The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

The “Destruction Plan” was the ill-fated op that Karen led with the Vanguard Agency's elite squad, ending in a devastating failure.

After the mission's collapse, Lark went AWOL, Micah vanished into obscurity, and Vance Edwards went deep undercover while the rest of the special squad was nearly wiped out.

Years later, Lark's deputy team leader, Daphne, met a mysterious end.

Lark herself ended it all with a supposed suicide.

Due to the tragic consequences of the mission, the “Destruction Plan” was classified as top secret by the headquarters, never to be spoken of again.

For years, Percival had been itching to unravel the whole story, but his clearance level was far from sufficient.

Now, however, no longer being a part of the Vanguard Agency, he found himself with more freedom to act.

Vance rubbed his temples, his voice grave. “You should know that even with my clearance, | can’t access those files.” “You just need to give me the “Destruction Plan” code. | know you remember it better than anyone.” The past haunted every surviving member, and Vance had once climbed to the rank of second-in-command at the Sea City Vanguard Agency HQ.

He definitely had access to the detailed case files and that unforgettable sequence of numbers.

Vance hesitated. “You're asking me to make a mistake.” “You've done it before, Vance. It's important to me.” Silence stretched on the other end of the line before Vance finally spoke, “245214216589.” After getting the information, Percival hung up and entered the code into his computer.

Seconds later, the connected printer whirred to life, detailing the “Destruction Plan” documents.

Vivienne picked up the report, scrutinizing every word, imprinting them in her memory.

For years, she had hacked into the Vanguard Agency's secure servers seeking the “Destruction Plan” files but always hit a wall at the final encryption.

No doubt, this was Karen's handiwork.

No matter how skilled the hacker, without the correct file code, the documents remained unseen.

And a wrong input would trigger a counter-hack sequence, pinpointing the intruder’s location within a second.

Thus, Vivienne had never succeeded—until now.

Percival slid over, handing Vivienne a glass of juice, and said, “How's it looking?” “Strange.” She passed the papers to Percival and began rapidly typing on her microcomputer.

Percival's printer came to life once more. Standing up, he compared the new printouts with the old; his gaze turned icy.

One was the original operation trajectory of the “Destruction Plan.” The other was the only remaining document after Karen's “suicide,” clearly showing GTO’s movements during the “Destruction Plan.” The routes matched almost perfectly.

Time-stamped analysis revealed it wasn't the Vanguard Agency chasing GTO but rather GTO ambushing the special squad! It proved that the intel on GTO’s location provided to the “Destruction Plan” was a sham! The plan was a calculated, swift annihilation of the Vanguard Agency's special squad, orchestrated by an insider in cahoots with GTO! Percival's face was as cold as ice. With such blatant evidence, no wonder Lark never returned to the Vanguard Agency.

She must have realized there was a mole within their ranks.

Vivienne turned another page, her finger tracing a red line on the map. “This route? My mom led the first squad to safety along it.” Percival clenched the document, his knuckles white. “It's because of this decision that most of the first squad survived, though they eventually walked into an ambush. Still, it was a better fate than the total loss of the other squads.” “But it's also because of her decision that the Agency suspected her, leading to the relentless pursuit,” Vivienne added, pointing at an image of the squad's uniform. “Our pursuers wore this. | remember.” Her words tightened Percival's chest.

He remembered.

Karen had trusted only him and Micah within the Vanguard Agency.

Despite being hunted from all sides, she never revealed to Percival who was after her.

Now it seemed clear—if Karen had shared the truth, it might have unleashed a storm of blood and betrayal within the Vanguard Agency, and whether Percival would have survived was anybody's guess.

Back then, his power was not yet fully developed, and even Karen was in dire straits. The truth remained buried.

But Percival had never imagined that someone within the Agency had also been gunning for Karen! The two sat in silence, the weight of revelations heavy in the air.

Although it was an open secret within the Vanguard Agency that there was a mole in their midst, and the mole had indeed been identified, the raw truth still hit hard when it was finally laid bare before one’s eyes. No matter how mentally prepared you might be, betrayal by someone you trusted implicitly is a pill too hard to swallow.

Percival turned over the last page of the dossier with a sense of dread. There, in meticulous handwriting, was the detailed operation plan.

Lark was to lead the strike team in a raid, Ashen Pigeon was in charge of logistics, and Sky was the mastermind responsible for command and control.

The plan was thorough, the product of extensive surveillance by reconnaissance experts, and the location of GTO’s stronghold was pinpointed. The Vanguard Agency had almost mobilized its entire special squad, confident and determined to ensure the mission's success with a decisive blow.Books Chapters Are Daily Updated Join & Stay Updated for All Books Updates...

Percival's eyes lingered on the name signed at the bottom of the document.

[Noah.] Vivienne saw the name, too, and she felt a peculiar interest in the name Noah.

Percival narrowed his eyes. “Vivienne, | need to see Vance.” “Okay, see you tomorrow,” Vivienne said, giving Percival a quick peck on the cheek before leaving with a smile.

After watching Vivienne go, Percival arranged to meet Vance at a tea house owned by the Ellington Group.

“What do you need?” Vance inquired as he settled into his seat.

Percival slid the document with Noah's signature across the table to Vance. “When the Vanguard Agency was getting hammered by GTO, didn’t you take any measures in response?” Vance was taken aback that Percival had singled out Noah’s name. After all, throughout the document, Noah had only one signature, while the rest bore the mark of Vance's command.

“The initial stages of the operation were successful,” Vance began, “but then Lark sensed something was off. We convened an emergency meeting and altered our tactics on the fly. It was all signed off by the higher-ups, but in the end, we still came up short. Percival, what's your angle in asking about this?”