The Million-Dollar Heart

William pondered for a moment before speaking up, "It was about two weeks before the boss took her own life. She sent it to me over the local network; it was a burn-after-reading kind of deal, leaving only this file with instructions to keep it safe, saying it would come in handy later. Then she just vanished without a trace."

"It was the same for me. The boss made me promise not to let these secrets out," Zachary also chimed in.

Vivienne's brow furrowed with concern. It would come in handy later?

How so?

Her mother was dead. What good could it possibly do now?

"Master, could this be... bionic technology?" William ventured to ask.

Vivienne nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm entrusting to you. I've consolidated all the Ashford and Boyd family resources, and the labs are all set up, but I don't have the time to manage them. I'm hoping you can handle it. Will that work for you?"

"Of course, it's perfect," William replied, his voice tinged with excitement. "Master, aside from my work in holistic medicine, I've been relying on this document from the boss to research bionics. I always felt something was missing, but now that you've brought this to us, it's all starting to make sense."

Zachary nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I've always wondered what the boss meant by it might come in handy. Turns out she was waiting for you to come to us, Madam."

Vivienne's lips curved into a slight smile.

Waiting for her to come to them? Did her mother have the same capabilities as her mentor, to know the future?

How could her mother be so sure that she would come?

A myriad of questions flickered through Vivienne's mind, slowly shaping into a theory.

"You guys can handle the Havenwood and Rivenwood affairs. Patrick has been making progress with the bionics project over the years, but he never quite cracked it. Keep pushing in that direction, and you're bound to see results soon."

After giving her instructions, Vivienne stood up. "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me."

she left without

to the combined expertise

that matter settled, Vivienne made her way to the underground prison

stint with the DEA, Patrick had been

shivering in his water cell,

him, studying his pale and swollen face without a shred of

manufacturing and trafficking drugs, stealing her mother's research for profit,

act was a betrayal that

know I was wrong. Please, let

binding him clanking. "I don't know.

yet you chose

and stammered, "Initially, GTO approached me and offered me a lot. They said I could make a fortune if I followed them. I was desperate for money, I..." Before Patrick could finish, Vivienne's hand was already tightening around his

grip as he struggled for his life, splashing

was wrong. Please, I beg you, let me

her anger making her want to twist his neck right off. But

for breath. For a moment, he thought he was truly going

but I did meet a girl from GTO. She's the only one I've ever met." Patrick hastily tried to

his loyalty meant

sharpened, "Did F-Poison ever ask

is still immature. It only functions for ten seconds in front of people before it collapses. It's useless. Madam, that

deepest connection

for years. With a swift chop, Vivienne knocked Patrick out cold. His head sank into the

her car, Vivienne could not shake

had the help of a projector, but no matter what, she could not have escaped from

leaving nothing behind, was not a person at all-it was a biorobot created by Imogen using Patrick's