The Million-Dollar Heart

Gillian's grip did not loosen; if anything, it tightened with a fierce determination.

Just moments ago, she had been planning to invite Percival over to her house to negotiate a partnership with the Ellington family following her father's successful acquisition of the Boyd family. But then, in a twist of fate as cruel as it was sudden, her father was arrested, the Ashford Mansion was seized, and her family's fortune evaporated into thin air.

The shock was unbearable; she simply could not accept it!

Unable to get her revenge on Percival or Vivienne, Gillian directed all her rage at Mara.

Just as Mara's breath was being squeezed out of her, agents from the DEA arrived in the nick of time, subduing Gillian.

Mara's life was saved, but her face was ruined beyond recognition. The infection from the cuts, made worse by the dirty porcelain doll fragments embedded in her flesh, had spread too far.

"Gillian's been arrested for assault, Mara's fallen into a depression after her disfigurement, Teresa has divorced Theodore and left the country with her kids, and Nancy has absconded with all of the Boyd family's wealth, taking her children far from Sea City. Everyone else is in prison. Ms. Vivienne, that's all there is," Anna reported the fates of the Boyd and Ashford families to Vivienne.

None of this was surprising or particularly stirring to Vivienne, except Gillian's breakdown - that was unexpected.

"Got it," Vivienne said, tucking the translated contract into her bag and donning a baseball cap before getting into her car. "Tell Mr. Wolf to wait here; I'll be back shortly."

Anna nodded, watching Vivienne drive away, already rehearsing the story she would tell Percival - Ms. Vivienne had a date!

Vivienne pulled up in front of the restaurant and stepped out, clutching her bag. Inside, the restaurant hosted only one table of diners, reserved by two familiar faces: Zachary, patriarch of the Churchill family, and William, patriarch of the Pendleton family.

"Madam." Zachary stood first, his eyes glistening slightly.

William was more composed, for Vivienne was his mentor, even though he had never imagined his mentor to be the long-sought daughter of Karen.

that they should

me the truth from the beginning?" She

before Zachary sighed. "Madam, to be frank, we had no idea you were the boss's daughter nor that her name was Vivienne. You seemed familiar when I met you in Havenwood, but I never connected the dots... If I had

his protection, he trailed

know my name? Then how did Patrick recognize me so readily?" Vivienne had assumed her

little weasel. He stole the boss's tech reports from us and lied that they

avoid drawing attention to their past allegiance to Karen. They all suspected foul play in Karen's death and wanted to preserve what she had left behind. For a decade, they kept their

daughter, intent on protecting her. But aside from knowing she was female, they had no other information. Little

boss must have sensed a traitor among us, which was why she disclosed so little," William said with a grave tone, a flicker

would have used my family's entire might to prevent him from

incident where Vivienne had been aboard the Ashford

bomb was not his doing, nor was it the work of the Boyds. She was

I need you to undertake," Vivienne said, pulling out the translated documents from her bag

own merits, without invoking any of Karen's resources, knowing they lacked the capability to fully harness what

all too well. The mere exposure of these items could send shock waves through their circles. If anyone connected the dots back to Karen's daughter, it would spell disaster Meanwhile,

flicker of surprise danced across their

then simultaneously pulled out another

these add up to

leafed through them, and a chuckle escaped her

to the Pendleton