The Million-Dollar Heart

Vivienne paid little attention to the idle chatter as she completed a series of checks on Karen before they entered the operating room together.

Inside the pristine OR, Karen was hooked up to a plethora of monitors, all vital signs stable and within normal range.

Lying on the operating table, Karen looked up at her daughter and whispered, "Frost, I'm counting on you."

For Vivienne, there was no turning back now. All hesitation and concern had evaporated the moment they prepped for surgery. All that remained was her unwavering resolve to see her mother healed. She hugged her mother gently, whispering into her ear, much like Karen had done to soothe her to sleep when she was little.

"Mom, just take a nice long nap, and when you wake up, we'll go out for some hearty beef stew."

As the operating lights brightened, Brody stood outside, monitoring Karen's condition in real time with precision.

Percival sat rigidly outside, his expression betraying nothing of the turmoil within. Only he knew the depths of his unease-not just for his mentor's condition but for the weight on Vivienne's shoulders. Outside YQ Research Center, Willa kept vigil by the door, perched on her motorcycle, clutching the ingredients for Karen's favorite beef stew.

A gentle breeze toyed with her long hair, veiling half her face-a portrait of stoic concern.

Back at the Perez Mansion, Maddox was in the yard, building and toppling towers of blocks with Natalia and Yasmine, locked in a cycle of creation and collapse.

In the study, Jasper poured over an album filled with photos of Karen up to the age of ten. It was a thick tome, about eight inches deep, with many gaps representing the thirty-plus years Karen had been away from the Perez family, only to be filled with abundant life snapshots upon her return.

As he flipped through the pages, Jasper's silent prayers weaved through the air.

A day and night passed. Percival's back was soaked with sweat, dried, and then soaked again. The stew ingredients in Willa's grasp had lost their appeal, the blocks gleamed from Maddox's handling, and Jasper, unable to sleep, remained with the album clutched to his chest.

In the OR, Vivienne stitched the last suture, wiping a bead of blood from Karen's face. She pressed the button to signal the end of the surgery, and Brody was the first to rush in.

when the ST-1 was administered. Was it a

didn't answer but simply wheeled

the doors opened, Percival hurried forward, his gaze searching

Karen to the

had gone well, with no complication in

the ICU, Vivienne finally removed her mask and

wakes up, though, will depend

Karen's brain had been skillfully repaired, and her body had accepted

Karen's nervous system and the ST-1, plunging her mother into a deep coma-locked away in a space all her own, as if trapped within a nightmare. If Karen could

adjusting the IV drip. "Get someone from the hospital over here. The

done," Percival assured her, ruffling her hair affectionately. "You've done

soon transferred Karen to a high-level ICU, with members of the Nine Mystics

herself, and that's when

with a nod, as cool

remembering how Karen had described Willa's awkwardness even with Natalia and Yasmine being born in front of her eyes just

faced with Vivienne, Willa was just as cautious, lightly

body stiffen before slowly relaxing into

said, and they shared a smile that spoke of a

he thought, whether Vivienne or Karen or