, jogged over from the driver's seat.

Vivienne's eyebrows shot up at the sight of him. "What are you doing here, Leo? Weren't you busy picking out a gift for your father- in-law?" Leo flashed a smug grin. "Guess I should thank Percival for this. One clever sentence from him, and I was out of the hot water." Vivienne glanced at Mr. Wolf.

Percival had zero interest in getting tangled in Leo's mess. "He asked for my help." "And you dared to pull a fast one on the father-in-law? Not scared of Griffin coming after you?” Anna chimed in from behind.

Only then did Leo notice Anna approaching. He couldn't resist a teasing laugh. "Oh, look who it is Isn't this the busy bee who couldn't even make tfor her friend's engagement party?" Content belongs to en.kikistoriesAnna fell silent.

She was aware of Leo's engagement and had even received an invitation, but she was deep into tracing leads on her birth mother at the tand couldn't attend.

Subsequently, she ended up in the hospital over another matter, completely forgetting about Leo's engagement.

Leo "generously" understood. "No worries about not showing up. Just don't forget to send over your gift later." Anna rolled her eyes internally.

She should've known.

Vivienne, tired of the banter, took the blueprints from Leo and signaled for Matthew to open the door.

Together with Mr. Wolf, they entered the building.

In the main hall, Vivienne spread out the blueprints and was surprised to see new marks dotting the paper.

"These must be fresh," she commented, eyeing the red dots that seemed newly added.

Percival spoke up, "Those are Mr.

Watson's work. With years of experience under his belt, he marked the spets he suspects are worth our attention, making our investigation easier." Content belongs to en.kikistories.com