The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Patrick was floored by the girl before him, his words catching in his throat as he fell silent.

Quincy did not bother with further conversation. Grabbing her press pass from the table, she stood up and left.

Patrick tugged at his tie, exhaling a long breath of relief.

Dealing with the devil always comes at a price, he mused.

After leaving Patrick's press conference, Quincy took a shortcut and emerged transformed, her professional aura all but gone.

Dressed in a tank top with overalls and sporting a baseball cap, she slung a canvas bag over her shoulder, the picture of a college student.

She waited at the crossroads until a nondescript black Volkswagen pulled up.

“Are you my Uber?” Quincy asked.

The driver poked his head out, sunglasses masking his eyes. “Yeah, hop in, sweetheart.” Quincy smiled and opened the door. Soon, the Volkswagen blended into the stream of city traffic.

“Captain Wolf, can’t you guys geta better ride next time? This one just doesn’t suit my style,” Leopold grumbled from the driver's seat, resting one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the door.

Percival, seated in the passenger seat, turned his head slightly, disregarding Husky's complaints.

In the backseat, Quincy tipped her cap to greet Vivienne. “Long tno see.” “You've gotten taller.” Vivienne smiled back.

They skipped the small talk, diving straight into the heart of the matter.

“Ever since the operation to take down Mark ended, Ive Een out of the loop, just lying low in Rivenwood. After the lab was blown up by someone named Willa, | got zero instructions. It was not until yesterday that | was suddenly told to cto Sea City and give Patrick his next assignment.” Vivienne nodded. “Have you met the big boss?” “Nope, all | know is that the boss goes by F-Poison. The orders cthrough online messages. I've tried tracking him, but there's nothing to trace.” Quincy pulled out her phone and showed a forum post from F-Poison detailing the assignment.

Vivienne tried to trace the source on her laptop but hit a dead end.

“Their old network's been beefed up since our mentor’s days. We can’t track it with what we've got,” Percival said, looking back at them.

Karen had indeed left behind a backdoor, but after all these years, GTO had upped their game. Plus, the original backdoor was locked away at Vanguard Agency headquarters, probably already compromised by the traitor.

Breaking into GTO'’s internal network was a pipe dream now.

Vivienne sighed, burdened by the thought of having such a clever mother.

Quincy pocketed her phone. “As for the bomb on the ship, | was out of the loop. That was another team under F- Poison.” “Another team?” “That's right,” Quincy confirmed. “After Mr. B, namely Belle, was captured, | thought F-Poison would activate us, the underlings, but it never happened, and the operations kept running smoothly. This leadsto believe Mr. B was not the real second-in-command or that others at her level are still out there.” “So, you're saying F-Poison has more than one so-called second-in-command like Belle?” Leopold queried.

“Exactly. Like the bomb incident—handled by her deputy in Sea City. I've yet to figure out who that is,” Quincy said, which aligned with Vivienne’s suspicions.

Take Patrick, for instance. If it had not been for this trip to Sea City and the discovery of the bionic scandal, Vivienne would never have suspected him.

So, Belle was not GTO’s second-in-command after all; she was just the regional head for Rivenwood.

But who was in charge of Sea City? And was F-Poison even here? “Captain, that’s all | know for now. I'll let you know if anything else comes up,” Quincy said, donning her cap again.

Leopold parked the car, and Quincy stepped out.

After she left, Percival moved to the back seat. “What's the plan for Patrick?” Vivienne narrowed her eyes. “The Sea City lab is right under the Ashford family’s factory. We'll wait for him to slip up.” Percival agreed. “Yeah, and the Boyd family will probably fall to Patrick soon. Once a person gets too big for their britches, they're bound to make a mistake.” They exchanged knowing smiles, anticipating the final takedown.

At the Boyd family, something that had never happened in decades was happening - the first and the second branches united, completely sidelining Wendy and Eliza to take over the Boyd Group.

“Where the hell is the contract with the Ashford family? Speak up, you decrepit old fool!” Teresa slammed her hand on the table, demanding answers.

Wendy, still bruised from Nancy's beating, was in no state to speak.

“Ah, ah, ah...” Impatient, Teresa kicked Wendy's wheelchair aside and grabbed Eliza by the hair. “Spit it out, you little wench.

Where is the contract?” Eliza bore the pain and spoke, “I don’t know.” “Hmph, lettell you, our family is the rightful heir. Even if we two families have to split the assets, you have no part in it. Hand over the Ashford contract now and change the nof it to Theodore and Hayden's, or it'll be the worse for you.” Theodore and Hayden sat quietly to the side, seemingly oblivious, allowing their wives to wrestle control of the Boyd family.Books Chapters Are Daily Updated Join & Stay Updated for All Books Updates...

Anyway, the Boyd family fortune was bound to end up in their hands eventually, so let them squabble over it.

The grandchildren could not care less, staying aloof from the whole affair.

Now, Wendy was nothing more than a has-been, and Eliza had only ever strutted around like a peacock when Wendy back her up.

One down-and-out leading another; they were hardly worth a second thought.

Under pressure from Teresa and Nancy, Eliza had no choice but to dig out the contract signed with the Ashfords and amend it to Theodore and Hayden's name.

This was not enough for Nancy, who promptly whipped out a share transfer document, insisting Eliza divvy her stocks equally among her four children.

After signing a flurry of paperwork, Eliza was cast aside, severed from all ties to the Boyd family.

Wendy suffered the spitiful fate.

Nancy glanced at the table; on it was a cryptic document retrieved from a safe. “Eliza, what in the world is this?” Eliza's gaze darkened. “Dad once mentioned it’s ssort of debt agreement. I'm not too sure about the specifics. Mom intended to leave it for Cecilia, so | never questioned it.” Nancy and Teresa exchanged a look. Anything meant for Cecilia was probably worthless, so they dismissed it with disdain.

“From now on, if you stay a day in this villa, you owe us a day’s rent. Otherwise, don’t blus when we kick you out.” Teresa scoffed, dragging Nancy away to discuss how to divvy up the Boyd family assets.