The Million-Dollar Heart

Karen had been deep undercover in GTO, and although she had never penetrated its core, she had brushed shoulders with its darkest secrets.

Inside GTO, experiments of unspeakable cruelty were a daily occurrence. For someone like Scott, who had been sold to them as a child, the horrors he faced were beyond imagination.

The fact that Scott had survived and even managed to become a stand-in for Belle spoke volumes of his wit and luck - mostly luck, as without it, he would have been another casualty of those vile tests. "You just said a woman told you your constitution was not suited for their drugs. Was she... F-Poison?" Karen inquired.

Scott chuckled. "Impossible. Even with my fragmented memories from that time, I knew F-Poison was a man, an old man, not unlike Baron Brooks back in the day. He vanished soon after, leaving no impression on me."

"Did he disappear right after Noah rescued you all?"

Scott pondered for a moment, then said, "Seems like it. After we returned from Vanguard Agency with Noah, I was whisked away to a new base, and that's the last I saw of him. Had you not mentioned it, I wouldn't have even remembered."

To Scott, the mere act of surviving was a triumph. The identity of his tormentors was the least of his concerns.

Karen knew that male F-Poison had gone into hiding as a victim during the rescue operation, leaving GTO to the new female F-Poison.

But considering the current F-Poison's youthful appearance, even if she had aged gracefully, she should be in her fifties or sixties by now.

Could it be that F-Poison had passed down the mantle to a third generation?

Was the F-Poison Belle called "mother" the same person Scott had encountered?

"Do you remember what that woman looked like?" Karen pressed.

"No clue," Scott admitted. "She always wore a mask. I don't even know Belle's true identity. The higher-ups in GTO kept a tight leash; I had no access." Karen understood all too well. Her own cover had been blown only because Noah discovered her infiltration, leading to a near-fatal confrontation with Scott.

"I see," Karen said, rising to leave. With no reason to linger, she turned to go.

retreating figure, a mirror image of the day she fled the Brooks family-resolute

"Karen."

softly spoken,

half-turned to face Scott, who stepped forward, his hands gripping the electrified barrier, his gaze filled with longing,

a next time, could we

lips twitched, her eyes locked

us, there's nothing worth reminiscing

as effortless as the closing

would make them kindred spirits if they were not adversaries. But as enemies, Karen would prioritize killing him

an arranged marriage

just elope with Mr. Wolf then," Vivienne retorted

entered just in time to overhear Vivienne's mention of eloping with Mr. Wolf

moment, he imagined

haven't made an honest

you're too old to be making such

Karen and Vivienne chorused, then, arm in arm, they strolled

who could blame him for

prison, Percival passed the information about everyone in the

back then and Noah's wife, the rest, including their families, have settled in hotels owned by the Ellington Group. There's also the eldest, now battling cancer in the ICU." Among the twelve, excluding Scott, Karen, the

breath. "Looks like we've got seven house

smiled, ruffling her hair.

the best." Vivienne leaned in for

watching the lovebirds with a content smile, not a hint of the typical mother-in-law's consciousness. Thomas sighed; he