The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Kaitlyn's issues with her in-laws were, in reality, a mountain made out of a molehill.

She and Percival were now part of the country's elite, and in cases like theirs, where injustice was evident, all it took was a word to

the right people and the wheels of resolution would begin to turn.

However, Kaitlyn's goals extended beyond merely dealing with the figures of the past.

Firstly, she wanted to send a clear warning to the ancient warrior lineage, and secondly, she sought to flush out those lurking in the

shadows by making her presence felt.

After all, sfolks preferred to operate from the background, which made things rather tricky.

Leopold, picking up on the signal, bellowed into the phone, "Jerry, did you catch that? Vivienne wants you to serve a notice to two

individuals..."

Jerry replied with controlled irritation, "I heard you the first time. I'm not deaf. Tell Vivienne I'll have the delivery to her by this

afternoon, and she shouldn't worry."

Leopold had the speakerphone on, and Jerry's cool voice filled the entire hospital room.

Vivienne gave him smore instructions before telling Leopold to hang up.

She spoke again, "Matthew senta message last night; they've found the person who slandered Julian. Kaitlyn, I'm going to

have Anna cand help you with Julian later. As for your place, we've already sent someone for protection, so there's no need to

worry."

"Thank..."

Kaitlyn choked up, unable to finish her gratitude as her phone jangled with urgency.

Tyler's voice cthrough, panicked and loud, "Kaitlyn, whatever you do, don't let the elders go online. That family has gone too

far—they're playing the victim!"

"Oh, con, these people sure move fast!" Leopold had already whipped out his phone at Tyler's advice against going online.

He tapped into social media, and the top trending hashtag was [#TeacherSexualAbuselLeadsToStudentSuicide]

From second to fifth place were related tags: [#CassidyResponds], [#Cassidy'sMotherSpeaksOut], [#]ulianAbusesPower], and so

on.

The video recorded by Zinnia alongside Cassidy, who was lying in a hospital bed, not knowing if he'd live or die, was pushed to the

top by influencers.

The comment section was filled with outrage!

[This old predator should just die! At his age, he's still harming people! Why didn't the parents file a complaint at the time?]

[Is the department even capable of handling cases like this?! They arrest the guy and then let him go?! | seriously wonder if Julian

has someone backing him!]

[Obviously! Who else could be so arrogant?]

[This old creep, why hasn't he been run over by a car by now?! How did he ever beca top-tier teacher? | can't believe what

kind of students he's shaping!]

[I've got a scoop: | heard Julian is backed by none other than Miss Vivienne Hawthorn—yep, the future lady of the Ellington estate.]

[The person above, at least base your rumors on something. Ms. Vivienne was so young back then. She wasn't even in Rivenwood

yet, hadn't been reclaimed by the Brooks. How could she back Julian?]

A slew of inflammatory and obscene comments scrolled before Leopold's eyes.

Even without a close relationship with Kaitlyn, he couldn't help but look more and more displeased.

Vivienne and Kaitlyn didn't need to check their phones to know how vicious the online mob was—Leopold's face said it all.

"They're certainly eager to get started."

Vivienne's voice was cool but tinged with anger.

Then, her red lips curved into a cold smile, "Since that's the case, let's add fuel to their fire."

Percival's eyes narrowed, and he commanded with a frosty tone, "Thomas, send sof our people over and get the elders out of

here."

Kaitlyn asked, "Mr. Ellington, do you mean the Abernathy family might make a move on my in-laws? What about Tyler and my

daughter..."

"The Littleton family, I've already sent someone," Vivienne reassured her. "We'll leave through the hospital's back door in a bit. If

all goes as expected, it won't be calm here for much longer."

Leopold shook his phone, "I've got the car on its way. I'll go with Thomas to find a couple of wheelchairs. There's no tto waste,

we need to move now."

Leopold's sense of urgency occasionally surpassed even Vivienne's.

As they entered the elevator with the wheelchairs, a group armed with cameras stormed into Julian's room, unstoppable even by

the hospital security.

"Julian?! Where's Julian?! Hand him over, that old coot. Today, I'm going to teach him a lesson!"

"What kind of hospital is this?! Taking in a man who deserves to be cut a thousand times, have you no conscience?!"

"Julian, cout! Where are you hiding?! Is the hospital hiding him?!"

The commotion was tremendous, stirring patients from neighboring rooms to investigate.

Upon learning they were next to an alleged rapist, they were quick to join the outrage.

Hidden from view, Vivienne and Percival watched the chaotic crowd with detached, icy eyes, "The Abernathy family seems quite

eager for the old folks to die. I'm curious who could've cup with such a venomous plot."

"Who else could it be?" Percival scoffed with disdain.

Besides them, only the Abernathy family and the so-called suicidal child's parents knew of the elders frail health. It was likely the

Abernathy's second daughter who had orchestrated this scheme.

Vivienne patted Percival on the shoulder and turned to leave, her voice tinged with dismissive curiosity. “Tell me, how much of the

old Littleton family recipe do you reckon the Abernathys had a hand in?”

In the Schram family files, Vivienne had stumbled upon something intriguing.

Contrary to the down-and-out facade Harrison had once displayed to Kaitlyn, the Schram family was virtually unknown

domestically. Internationally, however, they were a heavyweight corporation.

Both families were in the pharmaceutical industry, specializing in anti-aging and antioxidant supplements.

At first glance, there seemed to be no connection to the Abernathys. But deep in Harrison's records, there was a shareholder from

over a decade ago named Whitford Abernathy, hailing from Rivenwood. He was once as close as brothers with Gavin.

For reasons unknown, they had a falling out, and Whitford took his money and left for foreign shores.

This sWhitford was also an investor in the Littleton family business.

Moreover, Whitford held a peculiar, if not critical, position within the GTO organization.

However, following the death of Francis and the disappearance of Samantha, the organization had begun to unravel. Sfled,

others were captured.

Whitford was among those apprehended. Rumors swirled that there were people moving heaven and earth to bail him out.

Vivienne flexed her fingers contemplatively. “Immortality, it seems, is a lure for the powerful. Samantha craved it, the ancient

warrior bloodlines too. To go to such lengths for a so-called eternal life, causing the deaths of so many innocents... How are they

any different from demons?”

Percival shrugged and ruffled Vivienne’s hair affectionately. “Human nature is never satisfied, my dear. Our job is to pull down

those who are too greedy for their own good.”

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