The Million-Dollar Heart

The grand manor was now cloaked in darkness, save for the small pool of light at their feet, where the beam of a flashlight fought back the shadows. The two of them had been standing there in a defensive stance for what felt like an eternity, half an hour at least, while silence reigned supreme.

Other than the sound of their own breathing, not a single sign of trouble pierced the quiet.

The burly bodyguard, whom the staff called "Bulldog," scowled, "Damn it, what's going on? Is this just a freaking blackout?"

The possibility of Huxley attempting an escape was laughable. From the moment he'd returned, the Boyd Estate had been locked down tighter than Alcatraz. Mara, the pampered heiress, always had a bodyguard tailing her. Trying to slip away under these circumstances? It would take a Houdini, not a Huxley.

The second bodyguard, known as "Hawk" for his keen eyes, slowly relaxed his stance but remained on high alert. "No idea," he muttered before pulling out his radio.

"Team three, report in. We've got an electrical issue in the manor. Send someone to check the fuse box. I refuse to believe that in a place this swanky, we'd just happen to run into a stroke of bad luck."

In the darkness, Mara crouched at the corner of the hallway, her eyes fixed on the only illuminated spot in the villa. She bit her lip in frustration. She had managed to sabotage the lighting system, and yet these goons weren't budging. How was she supposed to rescue Huxley if they wouldn't leave their post?

Her palms pressed against the wallpaper, her manicured nails inadvertently scratching it, producing a faint, telltale noise.

"What was that?" Hawk, with his acute hearing, picked up on the slight disturbance. In the hush that surrounded them, it might as well have been a siren. At his prompt, the chandelier above flickered back to life.

In the renewed glow, Huxley looked up, his chapped lips twisting into a sardonic smile. "Idiots."

flared, her hiding spot was exposed, and

eyes with her. "Ms. Boyd, what are you doing

"I... I got scared! The power went out, and I didn't dare stay alone, so I came out to check..." She batted

not to complicate matters further. "The power's back now, Ms. Boyd. You should return to your room," Bulldog said, without a

glance before averting her eyes and scampering back to her

Mara burst out of the house, desperation in her voice. "Percival, why have you taken so long to come?"

back, taking Vivienne with

Thud!

the ground hard, her fall breaking the morning

but laugh at the sight of Mara sprawled on the

air as Mara lay there, indecision written all over her face. Eventually, she pushed herself up, "Percival, you're finally here. If you hadn't come, my brother would've

got to do with me?" Vivienne asked,

like my brother and me, but you've drugged us, and now you've locked him up. This is an infringement of

"Rights? Ms. Boyd, did you ever go to

at them. It's illegal to detain my

fools and looked to Percival

his wife's hand, and Thomas stepped forward to pull Mara aside. "I ordered Huxley's detention. If you have a

other than his guards. "Percival, what right do you have to hold me? What have