The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

In the quaint suburban enclave where the Brooks family resided, there was a buzz of anticipation

hanging in the air for news from the Ellingtons. Yet in this whirl of excitement, nobody paid the slightest

attention to the bombshell Vivienne had dropped: a staggering offer of hundred billion to call off her

engagement.

And no one seemed to question how Vivienne, a girl raised in the quaintness of an old monastery, had

access to such an exorbitant sum.

When Matthew returned with the news that Percival had agreed to the dissolution of the engagement,

the Brooks household was astounded. It was beyond them why Percival, who had always treated

Vivienne like a precious gem, would so readily let her go.

The Brooks were all dumbfounded!

Kala, regaining her composure first, spat out in anger, “Ugh! What a jerk!” She had thought so highly of

Percival, charmed by his doting ways with Vivienne. She had almost believed in true love because of

him. But now, an engagement broken so easily? She wished all playboys would just go to hell!

Calista, too, was baffled. Although she had hoped for Percival to be free, she never imagined it would

happen so smoothly. Did this mean she could now step into Vivienne’s shoes and be with Percival

herself? Oh, the very thought made her head spin with delight!

Scott paused briefly upon hearing the news; a glint of calculation passed through his eyes.

Judith, however, was all smiles, “Well, that settles it! Percival is just as sensible as Vivienne. He’s such

a good lad!”

Vivienne gave her a dry look and said flatly, “Congratulations. You got what you wanted.” Without

another word, she turned and ascended the staircase.

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Matthew hurried after her.

Once inside her room with the door firmly shut, Matthew opened his mouth to speak, but Vivienne held

up a hand to stop him.

She pulled out her phone and scanned the room, a red dot flashing on the screen. A cold smirk played

on her lips as she swiftly tapped away.

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After a couple of minutes, she stowed her phone away.

Matthew, her loyal companion, instantly understood the situation, “They bugged your room?” he asked

with a voice tinged with disgust.

“Hmm,” was all Vivienne offered; her face was flat.

For Scott to bug her room was expected, nothing surprising there. She left the device untouched so

they could still hear what she wanted them to hear. After all, underestimating her was their first mistake.

Did they really think a simple bug would outsmart her?

Matthew knew that, if Vivienne was here to speak up, it meant that she wasn’t threatened by the bug

anymore. So he ventured, “Vivienne, why did you agree to their wishes and break off the engagement

with Mr. Ellington? And why keep Calista around to stir up trouble?”

Vivienne’s eyes were icy as she replied, “The murkier the waters, the better.”

Matthew fell silent. He was privy to most of Vivienne’s plans, but there were still many things he didn’t

grasp.

“What about the missing babies? Any leads?” Vivienne changed the subject.

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“From what we’ve gathered, the missing babies should’ve been taken to the Rivenwood,” Matthew said

gravely. “Rivenwood must be housing a GTO lab. I suspect they’re intending to conduct virus

experiments there.”

Vivienne’s expression turned frosty. The existence of a GTO lab in Rivenwood was within her

expectations. Mr. B wouldn’t have stayed there for years without setting up a lab. GTO was always a

cautious place with numerous hideouts; its members remained strangers unless on a joint mission.

It was an urgent thing to find that lab and save those infants.

“And Brian? What has he been up to lately?” Vivienne inquired.

Matthew looked embarrassed, “He’s been living it up at the nightclubs! ”

He was surrounded by a bevy of beauties and a sea of wine, song, and dance – he’s in heaven.

Vivienne pinched the bridge of her nose, exasperated, “Tell him to get his act together and go after

Brody!”

Matthew jumped at the command, “Right away!”

He had a myriad of questions to ask Vivienne but he didn’t dare to ask right now, “Should I just go,

Vivienne?”

“Get lost!”

“Got it.”

Matthew made a hasty exit as he bumped into Jerry and his posse of nine, who had stormed over like a

tempest.

He smacked his forehead. Now there was trouble!

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Jerry approached with a steely gaze. “How’s Vivienne?” he asked.

Matthew blinked, “She’s… well, eating and drinking as usual.”

Dawson exclaimed, “It’s done! Vivienne’s non-reaction means she’s on the brink of something big.”

Leopold clenched his teeth in fury, “Those damned Brooks! How dare they treat our Vivienne this way?

I swear we’ll tear down their home!”

Percival had been dispatched on a mission not long ago, and who would have guessed that in such a

short time, the Brooks clan would dare to mess with Vivienne.

They even had the gall to demand she call off her engagement?

What were they thinking?

Were they really naive enough to believe that Vivienne and Percival’s bond could be broken that

easily?

To use an engagement as leverage against Vivienne… these folks were clearly looking for trouble.

Jerry, as the eldest among his disciples, typically kept a watchful eye over his younger ones. But this

time, even he was fuming, “As Vivienne’s disciples, it’s a shame for us to let somebody bully her like

that! We should’ve been her backbone!”

They might not have been fond of Percival and Vivienne as a couple, but in their eyes, Vivienne

deserved nothing but the best.

If the Brooks family dared to push Vivienne into breaking off her engagement, that was a whole

different ball game.

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“Right!” Gary chimed in, “We’ve been out of the game for too long, and it seems some folks have

forgotten what we’re capable of.”

Eric added, “Then let’s show them what we’re made of. Let them see that Vivienne, under the

protection of Emerald Monastery, isn’t someone they can just trifle with.”

Daniel smirked, “Perfect timing. My crew’s been itching for some action. Let’s use the Brooks family for

some target practice.”

“Target practice? What’s the excitement in that?” Daniel retorted, “Just tie them all up and clean the

Brooks family out.”

Brian scoffed, “Nonsense. Is that the best you guys can do? If we want to teach them a lesson, it needs

to sting. My dogs at the kennel have been hungry for a while now. Let’s set them loose!”

Larry, toying with a knife in his hands, lifted his gaze and said with an airy tone, “I’ve had the bombs

delivered. You guys might want to stand back so you don’t get caught in the blast.”

Leopold was speechless.

Damn! Larry was on another level indeed!

Blowing up the Brooks estate! How had he not thought of that himself?

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As the brothers bantered, Matthew was sweating bullets. With an awkward cough, he interjected,

“Umm… Percival agreed to break off the engagement with Vivienne.”

“What?!” Nine voices erupted in unison, deafeningly loud.

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Matthew cleared his ears and said earnestly, “Yes, Vivienne offered a hundred billion, and Percival took

the money and called it off!”

The brothers’ faces turned as dark as coal from the mines, “To dare to abandon Vivienne… he’s a dead

man!”

Dawson roared, “Forget the Brooks clan for now. We need to settle the score with Percival first!”

With that, the nine men hopped into their cars and sped off.

Matthew was left standing there, bewildered.

He was shouting to himself, “Hey, wait! That’s not what I meant! I was just stating the facts and I didn’t

ask you to go after Percival!”

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