The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

“Yeah, that’s the guy,” Ronald furrowed his brow, his voice tense. “He approached me and wanted to partner up for some bionic tech venture. He knew way too much, which made me wonder if the whole project had been compromised. You said it was top secret. | put him off for now, but then today, | caught wind of some black market dealings.” The Churchills, the Pendletons, and the Brooks were the only families Vivienne ever trusted enough to bring into the bionics project.

It wasn’t surprising that Dracon had gotten wind of it—his family had their fingers in every pie.

But him seeking out the Brooks for a partnership? That was curious.

The Linklaters were never short on business and always had more profitable projects ongoing.

And yet, Dracon had set his sights on bionics—a field they hadn’t shown interest in before.

More importantly, right after his little inquiry, the black market started buzzing with hidden camera trades.

“Leave this to me. You don’t worry about it anymore,” Vivienne said, tucking away the files.

Ronald nodded. “Alright, got it. If anything else comes up, I'll let you know.” After they split, Vivienne pulled out her phone and dialed Matthew, who was now running the show at Frostfire Intelligence Agency. The black market was under his jurisdiction.

“Check out who's supplying the cameras, and remember, don’t spook them.” Matthew had been training recruits for so long that he was practically gathering dust. Thus, he jumped at the assignment.

Within half a day, he had a lead.

“Vivienne, got a name. The buyer's an old-timer on the market goes by ‘Slick.’ His supplier? The Brooks. As for who Slick’s distributing to, still working on that.” Vivienne frowned. “When's the next drop?” “Tonight. Under the Rivenwood suburb overpass. I've got a team in place. You want him breathing or not?” Matthew was thrilled to finally have a mission.

“Alive,” Vivienne said gravely. “And unharmed.” “Roger that!” Matthew was all but rubbing his hands in glee.

That night at the Rivenwood suburb overpass, Slick stood in the shadows, his hawk-like gaze scanning the area.

A car flashed its headlights thrice in the distance before going dark again.

Slick responded with three rapid flashes of his flashlight before snuffing it out.

Soon, a burly figure approached, carrying a nondescript box.

“Slick?” “Sean.” Sean cracked a smile and opened the box under the faint light. Four tiny cameras glinted back.

Just as Slick reached out, Sean snapped the box shut.

“The cash?” Slick chuckled, “Why don’t you ask your buddy behind you for the money, Sean?” Caught off guard, Sean was subdued before he could even see his attacker, and darkness claimed him.

Slick pocketed his flashlight and rubbed his hands together. “Mr. Matthew, you didn’t have to come yourself.” Matthew produced an envelope from his jacket, a bank card inside.

“Same pin as always.” With a grateful nod, Slick took the envelope. “Thanks, Mr. Matthew. You know I'm always at your service.” As Slick was about to leave, lights flooded the area, encircling them.

Matthew drew his gun, pressing it against Slick’s back. “An ambush, really?” Slick dropped to his knees. “Mr. Matthew, | swear | didn’t know about this!” Two figures emerged from the light, guns aimed.

“National Intelligence Bureau. Nobody moves!” Matthew was stunned for a moment. Why did this voice sound so familiar? Stepping on the unconscious Sean with his hands behind his head, he asked, “Miss, have we met before? I'm Matthew, and you are?” “Matthew? You're Vivienne’s protégé!” As his eyes adjusted, Matthew recognized the face.

Damn, an old acquaintance.

“Astrid! What a surprise.” Astrid had been captive under Belle’s thumb, and Matthew had been the one to handle it all. Naturally, they knew each other.

But since Astrid returned to the Bureau and Matthew had been busy training agents at Frostfire, they hadn't crossed paths until now.

Astrid motioned for her agents to lower their weapons and holstered her own gun. “What are you doing here?” Matthew nudged the unconscious Sean. “Just some business. You on a mission, Astrid?” Astrid smiled, knowing Matthew's presence meant Vivienne’s involvement.

“Is Vivienne around? I'd rather speak with her.” After reporting to Vivienne, Matthew escorted Astrid to her location.

“Vivienne, long time no see.” Astrid greeted warmly, cutting to the chase. “What's the deal with Sean?” Vivienne was forthright. “He's suspected of trafficking our company’s proprietary tech.” Astrid nodded. “Figures you'd have Matthew on it. Did you know Sean has another identity?” Vivienne’s brow creased. “Enough to get the Bureau's attention. Is he a spy?” Astrid knew that explaining the situation to Vivienne was almost unnecessary. Vivienne’s sharp intellect always seemed to connect the dots with little help.

“This guy Sean, he’s known as Sean at Brooks Group, but his real name is Benjamin, and his code name is Old-F.

He's a transnational spy who used to be Alfred’s subordinate. We've been on his trail for a while, and we finally got wind that he’d be making a deal today. Never thought we’d bump into you guys, though.” Vivienne raised an eyebrow, surprised. “One of Alfred’s guys? What he was trading today was just some hidden cameras, nothing top-secret. Why the interest from your end?”Books Chapters Are Daily Updated Join & Stay Updated for All Books Updates...

“We've been watching Benjamin for a long time,” Astrid said. “We sensed he was planning to skip town. Tonight's deal was about getting the cash together to make his getaway, so we had to move in and take him down.

Moreover, we stumbled upon a much bigger secret.” Astrid’s expression grew serious. “Vivienne, it seems Alfred's relationship with Belle wasn’t as straightforward as it appeared.” “What do you mean?” Vivienne asked, her interest piqued.

“They were part of the same organization all along!” Vivienne was taken aback. “Alfred was with GTO?” “No, both of them,” Astrid clarified. “They belong to the same spy ring, and the name of that organization is GTO.” This revelation genuinely stunned Vivienne. She had always thought GTO was just into virus research, but to find out they were dabbling in the world of espionage was quite the expansion of their portfolio.

“Do you have solid evidence?” Vivienne inquired, her curiosity now thoroughly engaged.