The Million-Dollar Heart

Halfway through dinner, Daphne took the initiative, lifting her wine glass in a toast to Vivienne. "Viv, this one's for you, on behalf of my precious Emily. If it hadn't been for you taking her away from that godforsaken place of Havenwood and mentoring her, I can't begin to

imagine what could have become of her."

"Now, seeing her thriving by your side, I reckon it's the universe doing us a solid."

Perhaps memories of her own past trials made her emotional, as Daphne's eyes briefly welled up.

Vivienne stood up, her response heartfelt, "You're giving me too much credit. Emily's success at Vanguard Agency is all her own doing. All I did was recognize her potential."

Then, replacing her wine with a glass of water nearby, she added, "Been battling a bit of a cold, hope you don't mind my switching to water."

Daphne nodded in understanding, letting her be at ease, as she herself downed the wine.

The dinner went smoothly, wrapping up in a warm atmosphere. Vivienne offered Daphne a ride home.

As they left the restaurant, a sudden chill of danger washed over them. Across the street, a group of menacing figures in black, armed and heading straight for them, appeared out of nowhere.

"Viv, watch out!" Emily was the first to react, instinctively stepping in front of Vivienne.

Before Emily could act, a dozen elite guards materialized around Vivienne, swiftly encircling the attackers.

The confrontation was quickly contained, with Vivienne's gaze turning icy.

These were operatives of Mr. Wolf, a last resort not deployed lightly.

Abigail had

glanced their way, a gun blatantly

her eyebrow, Vivienne prepared to counter,

only to see someone else had already stepped in front of

focused

singular: safeguard Vivienne at

hit by the

"Mom! Are you okay? Please, don't

to follow the shooter as

Daphne herself. She carefully extracted the bullet from her shoulder, noting a small butterfly tattoo with an existing scar. After the

her head, asking, "Where's

with concern, "We've got the shooter. She insisted on interrogating him

just sit idly by, especially not when someone she

her surgical gown, told Percival, "Call my

the day's events, hesitated but

went through minutes later, with Sasha's voice coming

straight to the point, "Mom,

which Vivienne simply replied, "Come home. We need to

hospital, with Percival ensuring Daphne's safety, Vivienne decided to check on Emily but was stopped by Percival's insistence

surgery and you

had to admit, maybe Mr. Wolf had

updated over the phone. Thomas, on the

attacker had been motivated by a significant sum of money, but the details remained

inquiry about the specifics revealed a complex plot with no clear answers, leaving more questions