The Million-Dollar Heart

Gillian's scream pierced the silence of the night, startling her from her dreams into a gasping reality as she fell to her knees on the floor, breath heaving in her chest. "Mr. Ellington, Mr. Ellington..." She gasped.

Patrick rushed to his daughter's side, steadying her with a firm grip. "Gillian, are you alright?" He asked, concern written all over his face.

Confusion clouded Gillian's eyes as she noticed the cluster of people around her, her last memory of being tucked into bed by Percival, wrapped in a cozy comforter. She was quick to react, though, sobbing as she collapsed into her father's arms. "Dad, I... with Mr. Ellington, we've already... We've..."

Her words hung in the air, leaving an unspoken understanding among the gathered crowd.

The sight of a naked beauty would test any man's resolve, and poor Yannick had been dealt a rough hand, his legacy usurped by another.

A flicker of rage crossed Patrick's eyes as he turned to Percival, his voice rising in anger. "Percival, what do you have to say for yourself? You animal!"

Mara quickly came to the defense. "Mr. Patrick, there were drugs in the room. It was not intentional; it was the drugs that took control. Just think about how Gillian was acting!"

Gillian clung to her father's hand. "Dad, I remember bits and pieces. Mr. Ellington saved me from Yannick. We tried to leave, but... I smelled something strange. Even though my mind was clear, our bodies would not listen...

It's not Mr. Ellington's fault. It's all Yannick's doing. Really, it's not his fault."

Tears streamed down Gillian's face as she clutched the blanket. "Dad, I'm so ashamed."

Mara, with tears in her eyes, looked at Percival. "Bro, it was Gillian's first time. You can't just abandon her."

Patrick was at a loss, torn between anger and the need to comfort his daughter. He looked at Percival with a mixture of anger and pleading. "Mr. Ellington, given the circumstances, if you don't take responsibility, Gillian will have no future."

"Yeah, Percival, we can't just leave things like this."

Their performance could have outshone even the likes of Meryl Streep and Anthony Hopkins.

Vivienne smirked. "Ms. Ashford, ever heard of Rainbow Entertainment? If you're interested in signing, I'll have someone contact you."

talent like Gillian's could not be wasted. She could cry on cue, immerse herself in the role

a money-making machine,

just how broke are

"Utterly, completely, and absolutely

money." Vivienne: "Utterly, completely, and

away her tears. "Ms. Hawthorn, what are you

hearing at such a young age? Need me to give you another shot?"

me and Mr. Ellington, but I would never lie about my reputation. I remember what happened, and there's no need to frame Mr. Ellington

to Mara. "Are you

though nervous, knew she could not change her story now and

And it's true, Percival was the only one there. Now that

"I see! Well, I have

Anna handed her a sleek tablet that was not available on the market,

crowd was baffled, having no idea

a few times, and soon, a high-definition video began to

Once I've had my way with Mr. Ellington, we can blame it on Yannick. All you need to do is bring my dad and the others over, okay?" "Sure, I'll help you. Just to get that Vivienne out

every detail of Gillian and Mara's conversation, even filtering out the background noise so every word was

Gillian nor Mara could have anticipated that their

ready to confront Percival with righteous indignation, now felt the weight of shame. His daughter

Ashford family's reputation would be

been present from the start of Yannick's troubles but had kept out of sight,

a chance for a counterattack, perhaps even to implicate Gillian instead of

Yannick had drugged Gillian or not. Thus,

and Vivienne, it looked like their chance for revenge would

the priority was

her way

fumed, her voice a tempest of maternal fury. "I knew there was no way he'd just pass out for no