The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Hospital.

Vivienne arrived first, and Draven quickly approached to report, "Boss, the target has entered the room." Vivienne nodded in acknowledgment.

In the VIP hospital room, Alyssa was about to poison "Winston" lying in the bed.

The door clicked open, and Vivienne appeared, causing Alyssa's face to drastically change. Clutching the vial of poison, her hand trembled violently, "You, how did you find this place..." Vivienne answered the question Alyssa had in mind, "Your crew has been taken care of by me." Alyssa's eyes widened in shock, "How did you find them?" Vivienne looked at her sharply, "Alyssa, or should I say, one of Abigail's minions." A pawn not even worthy of a codename.

Alyssa's expression stiffened, "You managed to trace Abigail, who exactly are you?" Vivienne stepped closer, "You don't have the right to know who I am, but I know everything about you. Your assets in Rivenwood must have surpassed the Wright family by now. I'm curious why you're so fixated on the Wright family." Hearing this, a deeply hidden hatred flashed through Alyssa's eyes. She had never cared about wealth; it was always about that one person.

Yet, he destroyed everything.

Alyssa clenched the vial tighter and yelled at Vivienne, "Stay back, or I swear I'll end his life." Vivienne smirked coldly, "Who told you he's Winston?" Alyssa paused, looking down to see that "Winston" on the bed was pale, his lips bloodless, and upon closer inspection, the man wasn't even breathing.

"A synthetic android?" "Where is Winston?" Alyssa felt on the verge of madness. Ever since Vivienne appeared, she felt as though she was being dissected inside and out. Her identity, hidden for over a decade, was effortlessly exposed by Vivienne.

And now, a synthetic android was involved.

Who was she, really? Vivienne knew what Alyssa wanted to ask, but it was her turn to question, "It's you who's been working on the immortality project for Abigail, isn't it?" "And you're not the only one from the Wright family working for Abigail. Draw them out, and maybe I'll let you live another day." Alyssa scoffed, "I don't know what you're talking about. Everything I have is thanks to Abigail, and I'd rather die than betray her." Vivienne didn't rush to act, merely stating, "After all these years working for Abigail on immortality, haven't you realized your initial approach was flawed?" Alyssa was shocked, "How could it be wrong? All of these were given toby Abigail..." Vivienne's voice turned icy, "Your research is based on my experimental groundwork. What if I told you those experiments will never lead to immortality?" The light in Alyssa's eyes dimmed by the second.

Nothing feels more like death than realizing years of work are nothing but another's discarded trash.

Alyssa's face turned ashen, "I know nothing and will tell you nothing. If you're going to kill me, just do it." Vivienne gestured, and suddenly, Alyssa's body reacted to multiple poisons at once, turning her into a vessel for deadly toxins swirling within her.

Worse than death is a life not worth living.

Alyssa never imagined Vivienne would dare to act against her.

"Vivienne, I'm part of the Wright family. If you kill me, aren't you afraid..." Vivienne's fingertips twirled, revealing several silver needles, "I'm best known for my use of poison, but ironically, my medical skills are also top-notch. Rest assured, as long as I'm not bored, I can experiment with every known toxin on you." Alyssa's face lost all color, but the thought of enduring endless torture was terrifying.

"I'll talk, I'll tell you everything..." Percival encountered Arthur and his wife at the hospital entrance and they went upstairs together.

In the room, Vivienne had already extracted all the information she needed.

With a flick of her wrist, Alyssa collapsed to the floor like a discarded ragdoll.

"Mr. Wolf, you're here." Percival nodded, stepping forward to shake Vivienne's hand, "Why didn't you wait forto handle this?" Vivienne shook her head, "It was a minor issue." Alyssa caught a glimpse of Arthur, but he didn't spare her a single look, not even a glance of disgust or disdain, which would have been preferable to hisplete O indifference. What did her decade of sacrifices amount to? Suddenly, a pair of red high heels halted outside the door.

Alyssa's eyes shifted tically, and seeing the two people in front of her, she pulled a knife from behind and stabbed viciously towards Percival.

"You deserve to die!" Percival stood unmoved, merely raising his hand to tightly grip Alyssa's neck, his voice low and indifferent, "Foolish." Alyssa looked at Percival in disbelief; he had abilities! Abigail never mentioned, nor had she heard from others, that Percival possessed such powers.

Before Alyssa could ponder further, a surge of blood welled up in her throat, and she spat out blood, realizing her end was near. "You'll never defeat Abigail." With blood trailing from her mouth but her eyes firmly on the door, it was as if she hadpleted sfinal, dying mission.

She knew once she becuseless to that person, her fate would be the sas now.

After speaking, Alyssa ceased breathing.

Vivienne quickly chased outside, only to see a flash of red disappearing around the corridor's corner.

Her eyes narrowed.

After waiting so long, she finally drew them out.

Around the corner, just as she was about to catch the red figure, she collided with someone.

"Ouch, who's the blind fool that knocked over an old lady like this..." Vivienne's gaze turned icy in a heartbeat.

The person she bumped into was none other than Hailey.

What are the odds? Hailey, clutching her chest and leaning against the wall, looked overly shocked.

Realizing it was Vivienne she collided with, Hailey grimaced in disdain. "Ugh, it's you." Vivienne didn't believe in such coincidences. More often than not, they were engineered.

Yet, she couldn't spot any signs of disguise on Hailey's face.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she stepped forward, pressing, "What brings you here at this time?" Hailey, infuriated, retorted, "Your grandfather's not around, and if I didn't show up, the Linklater family's reputation would be in ruins because of you, the disgracefu heir.

Haven't you heard the Wrights demanding an explanation from us!" "Do you know Alyssa?" Vivienne cut in sharply.

Hailey's voice spiked, "What kind of question is that? The Wrights just stormed into the Linklater estate today, I'm not blind. Of course, I recognize people." Vivienne's voice turned cold, "How did you find this place?" Hailey, growing impatient, snapped, "What do you mean 'how'? I asked around, obviously." "But this building was a trap for Alyssa, set by me. Nobody knew I had Winston on this floor. Who exactly did you ask?" Hailey, feeling cornered, stepped back and pointed angrily at Vivienne. "Insolent child, yelling at your elders like that, is this how your parents raised you? Call them here; I want to hear their explanation for your behavior." mmMwWLlilOfiflO&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLliI0fiflO&1 mmMwWLlilOfiflO&1 mmMwWLliI0fifl0&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1