Patrick's limbs were beyond his control, his body betraying him as he followed Vivienne's retreating steps.

Behind him, Gillian's heart-wrenching cries for her father echoed through the air, but he was powerless to respond. Patrick finally felt the command of his body returned when they reached a secluded cabin on the ship.

But now, with both Percival and Anna guarding the door, escape was an impossibility.

"Kneel," Vivienne commanded, her voice serene as she sat on the seat representing authority.

Patrick fell to his knees with a thud, not out of compulsion but from the sheer force of Vivienne's presence.

His legs tingled with numbness, sharp pains shooting through his knees as if a thousand needles were pricking them.

Beads of sweat formed on his brow, trickling down his temples and disappearing onto his shoulders.

Vivienne sat with her legs crossed, her slender neck held high with disdain, a hint of scorn in her gaze.

As Patrick knelt, Vivienne wondered what her mother had seen in him. How could such a spineless man be entrusted with the critical technology of bionics?

She regarded him with contempt and curiosity, slowly pulling the small "Morning Glory" from her pocket and tossing it at Patrick.

Instinctively, he caught it, his forehead bulging with veins, paralyzed with fear.

When he saw what it was, he finally heaved a sigh of relief.

He had thought she had thrown a knife at him!

"Madam, what is this?" he stammered.

Vivienne raised an eyebrow, her voice calm. "A miniature bomb."

Shocked to his core, Patrick scrambled behind the couch for cover.

knife, but it was even worse - a

mind tosses a bomb

almost be certain of his innocence

shifting position as she lounged back

Even if we set aside your presence on the ship, my daughter and I were there, too. I would

murmured

exhaled in relief and began to rise, "Could

gaze sharpened as she looked at him.

sake of the bionic tech, I could not completely sever our relationship. I thought of sending an invite, and the Boyd family's head came to me before I

men told me the Boyd family's head wanted to drop off a flora arrangement. I did not question it, but it's suspicious now that I think

nodded, then a signal beeped in

The shipment had arrived.

the same time, Patrick's phone buzzed with a message. He wanted to check it but could not do so in front of Vivienne, so he remained

her eyes

that, she went

move. He knew Vivienne was not dozing

a nerve, and his pale excuses and baseless suspicions held little

increasingly anxious as his phone

had

Why bother messaging him?

and Anna had left their post outside the cabin and were now at the Sea City harbor. Leopold and Thomas had secured the docks, sealing off all incoming shipments and detaining the dockworkers. "Percival, we found it—it's Keco," Thomas reported, handing over a bag of

black market, identical to flour and often

furrowed. "How

a glance with Leopold before revealing an

"Three tons."

Anna gasped. "How much?"

"Three tons," Thomas repeated.

could profit

a significant haul but had

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