The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Astrid chuckled dryly.

Mature enough?

If leaked, the research material in the lab would send shock waves around the globe.

Yet, in Vivienne’s words, it was merely mature enough?

Astrid glanced at her and asked, “So, you agree to stay in the lab?”

Vivienne nodded. “Yeah.”

Astrid breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “Thanks, Vivienne. I really appreciate you agreeing to be

part of this experiment. Our progress will surely skyrocket now.”

Vivienne did not respond. Instead, she turned her gaze to the car window, watching the streetlights fall,

and a slow smile spread across her lips.

After dropping Vivienne off at home, Astrid did not go upstairs. Instead, she turned the car around and

drove away.

In the back seat lay the experimental data Vivienne had revised that day.

…

Returning home, Dorian and Cordelia were already asleep, and even though the light was on in

Thaddeus’ room, he was sound asleep, too.

Vivienne switched off Thaddeus’ light and entered her own room.

The moment she opened the door, her steps faltered, her eyes sharpening instantly.



A chill ran through her as she looked towards the window – a piece of paper was wedged in the crack.

This was the twenty-third floor; unless it was an inside job, this kind of infiltration was extraordinary!

She was sure that apart from Dorian’s family, no one else was here.

Obviously, she was dealing with a pro!

She walked over and pulled out the paper.

The message was a mishmash of newspaper cutouts, and crooked letters forming a single line.

[The TCL Lab.]

Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt

Vivienne’s gaze dropped; she clenched the paper tightly in her hand.

She knew the person who sent this was not the same mysterious texter from before.

But who could it be?

Suddenly, she smirked.

Having had his fill of the outside world, that old coot was now seeking attention.

What was it? Did he want to see if she had lost her edge?

Her lips curled slightly as she pulled out her phone and opened Twitter, posting one simple tweet, [Pay

up!]

She had resisted signing up for Twitter, but Matthew had insisted it was the rage and would not stop

nagging until she gave in.

She had not used it since signing up, just letting it sit idle.



Since returning to the Hawthorn family, she had gradually become a public figure, and her Twitter

followers had grown. She had about a million now.

After posting, her nine ‘brothers’ from the same master were the first to get the news.

While others were clueless, they knew there was only one person in the world who could owe Vivienne

money: their master.

One thousand bucks, unpaid for years.

Especially since he had faked his death, leaving them grieving for ages.

Now, with Vivienne’s public call for payment, it was clear the old man was grandstanding again.

So, how could they miss out on helping Vivienne collect her dues?

Thus, all nine tweeted, echoing Vivienne’s message, [Pay up!]

Vivienne’s followers, as well as those of the nine, were baffled, wondering who owed her money to

warrant such drama.

When fans asked who owed her, only Leopold replied seriously, “The debtor is our master.”

He even created a new account for Finnian and tagged him in a post, [Master, a grand isn’t a fortune.

Time to settle up!]

This tweet sent their followers into a frenzy.

What was going on?

Was Vivienne’s master dodging a thousand-dollar debt?



Any job nowadays would cover that!

Leopold’s and Vivienne’s followers began to retweet and tag Finnian, urging him to pay.

Seeing Leopold’s tweet, the other disciples were stunned.

Dawson was the first to message the group, [Holy smokes! Leopold, you’ve got guts! Aren’t you afraid

the master will come for you?]

Daniel: [Nice one, Leopold! I support you. Keep it up!]

Eric: [I’ll mourn for you in advance.]

Larry: [What’s there to fear? A man’s gotta have backbone! Just do it!]

Leopold replied, [Look at you all, scaredy-cats! Did Vivienne treat you right for nothing? It’s her hard-

earned money the old man owes. Aren’t we supposed to help her get it back? If I were you, I’d be

tweeting right now, hounding the old man to pay! Isn’t Vivienne’s happiness worth more than your little

troubles? Besides, who knows where that old guy is enjoying his life? If we don’t push, when will he

show up?]

Jerry: [Makes sense!]

Brian: [Leopold used to be unreliable, but he’s spot-on this time. We stand with Vivienne and must

stand up for her.]

Donald: [Enough talk. I’ve retweeted Leopold’s tweet.]

Soon, the rest of Finnian’s disciples also tweeted, tagging him and demanding payment.

Vivienne’s friends and even the pop star Stephen joined in the retweeting frenzy, shooting Vivienne’s

debt-collection campaign to the top of the trend charts.



Seeing her tweet at the top of the trends, Vivienne smiled slyly.

Twitter was proving to be quite the tool.

Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm

She had achieved the effect she wanted.

Maybe in the future, she could give Twitter a few more tries!

…

Meanwhile, on the other side of town.

Leopold stared at the trending news on his phone and then glanced at Percival, who sat beside him,

legs crossed, casually sipping a glass of red wine. He felt like cursing up a storm!

Frustrated, he turned off his phone and glared at Percival. “Percival! How can you do this to me? If

Master finds out, I’m toast!”

All nine of Finnian’s disciples, including Leopold, followed Vivienne on Twitter the moment she created

an account, though they did not pay much attention since she never tweeted.

But today, their phones pinged with a notification. It was Vivienne’s tweet about collecting a debt.

Then came the barrage of retweets from the eight senior disciples. Leopold hesitated, contemplating

whether to retweet it or not, when Percival snatched his phone and retweeted it without any

discussion.Books Chapters Are Daily Updated Join & Stay Updated for All Books Updates…

That could have been the end of it, but no. Percival even impersonated Leopold’s usual mannerisms to

coax the other eight into retweeting as well.

Leopold could already picture the look on their faces when they discovered the truth.



Even worse, he could imagine what his fate would be when his master returned.

Percival gave him a nonchalant side glance. “What, you expect me to incur your master’s wrath instead

of you?”

His fiancée needed their support in collecting a debt. Thus, as a devoted and honorable man, he could

not possibly be the one to upset her master.

Naturally, that role best suited Leopold, the family’s goofball!

As for the other eight…

Well!

As Vivienne would say, the best way to deal with an enemy was to hit them where it hurts.

Finnian was the perfect weak spot.

Leopold was speechless.

This sly fox.

