The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Scott suddenly grabbed Calista’s neck, pulling her roughly toward him as his eyes blazed with a chilling

intensity.

“No? Then you’ll die for it!”

Calista’s eyes reddened with fear, and tears streamed down her face instantly.

She knew Scott was serious—he would undoubtedly let her die.

Disgusted, Scott pushed Calista away and wiped his hands with a tissue. “Brody has bugged you. Get

back to the lab tomorrow, work on that virus with TIC Research Institute, and don’t screw up.”

Calista nodded in understanding. “Yes, I’ve got it.”

Scott gave Calista a cold glance that carried the same annoyance as he felt with her mother.

Then, donning his mask, he stood up and left. He still had to track down Rowan and Ismene.

Those two had betrayed the organization, and they would not be forgiven.

In the restaurant, Vivienne bit into a juicy steak, scrolling through messages on her phone.

[Vivienne, Timothy’s fine. The Brooks family business is a bit messy, but Baron’s in charge, so it’s

stable. Timothy’s been auditing the company accounts lately.]

While chewing on her steak, Vivienne replied. [If Timothy’s alright, then check on Carl. Make sure their

whole family’s safe.]

Matthew responded promptly. [On it.]

Vivienne was engrossed in her phone, oblivious to Percival’s longing gaze from across the table.

It was not until Vivienne reached for the next dish that she noticed Percival’s eager eyes.

“Mr. Wolf, do I look that appetizing to you?”

A shadow flickered in Percival’s eyes, which seemed to linger on Vivienne. “Yes, you do look quite

appetizing.”

“Then eat up. You’ve got a match this afternoon.” Vivienne forked some salad into her mouth.

Percival raised an eyebrow. “You know?”

Vivienne glanced up. “Snake lost their championship chance in the team match three years ago, but a

month later, they came back and took six titles in a row. There’s no way they did that by themselves.”

After all, as Hawk’s top coach, Vivienne knew all about the history of her old rival, Snake.

Snake, though fresher with new blood compared to Hawk, still lagged in skill.

Back in their prime, Bennett and his team could outplay many professional gamers worldwide.

But with slower reflexes now and Hawk’s lack of funds to attract promising new players, they were in

decline.

Meanwhile, Snake had the backing of Kenneth’s financial empire, willing to spend and nurture talent.

With a mysterious coach joining three years ago, they quickly surpassed old rival Hawk to become the

top in the nation.

Vivienne had been curious about this secretive coach. She had sent Matthew to investigate but to no

avail.

Now that she had met Percival, the pieces fell into place.

She had never imagined facing off against Mr. Wolf.

Percival no longer hid his intentions, switching his finely cut steak onto Vivienne’s plate and raising his

juice glass in a toast. “Then, Vivienne, good luck.”

Vivienne licked the salad dressing from the corner of her mouth, her eyes sparkling mischievously. She

raised her glass and clinked it lightly against his. “Mr. Wolf, Hawk won’t hold back.”

…

The teams for the group stage were announced on the first day of the qualifiers.

Hawk and Snake both made it to the group stage but were not placed in the same group.

Kenneth smirked at the grouping information, taunting Bennett across the room, “Tell Aaron we’ll see

him in the finals—if you guys make it that far.”

Bennett pocketed the information and said with a nonchalant smile, “Why don’t you tell Aaron yourself?

I saw you carrying Aaron back to the lounge at lunch. Seems like you’re quite close.”

With that, Bennett left the drawing room with a flourish.

Everyone present knew about the tension between Kenneth and Aaron.

But now, Kenneth looked like Aaron’s “little lackey,” carrying him back to the lounge.

Everyone knew about the fiery temper of Kenneth, the young heir of the Ellington family.

“You!” Kenneth was so enraged he nearly choked.

It was a last resort!

No way would he let his brother get his hands dirty.

Kenneth clenched his jaw fiercely. “Just wait until we meet in the match—your whole team will be

packing their bags!”

The next day, both Hawk and Snake had a breather from the qualifiers. Vivienne and Percival set up

training tasks for their teams and headed to the hospital together.

Though there was no real reason for Percival to go to the hospital, he felt he had to.

Just to prevent some people from distributing business cards willy-nilly.

But Percival was overthinking it; the one prone to careless card distribution, Yuri, was busy pacifying

his father.

“Dad, I realize I was wrong.”

“What good does knowing you’re wrong do? Can it spare my granddaughters any suffering? You’re

good for nothing but trouble. If your brother hadn’t let it slip, I’d still be in the dark about my dear

granddaughters being in danger. Have you become so bold as to keep secrets from me now?”

Jasper ranted, pounding his cane, his eyes reddening with anger.

Yuri stood silently, not daring to breathe too loud while his father ranted.

“If outsiders didn’t know better, they’d think the Perez family is cursed, always losing our treasures.

Why can’t you careless boys get lost instead? It’s infuriating!”

Jasper’s heart ached for his granddaughters, and his thoughts turned to his daughter.

The thought of something happening to her…

He could not bear to think of it.

Sasha…

Yuri could see the distant look in his father’s eyes; it was clear that his father was thinking of Sasha

again.

He knelt before Jasper, saying, “Dad, don’t be mad, alright? You can yell at me, or heck, give me a

whipping. I’ll buy a hundred belts, and you can keep going until you’re satisfied. How about that?”

Jasper grunted, but anger would never drive him to actually whip his own son.

Flesh and blood, after all, was flesh and blood.

“Get out of here. What use is whipping you? Just make sure Zelda is alright. She must be scared out of

her wits. Look after your wife, and don’t worry about me.”

Yuri chuckled. “Yeah, I got it, Dad. I’ll follow your wise words to the letter.”

“Scram.”

During their exchange, Vivienne and Percival had also approached.

“Mr. Perez,” Vivienne called out.

She looked up, taken aback.Books Chapters Are Daily Updated Join & Stay Updated for All Books

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This was the elderly gentleman who wanted to buy a painting that day!

Jasper’s eyes lit up at the sight of Vivienne, “Oh, it’s you, young lady.”

“Yes, we meet again, Mr. Perez.”

For some reason, Vivienne felt a flicker of excitement.

Why did a chance reunion move her with a man she had only met once?

Jasper stood up, expressing his gratitude. “Young lady, you saved my granddaughters, Natalia and

Yasmine Perez. They owe their lives to you. I can’t thank you enough.”

Vivienne stopped him. “No thanks are necessary, Mr. Perez. You’ve already given me a reward.”

Yuri helped Jasper steady himself, “Dad, let Vivienne check on Yasmine and Natalia first. We can catch

up later. Please, have a seat.”

“Thank you, young lady,” Jasper said, looking intently at Vivienne with increasing fondness.

In the past, if anyone stared at Vivienne like that, they would have been in for a world of trouble.

But now, all she felt was warmth.

She could sense the kindness and love of the elderly in Jasper’s eyes.