The Million-Dollar Heart

Vivienne's gaze shifted across the room, the corners of her lips curling up slightly. "Harrison, surely you must recognize some of these faces. Back in the day, as an intern, you joined the Littleton family's R&D team to develop new products. These people were your partners and mentors."

Harrison's hand, hidden under the table, clenched his shirt tightly. Ignoring Vivienne, he rasped in disbelief, "Blake, Trent, how could you do this to me?"

"How much did Vivienne pay you to bear false witness against me?"

Jerry cleared his throat, "These witnesses haven't spoken yet. How do you know it's perjury?"

Harrison shot back, "Why else would you bring them here if not to pin the crime of ingratitude on me? Mrs. Littleton, I respected your kindness to me back then and didn't quarrel with you. After all these years, why can't you let me go?"

Leopold, sitting among the audience, glanced at Harrison's reddened eyes. "This guy's quite the actor," he remarked.

He elbowed Thomas, "Is this what they call a 'male gold digger' on the internet?"

"Clearly," was the unspoken reply.

Before Thomas could respond, a crisp female voice surprised them from behind.

Leopold turned sharply, just in time to catch a grimace of pain, "Griffin Martinez! A little heads-up next time, you scared me half to death!"

Seeing Leopold's lips turn pale, a flicker of concern crossed Griffin's eyes. "Oh dear, I thought you knew. Are you okay? Need me to check?"

Leopold quickly waved her off, "No, no, I'm fine!"

"Oh." Griffin looked slightly dejected, her disappointment visible.

Thomas couldn't stand it and shot his brother a look that clearly read: That's why you're single!

silently protested

jerk you were

was palpable, much to Leopold's annoyance. "He's nothing but a wolf in sheep's

in the

sitting not too far from them, caught every

an idea, thinking

if Emrys and the others recanted. That could

was already a pawn being sacrificed,

are you familiar with them?" Gavin

to Victoria, who was clearly bored, "When you visited Vivienne, did you manage to

Victoria, yawning, showed little

"What could

Vivienne and

because of

share their plans with me? They're not

was

Vivienne

be plotting against Gavin? What a delightful

someone was after Gavin, he'd likely help them along. Protecting

been dead. His life or death held no

Abernathy family's assets didn't fall into Madeline

between shades of anger, about to lash out, but

on his cane tightened, his demeanour changing