The Million-Dollar Heart

Vivienne had no patience for Finnian's games. She'd scoured his mansion, inside and out, finding nothing more than a bunch of unused robots, a dog, and two cats - but no trace of what she was really after. "Damn it," she muttered under her breath, feeling like a fool for being played yet again.

Finnian, leaning against the wall with a smug look, said, "Sweetheart, you're gonna have to clean up this mess you've made. Look at this chaos!"

"Why don't you let Fido do it?" Vivienne snorted, snatching the apple Finnian was about to bite into right out of his hand as she stormed out.

Once she was gone, Finnian checked his surroundings for any "threats" before pulling out his phone to text Vesper, [Where are you?]

[I'm at Willa's.] Vesper replied, pocketing the phone. In the span of moments, he had changed into a woman.

The mirror reflected a cascade of soft locks over her shoulders, the sharp lines of her face now softened.

She had not undergone any dramatic disguise, just manipulated her facial bones slightly, which was painful enough for her not to change back to this real face frequently. But for this meeting, a male guise would not do.

She brushed her hair and changed into comfortable jeans and a tee, then knocked on the neighboring door.

Puzzled, Willa opened the door to find a stunning woman smiling back at her. "You are?"

"Willa, it's been ages," the woman said with a smile.

Willa peered into the woman's eyes, sensing an answer she dared not voice. She stepped back, overwhelmed.

The woman tapped Willa's forehead and playfully flicked her nose. "Don't recognize me, huh? I barely recognized you, too."

in Willa's eyes at the familiar

rushing into

- whenever Willa made a mistake as a child, Sasha would "punish" her like that before taking the blame in

name now. Call me Karen now," Karen said soothingly, comforting Willa with gentle pats on the

still remembered her. Otherwise, she

that would have shocked Maddox. He would never have believed the stoic

stayed by her side until Willa's crying subsided, and they

did you mean earlier? Why does your own name sound unfamiliar to you? Where have you been all these years, and why haven't you come back to the Perez family? Dad's in Rivenwood,

afraid that letting go would cause her to

"I've seen Dad already," she said with a smile.

Willa knew that meeting them was not

them the

confirmed nor denied. "My memory isn't fully back. That's why 'Sasha' feels distant. I know I'm Sasha, but why I was kidnapped and ended up as another family's daughter

eyes narrowed. "Are you saying you have

admitted. "I remember bits - like ruining Grandpa's garden or chopping up Mom's lipstick for 'experiments' - but many details

her DNA with Yuri's during

her life before age ten - it was like