The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Eliza squinted her eyes and then burst into tears, spilling the beans about everything Vivienne had done in the Boyd Mansion.

From the first day she arrived, insisting the whole family disinfect and kneel to welcher, to the gruesact of cutting off Wendy's hand, Eliza left no stone unturned in her vivid recount.

The crowd was in disbelief. How could Vivienne, just a young girl, be so extreme? Eliza then produced a video as evidence. “This is from our hsecurity system. Every single thing she did is captured here. I'm not lying!” The video played out before their eyes, and gasps of shock were heard, especially during the chilling moment Vivienne severed Wendy's hand.

Vivienne did not deny her actions and calmly admitted, “Yes, | did those things.” “Vivienne, if you hadn't done all this, how could my mother have passed away so suddenly? It’s all because of you. You better givethe Boyd family siring back now. It belongs to our family, and you don’t deserve to wear it!” Eliza’s accusations, backed by the video, filled everyone with righteous indignation towards Vivienne.

Watching Eliza's tear-stained face, Vivienne just smiled. “Why don’t we watch the rest of the video?” Eliza was puzzled. The footage of the hand-cutting had already played.

What more could there be? The crowd turned their attention back to the screen only to see Vivienne reattach Wendy's hand, followed by the Boyd family members beating her on the ground. Then, the video showed Eliza smothering her mother to death with a pillow! Eliza stumbled backward in shock. x] Impossible. She had deleted that part of the video and even destroyed the hard drive.

How could it still exist? The room fell silent.

“Eliza killed her!” “My God, her own mother...” “This is horrifying. Someone, call the police!” As if on cue, a police car pulled up outside the funeral home, and out stepped Cecilia and Nathan.

Vivienne approached, removed the Boyd family siring from her finger, and handed it to Cecilia.

Eliza’s wish had finally ctrue.

She saw Vivienne relinquish the Boyd family ring and caught sight of Nathan, whom she had not seen in over twenty years.

But the ring went to Cecilia, and Nathan was there with the police to arrest her.

“Officer, she is Eliza Boyd, the main culprit behind the murder of my beloved mother. Please, take her away,” Nathan said, sheltering Cecilia in his arms without sparing a glance at Eliza.

Eliza was deaf to the murmurs around her; her eyes were fixed on Nathan.

She wanted to approach him, to ask why he did not love her.

But it was too late.

The police pinned Eliza to the ground, handcuffed her, and escorted her into the police car.

Suddenly, Eliza coughed up blood and, with a jolt, burst into manic laughter.

“I was supposed to marry Nathan! Letgo! I'm Mrs. Ellington! That Cecilia is nothing, I've killed her, I killed her...” Percival shielded Vivienne’s eyes and whispered, “Vivienne, did you do this?” Vivienne shook her head. “No, it was her own undoing. She couldn't handle the shock and went mad.” Eliza's plans had backfired spectacularly. She thought she could secure the ring and get closer to Nathan by orchestrating this funeral, but she had been deluding herself.

Whether twenty years ago or today, Nathan's eyes had only ever held Cecilia.

Cecilia nestled into Nathan's embrace, her eyes moist with emotion. She had thought her estrangement from her family would be her final chapter, yet here she was amid an unbelievable turn of events.

Nathan stroked Cecilia's hair. “It's okay now, Cecilia.” Cecilia glanced at her mother’s portrait, and Eliza's deranged screams seemed to fade away.

With that, Cecilia's ties to the Boyd family had truly vanished into thin air.

Wendy's funeral had sent shock-waves through Sea City; it was a story that demanded discussion due to the sheer weight of its revelations.

Vivienne brought Cecilia and Nathan to her villa, not expecting that Maddox would already be waiting for them.

“Cecilia, Nathan, allowto introduce myself. I'm Vivienne’s uncle, Maddox Perez. You can just callMaddox,” he said with a familiarity that took Cecilia and Nathan aback.

Nathan shook Maddox's hand warmly. “Mr. Perez, I've heard much about you.” Maddox slapped Nathan's shoulder chummily. “We're all family here, no need for formalities. Con, Cecilia, take a seat. I've been briefed about the family situation. Don’t worry. I'll handle the aftermath in Sea City. No one messes with the Perez family on my watch. You two just enjoy your stay.” Faced with Maddox's boisterousness, Nathan was unsure how to respond.

Cecilia, too, was unsure how to interact with Maddox, leading to an awkward silence.

Vivienne stepped in to smooth things over. “Uncle, why don’t you let them rest?” “Right, right, you two go on and get srest. We can plan sfun activities for tomorrow,” Maddox said, waving them off with a carefree gesture.

Nathan, nodding, led Cecilia back to their room.

Were the Perez family not supposed to be composed? Maddox was quite the character, unsettling yet oddly endearing.

Vivienne shook her head with a resigned chuckle. “Uncle, you've scared Mom and Dad half to death.” “Nonsense! With these good looks? Impossible to scare the in-laws. Rest easy!” Percival rubbed his forehead in mild exasperation. He really wished Leopold would tone it down a notch in the future.Books Chapters Are Daily Updated Join & Stay Updated for All Books Updates...

“Alright, down to brass tacks,” Maddox said, stretching out in his chair, legs crossed. “Vivienne, did you manage to get your hands on that document?” Vivienne nodded. Before the funeral service had even started, she had gone to the Boyd Mansion to retrieve the document and was thinking about asking Maddox for help with the translation.

She pulled out the document. “Uncle, could you please...” “Hey, we're family here. No need for formalities.” Maddox snapped his fingers, cutting her off.

Then, he chuckled, asking, “The Boyd family’s siring—where is it?” “Right here,” Percival said, drawing the ring from his pocket. With the day’s chaos, Cecilia had entrusted it to him for safekeeping.

Maddox placed the ring over a particular symbol on the document. “Just watch.” Vivienne and Percival looked on, astonished as the cryptic characters, reminiscent of hieroglyphics, transformed under the gemstone’s glow, revealing coherent text! No wonder Eliza had been so desperate for the siring—it was the key to translating the document! “Vivienne, this document was originally drafted by the Perez family, containing intricate details about bionic technology—far more advanced than anything the Ashford family has cup with,” Maddox explained, flipping to the section on bionics. “Take a look for yourself. Whoever you want to develop this with, you find them. This document is now entirely in your hands. Have fun with it.”