The Million-Dollar Heart

Vivienne locked eyes with Astrid.

There was no denying it, Astrid was stunning. She really had inherited all of Cordelia's best features.

Vivienne chuckled softly, "No need to be so formal with me, we're family."

She had uttered those words many times before, but this time, it came from the heart.

This Astrid was the one she should truly call Sister.

Astrid felt a rush of emotion. She had, in fact, used her clearance to dig into Vivienne's past. After all, showing up after years away and causing such a stir in the Brooks family raised suspicions. Yet, she found nothing.

Vivienne was an enigma, the more Astrid delved, the deeper she sank.

So, when they first met, Astrid had her guard up.

Later, after Vivienne's visit to Rivenwood, the Brooks family invited them for a family reunion. It was then Astrid received a classified tip.

Alfred was a spy from a rival organization! Just when she was about to arrest Alfred, Mr. B appeared.

Collaborating with Alfred, Mr. B kidnapped her, and she had been in captivity ever since.

Each day, they injected her with a sedative that kept her unconscious for long periods, obscuring any knowledge of the outside world.

On the rare occasions she was lucid, she found herself tossed in the trunk of a car, unable to discern much else.

Vivienne passed a peeled apple to Astrid, "While you were missing, Mr. B impersonated you around us. But don't worry, he didn't get anywhere near the core of your work, and Alfred didn't manage to steal any intel."

Indeed, Astrid was an agent working on classified national projects, which meant she couldn't spend much time with Cordelia. Every leave request meant paperwork, waiting for notifications, and getting signatures from top to bottom.

specific nature of Astrid's work. She only knew that Astrid's superiors were strict, rarely approving family visits. Initially, Alfred had approached

work matters, leaving him clueless about the information he sought. Eventually, Mr. B found Alfred, and they struck a

B get close to Vivienne, while he

Mr. B on their second meeting. Meanwhile, Astrid's

he had gone undetected, falling short only in gaining access to the core secrets. Moreover, he didn't care much, his sole objective being to get close to Vivienne

pretending to be duped

was not easy to handle. Instead of

in shady transactions for profit, but she had never done anything like

not for the fact that Astrid was

the Ellington Group, Fiona had orchestrated Astrid's transport across various vehicles, following no discernible pattern, making it difficult for anyone

it challenging for anyone to

longer had the

out the general route, and Thomas blocked the vehicles at a critical

specific car and not daring to make a scene,

from

Her work was vital to national security, and it could not fall into enemy hands. During

on a personal note, I thank you for your contribution to protecting national secrets. I'll recommend you for the highest medal

laughter, "I didn't do it for the country; I just wanted to save you.

was taken aback. The medal was a symbol of the highest honor, coveted even among their own ranks, let alone by the general

And Vivienne wasn't interested!

was tired of seeing them around. In a family,

one! I can't have

retorted, "Scram!

grumbled, "You're picking up

"What did you