The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Clutching her mother tightly, Vivienne’s tears erupted like a fountain. She wept uninhibited, her sobs echoing through the car like a child's.

In her mother’s embrace, tseemed to stand still. It was different from the tshe had swindled Finnian out of 80 million dollars; this was raw, unfiltered emotion.

After crying herself to near exhaustion, Vivienne finally ceased her tears and remembered she had a bone to pick with her mother.

“Mom, you...” Vivienne started but stopped as she noticed Karen dozing against the car window.

How could any mother be so absent? She was crying her eyes out! “Vivienne, honey?” Karen murmured, waking to her daughter's voice and wiping drool from her chin. “Oh, it's been ages since | heard you cry. Still putsright to sleep.” Vivienne was speechless, gazing intensely at her mother, who seemed so different from when she had first seen Anna.

“Mom!” Karen pulled Vivienne into a hug. “Frost, I'm starved. How about we grab sbeef stew before we get into all that?” Overhearing from outside, Percival could not bear the scene any longer and climbed into the car. He had hoped for a heartwarming reunion, yet Karen's mind was preoccupied with thoughts of beef stew! Now he knew where Vivienne got her appetite.

“Master, is food all you ever think about?” Percival complained as he got into the car. Vivienne had been crying her heart out, and Karen had not even tried to comfort her.

Karen slapped Percival’s arm. “Shut it and drive.” Aa “Mom, please don’t knock the sense out of my Mr. Wolf,” Vivienne said, rubbing the back of Percival’s head tenderly.

Percival chuckled softly, grateful for Vivienne’s gentle touch.

Karen scoffed. “It’s not like you peed on him when you were a kid!” Vivienne blushed crimson, having no memory of such an incident.

Percival was about to retort when Karen continued, “Or the tyou cried about diapers and not wanting to break the rule of ‘no touching between the sexes." That settled it; Karen always had the last word.

They ended up at Rivenwood'’s finest stew house, where Karen feasted to her heart's content. It was then that she circled back to the matter at hand.

“The F-Poison at the scene was a bionic robot, an android,” Karen said, reclining in her chair and rubbing her belly without a care in the world.

Vivienne sipped her soda and burped. “I tossed that rock to check if she was an android. Never thought I'd get fooled.” Percival handed the pair wet wipes, pondering quietly. “It only shows the androids inside GTO are evolving just like ours.” The androids, now enhanced by the Brooks family and the two samples Karen had left behind, had reached their highest version.

“Zelda” at the scene was the pinnacle of these experiments—an android being capable of connecting with human thoughts.

This android was given to Vivienne by Zachary Churchill just last month.

GTO had made no progress for years, but now they could match the highest version? Vivienne’s brows knitted. “It seems we have a mole among us again.” She had been too focused on finding Karen to check on Zachary, William Pendleton, or the Brooks family. She thought they had found the mole, but that was clearly not the case.

Karen folded her used wipe neatly on the table. “There's definitely a leak, but a mole is unlikely. Without Scott Brooks, the Brooks family is clean, and Baron has long retired. Maybe it’s tto look elsewhere, like new contacts they might have made.” Vivienne nodded. “Right. With Scott gone, the Brooks family has been under surveillance. No issues there, and the Churchill and Pendleton families are out of the question.” “And the explosion,” Karen added. “Because of the airborne particles, we couldn't risk using any chemicals. Even Percival’s shot wouldn't have set them off.” Percival, returning after settling the bill, caught the tail end of the conversation. “The gun barrel.” “Exactly. When Vanguard Agency showed up, their gunshots sounded muffled. | thought they'd switched guns.

Could it be Vance again?” Karen propped her chin on her hand, tapping her cheek in thought.

When Percival turned around and saw Vivienne in the sposture as Karen, he frowned even deeper.

He sighed, “Master, Vivienne, why don’t we head hand think this through?” At the mention of home, Karen seemed lost.

The Perez family must be in chaos now.

Karen was not ready to face Jasper, not after everything. It was only because Diana had pushed Vivienne to the brink that she had emerged from hiding.

Reading her mother’s hesitation, Vivienne reached out and took Karen's hand. “Mom, let's go home.” Vivienne knew that Karen didn’t really care much for the term ‘family.’ In fact, she was downright resistant to it.

No matter how strong a person is, there is always a tender scar hidden away deep inside.

Before Karen had learned the truth about her origins, she had been deeply wounded by her foster parents—Ileft battered and bruised, both emotionally and physically.

For a long time, Karen had lived in a state of isolation, building walls so high that she would not let anyone close.

Now, with the revelation that she had blood relatives who had been searching for her for over thirty years, the prospect of getting close was even more daunting.

“Mom, Grandpa's waiting for us,” Vivienne said, her hand warm in Karen’s—a comfort akin to the cozy sweaters her mother used to wrap her in.

Over the past decade, Karen had stayed close to Vivienne, watching as she single-handedly established the Nine Mystics Society, witnessing her transformation from a tiny tot into the admirable figure she was today.

Yet, Karen had never really felt her daughter grow up.Books Chapters Are Daily Updated Join & Stay Updated for All Books Updates...

until this moment, when she deeply felt it—her baby girl had truly matured, capable of standing on her own.

Even capable of leading the way home.

Karen nodded. “Okay, let's go home.” Percival dropped the two off at the Perez Mansion, choosing not to intrude.

He understood that at a moment like this, the Perez family would likely prefer not to have outsiders around.

Karen stood at the threshold of the Perez Mansion, a place she had cto know intimately, familiar with every blade of grass and leaf that changed within its bounds.

Her previous visits as Vesper had allowed her to becaccustomed to the surroundings.

Yet now, standing there, hearing the symphony of pots and pans from inside, she found herself hesitating to step forward.

Vivienne lovingly linked her arm through Karen's. “Mom, today, I'm coming htoo.” For the first time, she was returning as the granddaughter, coming home.