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."

She could cry on cue, immerse herself in the role who would not be

a money-making machine,

"Vivienne, just how

completely,

how much she loves money." Vivienne: "Utterly, completely, and absolutely

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

such a young age? Need me to give you

upset about me and Mr. Ellington, but I would never lie

then turned to Mara. "Are you absolutely sure what

change her story now and

I believe Gillian. And it's true, Percival was the only one

Well, I have something interesting here. Care

and Anna handed her a sleek tablet

baffled, having no idea where the tablet had come

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

on Yannick. All you need to do is bring my dad

even filtering out the background

Gillian nor Mara could have anticipated that their private exchange would be recorded

felt the weight of shame. His daughter

would be

from the start of Yannick's troubles but had kept out of

they saw a chance for a counterattack,

drugged Gillian or not. Thus, they could totally say that Gillian and Mara were deliberately ruining Yannick's

Vivienne, it looked like their chance for

the priority was

her way through the crowd,

Teresa fumed, her voice a tempest of maternal fury. "I knew there was no way he'd just pass out for no reason. You're scared of getting caught, so you knock