The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Vivienne locked eyes with Astrid.

There was no denying it, Astrid was stunning. She really had inherited all of Cordelia’s best features.

Vivienne chuckled softly, “No need to be so formal with me, we’re family.”

She had uttered those words many times before, but this time, it came from the heart.

This Astrid was the one she should truly call Sister.

Astrid felt a rush of emotion. She had, in fact, used her clearance to dig into Vivienne’s past. After all,

showing up after years away and causing such a stir in the Brooks family raised suspicions.

Yet, she found nothing.

Vivienne was an enigma, the more Astrid delved, the deeper she sank.

So, when they first met, Astrid had her guard up.

Later, after Vivienne’s visit to Rivenwood, the Brooks family invited them for a family reunion. It was

then Astrid received a classified tip.

Alfred was a spy from a rival organization! Just when she was about to arrest Alfred, Mr. B appeared.

Collaborating with Alfred, Mr. B kidnapped her, and she had been in captivity ever since.

Each day, they injected her with a sedative that kept her unconscious for long periods, obscuring any

knowledge of the outside world.

On the rare occasions she was lucid, she found herself tossed in the trunk of a car, unable to discern

much else.

Vivienne passed a peeled apple to Astrid, “While you were missing, Mr. B impersonated you around us.

But don’t worry, he didn’t get anywhere near the core of your work, and Alfred didn’t manage to steal

any intel.”

Indeed, Astrid was an agent working on classified national projects, which meant she couldn’t spend

much time with Cordelia. Every leave request meant paperwork, waiting for notifications, and getting

signatures from top to bottom.

However, those details were classified, so Cordelia remained unaware of the specific nature of Astrid’s

work. She only knew that Astrid’s superiors were strict, rarely approving family visits.

Initially, Alfred had approached Astrid precisely because she was a national agent, aiming to steal state

secrets.

But Astrid kept her work and personal life separate. She wouldn’t even discuss the news with Alfred, let

alone work matters, leaving him clueless about the information he sought.

Eventually, Mr. B found Alfred, and they struck a deal.

Alfred let Mr. B get close to Vivienne, while he used the impostor Astrid to attempt to access classified

materials.

Vivienne had seen through Mr. B on their second meeting. Meanwhile, Astrid’s organization had been

quietly informed of her abduction by Percival.

Mr. B believed he had gone undetected, falling short only in gaining access to the core secrets.

Moreover, he didn’t care much, his sole objective being to get close to Vivienne and bring her to a lab

for GTO to experiment with viruses.

Vivienne played along with Mr. B, pretending to be duped while investigating Astrid’s whereabouts.

However, Mr. B was not easy to handle. Instead of using GTO’s resources, he partnered with Fiona.

Fiona had always dealt in shady transactions for profit, but she had never done anything like human

trafficking.

If not for the fact that Astrid was Vivienne’s sister, she wouldn’t have agreed.

Using her position within the Ellington Group, Fiona had orchestrated Astrid’s transport across various

vehicles, following no discernible pattern, making it difficult for anyone to trace.

This method of hiding made it challenging for anyone to readily trace or uncover clues.

When Vivienne ousted Fiona from the Ellington Group, she no longer had the transportation means to

move Astrid, forcing her to use private cars.

The Nine Mystics Society figured out the general route, and Thomas blocked the vehicles at a critical

moment.

Unable to identify the specific car and not daring to make a scene, they risked endangering Astrid’s life.

Thus, Fiona’s dramatic exit from the Ellington family was staged.

Astrid breathed a sigh of relief. Her work was vital to national security, and it could not fall into enemy

hands. During her captivity, she had been worried about this very issue.

Luckily, Vivienne was shrewd.

“Vivienne, on a personal note, I thank you for your contribution to protecting national secrets. I’ll

recommend you for the highest medal of honor. Without you, who knows what crisis our nation could

have faced,” Astrid said with a pale but determined expression.

Vivienne burst into laughter, “I didn’t do it for the country; I just wanted to save you. As for the medal,

forget it. I’m not interested.”

Astrid was taken aback. The medal was a symbol of the highest honor, coveted even among their own

ranks, let alone by the general public.

And Vivienne wasn’t interested!

Vivienne curved her lips into a smile. She truly didn’t care for it. Her mother had plenty, Percival had his

share, and she was tired of seeing them around. In a family, not everyone needs a medal of honor.

If Leopold were here, he probably would put on a scene, resulting in the following conversation:

“I want one! I can’t have enough!”

Vivienne retorted, “Scram! You husky!”

Leopold grumbled, “You’re picking up Percival’s bad habits!”

Percival interjected, “What did you say?”

Leopold backpedaled, “My bad, Percival!”

Glancing at the time, Vivienne spoke, “You need time to recover and can’t leave the hospital just yet. I’ll

explain everything to mom. Rest up; I have things to attend to.”

Astrid suddenly grabbed her hand, “Vivienne, what about Alfred?”

Vivienne knew that Astrid would surely ask about him. “The guy’s been taken care of by the agency;

don’t worry, he won’t be getting off easy.”

“Thanks,” Astrid murmured, lowering her gaze. Alfred had been her first love, and though they’d never

spoken of marriage, she’d given him her heart.Books Chapters Are Daily Updated Join & Stay Updated

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But to think, he was a spy for the enemy all along!

Once she was discharged from the hospital, she vowed to make Alfred’s life a living hell!

After leaving the hospital, Vivienne went to see Percival.

Percival had returned from HQ with the storm clouds clearly etched across his face.

He’d been on the tail of the GTO organization for years, and just when they had their second-in-

command within their grasp, he slipped through their fingers!

Vivienne approached, and at the sound of her footsteps, a warm glint finally appeared in Percival’s

eyes.

“How’s it going?” Vivienne inquired.

Percival’s eyes narrowed, “The word is, we’ve got to use Mr. B to pinpoint GTO’s main hub. No rash

moves allowed.”

Vivienne’s fingertips rested gently on Percival’s shoulder, tapping lightly—a secret Morse code only

known within the inner circle of the Vanguard Agency’s elite squad.

Right now, only the two of them understood the silent conversation.

Through the coded message, Vivienne asked, “What does that mean?”

“It means all my future ops must get green-lit by the brass. No more solo flights,” Percival replied in

kind.

Percival had significant autonomy within the Vanguard Agency, like when Astrid got into trouble, he

could coordinate with her unit directly, no need to loop in his superiors.

But now, his wings had been clipped!

Percival wrapped an arm around Vivienne, his fingers tapping a few more coded pulses.

They exchanged a knowing smile, each with a clear understanding of the other’s thoughts settled in

their hearts.