The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Micah scrutinized each document that Percival had brought in. It was all there: the irrefutable evidence

that exonerated Vivienne, Fiona’s confession to setting her up, and Calista’s damning testimony on

how she had stolen Vivienne’s fingerprints and plotted a murder in the OR.

Without a doubt, Vivienne was innocent.

With an indifferent curl of his slightly chapped lips, Micah returned the papers to Percival. “Good job,”

he said, the understatement hanging between them like a silent applause.

Percival locked eyes with Micah, his mentor at the Vanguard Agency, second only to Karen in authority.

A crooked smile formed on his lips. “I think so too. I did do a damn good job!”

Their gaze held for a heavy moment, neither man breaking the silence.

The air grew thick with tension.

Leopold, Thomas, and Soren, who was standing off to the side, all watched Micah intently. They knew

Micah had been obstructing their every move, sidelining the Vanguard Agency, and keeping everyone

out of the loop—everyone except Soren, whom he had left in the dark about the true purpose of their

mission.

Those who made it into the Vanguard Agency were no fools; Micah’s actions were purposeful. But the

question that hung over them was why he targeted Vivienne and Percival. Was it a personal vendetta,

or were there strings being pulled from behind the scenes?

After what seemed an eternity, Micah finally broke into a grin. “Well, the higher-ups have spoken.

Vivienne is free to go.”

He paused before adding, “But let’s be clear, she might not be so lucky next time. If she’s tangled up

with CK, I won’t look the other way, not even for you.”

Percival chuckled. “There won’t be a next time. If Vivienne ever breaks the law, you won’t need to get

involved. I’ll bring her in myself, Micah.”

How he would ‘bring her in’ was another matter entirely.

Micah’s eyes narrowed, his voice chilling. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

In the past, Percival would have addressed him as ‘boss,’ but now, not even that courtesy was

extended. The kid had grown up, out of his control.

Adjusting his goggles, Percival did not linger. Instead, he waved to his brothers-in-arms. “Wrap it up.

Micah’s buying dinner tonight.”

Now at equal footing with Micah as a deputy director and head of the special squad, Percival’s word

was law. The team responded enthusiastically, though a few still looked to Micah for confirmation.

After a moment of silence, Micah’s face became an impassive mask. “Alright, dinner’s on me tonight.”

Cheers erupted from the crowd, but everyone knew the Vanguard Agency of Rivenwood was under

new management.

Micah was the first to leave for headquarters, while Soren stayed behind with the team.

“Cap, about earlier… I’m sorry,” Soren said to Percival. Even though he did not like Vivienne, he would

never treat her as a criminal without just cause.

When Soren saw the mission was targeting Vivienne, he, too, was shocked. But as the captain of

Vanguard Agency’s third special squad, he could not back down even if the target had been his mother.

Percival merely glanced at him. “It’s your duty. Why apologize?”

Soren bit his lip, unsure of what to say next.

Vivienne appraised him. He seemed stronger than before; his injuries healed. If he were to spar with

Anna now, the outcome would be uncertain.

After a few seconds of silence, Soren led his squad out, pausing only to say to Anna, “Back on duty

tomorrow.”

Anna snapped a salute. “Yes, Captain.”

He gave her a lingering look as if to say, “Now you remember who’s your captain, after that earlier

outburst, telling me ‘rejoin my foot’?”

With the special squad gone, Vivienne and Percival also headed back to the city.

In the car, Anna was still puzzled. How had Percival become the deputy director of the Vanguard

Agency?

Thinking about that, she asked the question out loud.

Leopold, driving, knew they could speak freely among themselves. “Percival went over a few heads

and reported the capture of Belle directly to the top brass. It was against protocol, but someone big

vouched for him, saying he may be young, but his record and education are top-notch. Without a

promotion, they’d risk demoralizing the front line troops. So, he got the job.”

Trying to make sense of Leopold’s rambling, Anna grasped a key question. “Who helped from the

inside?”

Percival and Vivienne shared a knowing glance and a smile but said nothing.

Leopold paused, then asked, “Yeah, who was it? They’ve got some serious clout!”

He had been too busy celebrating Percival’s promotion to wonder about the benefactor. Now, thanks to

Anna’s question, he realized the significance of the support.

With their current ranks, any further promotion would be an uphill battle.

Take him for example. If he were to be promoted, other than making some astonishing achievements,

he would have to wait for Percival to be transferred to have a chance at the position of captain. Even

so, he would still have to compete with Thomas and Soren. Promotion was no easy task for him.

The realization that Percival had been promoted to deputy director while his disciplinary action was

staggering.

Leopold kept pressing, but Percival stayed mum, almost driving Leopold so angry he could barely keep

driving. The mystery of the benefactor had just added another layer of intrigue to their already complex

lives.

Vivienne had reached her limit. She slapped the back of the driver’s seat and barked, “Griffin!”

Griffin had her fingers in the pie, for sure. But the real movers and shakers were the Perez family.

Thanks to their inside help, Percival managed to get the news of Belle’s arrest back to headquarters,

bypassing several layers of bureaucracy.

By excluding Micah and those two unnamed individuals, it became even more evident that the traitor

was among the three of them.

Micah, Blue Sky, and Rover.

Even Percival had never met Blue Sky or Rover in person.Books Chapters Are Daily Updated Join &

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Only those at the deputy director level or higher had that clearance.

But soon, Percival would have the opportunity to meet the other two and sniff out the mole.

When Leopold heard it was Griffin, he zipped his lips. He knew Griffin would come in handy, but her

role was undoubtedly minor.

That said, he dared not probe further.

Ever since Griffin’s last call, there had been radio silence, with no replies to his messages, and his

visits to Griffin’s place met with a locked door.

What a mess!

Just the mention of Griffin’s name was enough to keep him in line now.

The car finally quieted down.

Percival intended to drop Vivienne off at her place, but Richard’s call came halfway there.

“Percival, come home. There’s trouble.”

Percival immediately rerouted and headed back to the Ellington Mansion.

Upon arriving, Vivienne and Percival got out together while Leopold and Anna waited outside.

As they entered, they were met with the sound of Imogen crying.

“What happened?” Percival inquired.

Isolde ran into Percival’s arms, “Brother, I’m so scared. Please check on Uncle Flynn.”

Flynn was on the couch, comforting Imogen, with no visible injuries.

But on the table, there was a dagger just like the one previously stuck in the front door of the Ellington

Mansion.

Impaled on the dagger was a note — [Give her back!]

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