The Million-Dollar Heart

Wendy was the first to pick up her milkshake and take a gulp, setting off a reluctant chain reaction among the others. They had no choice but to follow suit and sip away.

It was not until the last drops of the milkshake were consumed that Vivienne stood up, flicking her wrist in dismissal, "That'll do for today. Get some rest, folks. See you all tomorrow." With that, Vivienne and Percival left the Boyd residence and returned to the house Maddox had prepared for them to catch some sleep.

No sooner had they left than Wendy, forgetting her cane, bolted to the bathroom and began to hurl.

The other Boyds followed suit, much to the dismay of the household staff, who pinched their noses in disgust.

It was revolting.

To have so many people retching at once was unheard of, and Yannick even spewed on Wendy's beloved woolen rug.

Already, the house was tainted with the smell of barbeque and smoke, and now this collective upheaval of recently chewed food added insult to injury.

The odor was insufferable.

The Boyds spent a grueling half-hour vomiting before they finally collapsed back onto the couches, utterly spent.

The once prized woolen rug had been relegated to the trash, a sight that made Wendy's heart ache.

Theodore, drained and pale, leaned on his wife's shoulder, still dry-heaving.

Teresa, repulsed, shoved him away. "Get off me. You stink of decay. It's disgusting."

Theodore weakly slapped Teresa, not because he could not bear to hurt his wife, but sheer exhaustion. "You wench, you think you smell any better?"

"You dare hit me? Believe it or not, I'll divorce you for this!" Teresa howled, her voice nearly giving out from the strain.

had the

couch, accepted a glass of water from a servant and said weakly,

if you hadn't eaten so much, we wouldn't have followed suit. Why did

sighed. "Do you really think I wanted to eat

were taken

at her mother. "What do

just you. I didn't want to eat either, but my hand acted on its own, reaching for food and bringing it

sob. "Dad, could it

similarly manipulated. Teresa confessed, "It was indeed like being possessed. I moved when Vivienne moved and ate uncontrollably even though I was fully aware." Mara shuffled closer

Vivienne is," Wendy reminded them

or so she thought. What she found was likely only what Vivienne wanted to show. Eliza connected the dots. "Vivienne stayed in some convent in Havenwood before going to Rivenwood. Maybe she picked up some dark

gasped. "That explains why Percival, of all people, would fall for a

the recent nausea. "Some backwater girl isn't going to best us, especially not

just a girl. Even if she learned something, it couldn't be that powerful. The real masters are all over fifty. There must be another reason." "Regardless, Vivienne is trouble. We can't let her be with Percival, or who knows how much he will suffer." Mara pressed, her lips thin. "Plus, Gillian is a far better match for my brother,

him to Gillian Ashford and cement an alliance between the Boyd and Ashford families. No matter how far Vivienne and Percival had

their villa, Vivienne and Percival were settling in for

Vivienne's earlier antics. "What did you do

to control people for half an hour, making them do as they wish. I

ruffling Vivienne's hair with

laughed together, making their way into the villa, where

anything is missing, just press the button by the bed, and we'll be at your service. We won't disturb you any further-have a good rest," the head servant said