The Million-Dollar Heart

Vivienne and Percival's paperwork went through without a hitch. After a quick lunch, they wrapped up all the formalities within half an hour and collected the various IDs and permits issued by the authorities. The newlyweds' first stop was to drive to the HK Penitentiary.

After some restructuring by the Vanguard Agency, several convicts had been transferred from their previous underground cells to these more secure facilities.

Now, they were housed alongside traitors to the state and suspects involved in particularly heinous crimes.

The security was so tight, a fly couldn't buzz through the air without being zapped by one of the hidden laser guns in the corners.

It was Vivienne's first visit to this prison, and she discreetly looked around, the green light strips on the floor giving her the sensation of walking through the corridors of a high-tech spaceship from a sci-fi blockbuster.

"Are we going to send the criminals we catch to this place from now on?" Vivienne suddenly asked, turning to look at Percival.

The man nodded without hesitation, "The number of turncoats within the Vanguard Agency has the higher-ups on edge. From now on, all prisoners captured by any special division will be detained here. Without a pass from the top brass, no one is allowed to transfer them out."

brass, he meant the leader who oversaw all the

of intrigue passed through Vivienne's

they were led to the cell where Whitford

silver room. He was in a standard-issue gray jumpsuit, with black electronic shackles on his wrists. He barely glanced up at their arrival before turning back to his

his eyes slightly and gestured for

"You've got it cushy compared to your brother, Cormac. He spent over a decade doing hard labor

pricked his finger. Drops of blood fell, but he was too numb to react, his face finally showing a hint of emotion, "You've seen Cormac?" Vivienne nodded

voice resolute, "Gavin promised to look after Cormac. You think you can take someone from the head of the

"The 'care' you're talking about, is that being exiled to a

in Percival's voice halted

he's been calling Emrys 'Dad.' I bet he doesn't even remember he has a real brother. Whitford, you know the guards posted around your brother in that village can't even hold their own against the least competent

one else he cared about, his brother was his soft spot. As Vivienne's voice trailed off, he

to steal the Littleton family's pharmaceutical formulas, and conspired with

pupils dilated, his knee-jerk reaction, "Impossible, don't even think about

Whitford was unwilling to

head, her beautiful eyes meeting

effortlessly and smiled faintly, affectionately ruffling her hair. He pulled out a walkie-talkie

Soon after.

was custom-made. But Vivienne recognized it at a glance; it was the kind of bottle her mother had always favored for her most satisfactory concoctions. The feigned death serum was one of those. However, she remembered her mentor saying that the initial batch of serum had been sold off and was now