The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Robbie eyed him with suspicion, "You're not gonna fightfor the Wright inheritance?" Robbie smirked coldly, "What I've always wanted isn't the Wright fortune, but all of you." Robbie squinted, "What do you mean?" "Do you know how Dad really died?" Colin's tone was casual, but Robbie's eyes reddened at his words, "Colin, what are you trying to say?" Ignoring Robbie's anger, Colin calmly laid out the truth.

"You all think Dad died in a car crash fleeing the pressure from Grandpa, choosing love over the Wright legacy. But what if I told you, Dad actually took his own life!" Robbie's face went pale, "You're talking nonsense!" "Dad was driven to his death by your mom, that woman. If it hadn't been for her, Dad wouldn't have died, my mom wouldn't have been driven to suicide, and the entire Wright legacy would have been mine. All of this is on you." After having enough of Robbie's hysteria, Colin decided not to reveal the whole truth.

Sometimes, the less you know, the more it leads to speculation.

Brushing off nonexistent dust, he planned to leave, "Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. I chere just to tell you that you think Grandpa can't do without you, but in reality, you're just paving the way for Winston." "Stop right there!" Robbie, unwilling to accept this, couldn't believe Grandpa would entrust the vast Wright legacy to a kid, "You're saying Grandpa values Winston more?" Colin laughed, his gaze cold as it landed on Robbie's incredulous face, a sense of triumph surging within him, "Exactly, but even Winston is just the same." "In his eyes, we're all just pawns." Pawns meant to follow orders! As Colin left the manor, heading back, the butler's voice echoed, "The old man said just to deliver the items and not to meddle in anything else." Colin slipped behind a wall, watching as several people made their way deeper into the manor.

Their target wasn't Robbie.

With a smirk, Colin circumvented them and left the premises.

The next day.

At the Linklater residence.

Vivienne received an anonymous message early in the morning, "Robbie is trapped; the old man has brought someone back, identity unknown." Vivienne squinted, calling Draven, "Shift the focus to Hunter alone, including his movements these past few days." Draven acknowledged, sending over the gathered info to Vivienne.

After a quick review, Vivienne texted Matthew, "Make the Wrights go bankrupt without leaving traces." Downstairs.

Arthur and Sasha were head to head, sitting at a low table preparing the invitations for Vivienne's wedding. Between the two families and the Perez side, there were just too many people to invite.

Piles of invitations stacked beside their feet.

Vivienne walked over, seeing them frantic over writing names, feeling a sense of déjà vu.

This scene felt oddly familiar.

Curiously, she asked, "Mom, isn't the wedding a bit away? Why the rush?" Sasha, overwhelmed by the list of names, nearly snapped at Vivienne's nonchalant remark.

"How can you say it's far? Have you even checked the date today?" Vivienne: "The 12th." Sasha, speechless, "Your wedding is on the 18th." Vivienne, "...Wasn't it supposed to be at the end of the month?" Arthur seriously added, "Dear, we can't just change the date. When we picked it, your mom and I made sure it was a good day in both the lunar and Gregorian calendars. Even the heavens agree it's a perfect day for a wedding." Vivienne fell silent.

She only remembered it was this month, etting to ask the exact day.

So, her wedding with Mr. Wolf was just 6 days away. Sasha reminded, "These invitations aren't just for us to write. You and Percival need to do yours too. Don't wait till the day before to remember, leaving no tfor guests to make arrangements!" "And I've already written the ones for your master and Dorian. You just work on your guest list." Vivienne, "..

|| Could she just delegate all these tasks to Mr. Wolf? When Vivienne called Percival, he seemed to be finalizing the venue's floral arrangements and guest entry points.

For the first time, she realized how cumberswedding planning could be.

She only remembered her parents' wedding being sorted in a day, with only the invitations personally written by them. Now it was her turn, and Mr. Wolf seemed so busy.

"Vivienne?" Hearing his voice on the phone, Vivienne said, "Mr. Wolf, I just found out when our wedding is. Is it too late?" Percival chuckled softly, "Vivienne, just wait forto pick you up." "Really?" Vivienne blinked, "And the invitations...?" "Already taken care of. I'll send you the list of invitees, and once you confirm, I'll distribute them." "Okay." After hanging up, Vivienne immediately received Percival's list of names.

Mr. Wolf was reliable, indeed.

But opening the list, she was still stunned by the sheer number of names.

From Dorian Cordelia to Aaron Miller, there were over a hundred people.

Mr. Wolf had even included every student from her tteaching at Havenwood's Class Eighteen, Aaron included.

Mr. Wolf had truly gone above and beyond.

Every single soul who had ever crossed paths with her was invited to the wedding.

It was as though she wanted the whole world to be in on her big day.

Initially, she had figured that with Jack as her gatekeeper, the guest list would be limited to their close circle of friends and a handful of colleagues. Distant acquaintances didn't stand a chance. But it seemed she had underestimated Jack's resolve to make their wedding a grand affair.

Seeing the scale of the guest list, she had to admit she might have overreacted to her parents' skepticism.

And now, it was giving her a headache too.

But if Jack had chosen the guests, she trusted his judgment.

Vivienne closed the guest list and texted Jack, "Looks great, I'm all in with your choices." After receiving her message, Jack got the invitations sent out.

Meanwhile, Vivienne was keeping tabs on Hailey Linklater's every move through herputer.

After that hospital incident, she was almost certain Hailey was somehow linked to Abigail, if not Abigail herself.

Disregarding the possibility of disguise, the only explanation was ssort of supernatural ability.

Though the exact nature of such powers that could alter one's physical form instantaneously was beyond her, she had seen enough to believe in the impossible.

The special abilities derived from their ancient warrior lineage were proof enough.

But this clever fox had been hiding well, using Yorick as a shield. She thought Vivienne was out of moves.

If it weren't for her and Jack's et wedding being just around the corner, and the higher-ups considering the Abigail case a top priority, demanding irrefutable, evidence before taking action, she would have already had Hailey locked up for experimentation. She was dying to find out what made her tick.