The Million-Dollar Heart

Vivienne entered the hospital ward, leaving Percival waiting outside, seated opposite Jasper and Yuri.

Jasper and Yuri exchanged brief pleasantries with Percival before disengaging, preferring to keep to themselves.

Percival appeared engrossed in his phone, but with a few discreet taps, he had pulled up thorough profiles on the two men sitting across from him.

Jasper Perez, head of the prestigious Perez family and chairman of Perez Enterprises.

Yuri Perez, the Perez family's fourth son and the CFO of Perez Group.

The Perez family held a status in Sea City comparable to the Ellingtons.

With its century-long history and wealth rivaling that of nations, the family was a force to be reckoned with.

However, the Perez family were known for their discretion, rarely making public appearances and abstaining from social events.

These facts were available to the public, but Percival had accessed more sensitive information using Vanguard Agency's resources: the Perez family was an ancient warrior lineage. The details of such ancient warrior lineages, hidden in seclusion, were nearly impossible to trace without tapping into national databases.

Ancient warrior lineages typically remained out of the public eye, drawing income from their corporate ventures or offering highly sought-after security services at exorbitant prices. The Perez family, alongside the Martinez family of Rivenwood, were one of the few to step out into the world.

The Perez family had emerged publicly earlier than the Martinez family and conducted their affairs openly, so their warrior lineage identity was a well-kept secret.

Another piece of information piqued Percival's interest. Thirty-five years ago, Sasha, the ten-year-old daughter of the Perez family, had mysteriously vanished and was still missing. Sasha's photograph, though blurry, hinted at her beauty.

leaned in, his

No footage or records exist. Vivienne spent most of her years after ten at the Emerald Mountain, seldom coming

something in the ward, and asked, "What's

"What about it?"

perfumer Q, piano virtuoso Moonlight, and possibly holds other

it came to Vivienne, they could only scratch the surface;

Percival, murmuring, "This girl's got chops. Is the kid up to

the heir to the Ellington family, betrothed to Vivienne." Jasper clicked his

is the long-lost heiress of the Brooks family. Her mother, whose real name was Karen, had a romance with Scott Brooks, the eldest son of the Brooks family. She disappeared before their engagement for unknown reasons, later adopting the name Evelyn. It was under that name that she arranged

a waste," Jasper exhaled

Percival's merit among the younger generation. Percival's courage and savvy even surpassed his own son.

temples, thinking how unfitting it was for them to meddle in the young couple's affairs. The Ellington heir was no fool, after all. Why did Jasper not like

said cautiously after researching extensively. The information on Karen was scant, aside from what had emerged along with Vivienne. The Wilson family, now

were based far in Rivenwood, a great distance from Sea City. When Sasha disappeared, the Perez family had locked down every exit from the city, monitoring everything from buses to subways, making it improbable

Vivienne stepped out of the ward,

her mask and turned to Yuri with a reassuring smile. "Mr. Perez, there's good news about Yasmine and Natalia. Their hearts are mending, slowly but surely. They'll need to stay in the hospita a bit longer just to make sure everything's completely fine. In the meantime, take good care of

voice tinged with relief. He became a father later in life and knew the stakes were high. If something happened to her daughters, she would regret it for life. "We'll watch

been quietly observing, stood up as well. "Vivienne, shall we head