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.
worse - a bomb!
in their right mind tosses
Patrick's reaction, Vivienne could almost be certain of
found on your ship," she stated, her legs shifting position as she lounged back
the ship, my daughter and I
murmured
in relief and began to rise, "Could this be connected to
looked at him. "You
fiasco, I cut all ties with the Boyd family. But for the 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
wanted to drop off a flora arrangement. I
then a signal beeped in
The shipment had arrived.
a message. He wanted to check it but could not do so in front of Vivienne, so he
yawned, her eyes closing. "Let me
she
Vivienne
of the bomb had touched a nerve, and his pale excuses and baseless suspicions held
anxious as his phone continued to vibrate in his
the shipment had arrived, just
Why bother messaging him?
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 what
the black market, identical to
brow furrowed.
with Leopold before revealing an
"Three tons."
Anna gasped. "How much?"
"Three tons," Thomas repeated.
tons of Keco could profit
but had not imagined it would
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