The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Vivienne had no patience for Finnian’s games. She'd scoured his mansion, inside and out, finding nothing more than a bunch of unused robots, a dog, and two cats - but no trace of what she was really after.

“Damn it,” she muttered under her breath, feeling like a fool for being played yet again.

Finnian, leaning against the wall with a smug look, said, “Sweetheart, you're gonna have to clean up this mess you've made. Look at this chaos!” “Why don’t you let Fido do it?” Vivienne snorted, snatching the apple Finnian was about to bite into right out of his hand as she stormed out.

Once she was gone, Finnian checked his surroundings for any “threats” before pulling out his phone to text Vesper, [Where are you?] [I'm at Willa’s.] Vesper replied, pocketing the phone. In the span of moments, he had changed into a woman.

The mirror reflected a cascade of soft locks over her shoulders, the sharp lines of her face now softened.

She had not undergone any dramatic disguise, just manipulated her facial bones slightly, which was painful enough for her not to change back to this real face frequently.

But for this meeting, a male guise would not do.

She brushed her hair and changed into comfortable jeans and a tee, then knocked on the neighboring door.

Puzzled, Willa opened the door to find a stunning woman smiling back at her. “You are?” “Willa, it's been ages,” the woman said with a smile.

Willa peered into the woman's eyes, sensing an answer she dared not voice. She stepped back, overwhelmed.

The woman tapped Willa’s forehead and playfully flicked her nose. “Don’t recognize me, huh? | barely recognized you, too.” [x] Tears instantly welled up in Willa’s eyes at the familiar gesture.

“Sasha!” she cried, rushing into the woman's arms.

That was Sasha's signature move - whenever Willa made a mistake as a child, Sasha would “punish” her like that before taking the blin front of Jasper.

“Sasha feels like a stranger's nnow. CallKaren now,” Karen said soothingly, comforting Willa with gentle pats on the back.

Fortunately, Willa still remembered her. Otherwise, she would be at a loss.

Willa sobbed, a sight that would have shocked Maddox. He would never have believed the stoic Willa capable of tears.

Karen stayed by her side until Willa’s crying subsided, and they could finally talk.

“Sasha, what did you mean earlier? Why does your own nsound unfamiliar to you? Where have you been all these years, and why haven't you cback to the Perez family? Dad’s in Rivenwood, so is Yuri - why don’t you chome? Dad misses you terribly.” Willa’s grip on Karen's hand tightened as if afraid that letting go would cause her to disappear once again.

Karen did not resist. “I've seen Dad already,” she said with a smile. “Yuri, his wife, Natalia and Yasmine - I've met them all, don’t worry.” But Willa knew that meeting them was not the sas revealing her identity.

“Is there a reason you're not telling them the truth? Does it have to do with F-Poison?” Karen neither confirmed nor denied. “My memory isn’t fully back. That's why ‘Sasha’ feels distant. | know I'm Sasha, but why | was kidnapped and ended up as another family’s daughter remains a blank. | don’t remember who was behind it.” Willa’s eyes narrowed. “Are you saying you have amnesia?” “Yes,” Karen admitted. “I remember bits - like ruining Grandpa's garden or chopping up Mom's lipstick for ‘experiments’ - but many details escape me. I'm slowly recovering. It’s just a matter of time.” Karen knew the injury to her head had been severe, and it had gone undetected for years until she secretly matched her DNA with Yuri’s during Vivienne’s paternity test. That was when she discovered she was Sasha and began to recall fragments of her life with the Perez family.

Before that, the memories of her childhood had been forcibly implanted through hypnosis. No wonder she felt detached from her life before age ten - it was like hearing someone else’s story.

Thad stretched long, and recovery was complicated. Too rapid a confrontation with the hypnosis could cause irreversible brain damage.Books Chapters Are Daily Updated Join & Stay Updated for All Books Updates...

Thus, Karen chose a conservative treatment, piecing together her past while investigating the Perez family’s secrets. After all, they were too guarded for an outsider to have kidnapped her without inside help.

Willa, sharp as ever, sensed from Karen's words that her abduction was more than a simple crime.

“Do you suspect anyone?” Willa asked.

Karen met her gaze. “What about you? Do you have any suspects?” “Diana.” Willa nodded.

too,” Karen agreed with a wry smile. “I remember being taken in summer. You were ill; Dad took you to the hospital, and Brothers were at school. Only Diana and | were at home. | don’t remember anything after that. So, she’s the prsuspect.” “Absolutely, and let's not forget, my leaving hhas a lot to do with Diana as well.” Willa stood up, walked over to a drawer, and pulled out a sheaf of papers, handing them over to Karen.

Karen thumbed through the pages, her eyes narrowing as the implications sank in.

The document detailed Willa’s origins.

It was clear that someone had taken great care to compile the information, tracing how Willa cto be with the Perez family, who her biological parents were, and the sinful things they had done. It was all laid out in black and white.

“Diana gave this to me,” Willa said, a furrow of worry creasing her brow. “At the time, my only focus was to find you again, to make amends for the sins of F-Poison, and | didn’t give it much thought. But now, something feels off.

When Diana handedthis document, she said she'd found it in the mailbox and toldto take a look to see what it was. When | opened it and found out it was about my past, | was overwhelmed. And every signature belonged to my foster father. | thought he didn’t wantin the Perez family anymore.”