The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne) novel Chapter 725

Percival gestured reassuringly for Vivienne to walk in.

Griffin didn't give a damn, shot Audrey a glowering look, and shoved open the door to let Vivienne in, "Grandpa's in your hands now, Vivienne."

Vivienne stumbled a bit from the push. Thankfully, her footing was solid, or she might have ended up face-first on the floor.

Talk about unexpected. No wonder she caught Leopold's eye. Both of them had a way of taking you by surprise.

...

Meanwhile, Kala was holed up at home.

When Darren got back from wrapping up some work outside, he walked in to find her chilling and watching TV, "Kala, you alright? All that online drama sorted out?"

Kala popped a potato chip into her mouth, "Not even close."

"So, you're just... chilling?"

How could she be so laid-back?

Ronald came out of the kitchen with a fruit bowl in his hands. "Don't mind her. She's been like this since she got back from the studio. Vivienne called earlier. The agency's taking over the whole mess, told her to take a few days off. Kala's over the moon."

"Well, she's happy, at least."

Darren was exasperated. "The agency's swamped. Ramona came prepared; high-def videos are all over the net, and the trolls are practically crashing the platforms with their venom."

As he spoke, he couldn't even understand. "I'm baffled, really. What's your beef with Ramona that she'd set up such a scheme to target you?"

"She's not after me." Kala finally tore her gaze away from the screen. "She's trying to drive a wedge between me and Vivienne, though I can't fathom her endgame."

"But she's a lousy actress," Kala spread her hands dismissively, "I'm not falling for such a cheap trick."

Darren clapped, impressed. "That's my cousin. I thought you were gonna be mobbed today when I heard you two squabbling."

Ronald hadn't witnessed the confrontation. but he had seen more than enough of the videos online. "This Ramona chick, she came out of nowhere?"

Darren nodded. "More like dropped from the sky. People in the biz first thought she had some kind of backing, but turns out, zip. Nothing."

The info on her was neat and tidy: parents were just regular company employees.

Aside from graduating from an Ivy League school, there wasn't much else notable about her. Her sudden rise to fame in the cutthroat entertainment industry was baffling, not just to others but even to Darren, who didn't normally cross paths with Ramona's type.

Ronald frowned in thought after hearing Darren's take. "Seems like our adversary isn't afraid of us knowing she's a nobody."

Darren agreed, "What's more, whoever is behind her has been laying the groundwork for a while now. Probably tied to that organization, the boss has been investigating."

"What organization?" Kala was curious.

The last time Vivienne came to talk to Ronald, they kept their conversation private in his room.

She only caught the tail end of it and was largely in the dark about what Vivienne and Ronald were up to.

Surprised that even Darren knew, her curiosity was piqued. "Vivienne's been out of touch for ages. Are you guys into something I don't know about?"

Ronald was at a loss for words. Revealing anything might blow his past involvement with Scott.

Glancing at Darren with a hint of irritation for his loose lips, he switched off the TV and ushered Kala to stand, "It's nothing. What could we possibly be keeping from you? Let's go have dinner."

...

Samantha strolled down the penitentiary corridor as if it were her own backyard, the click-clack of her high heels echoing crisply.

The android in the cell sensed someone approaching. Its rigid head finally moved, turning towards the door.

Blind to the outside, it could still hear a gentle female voice drift in, "Long time no see."

Samantha caressed the wall, her eyes shimmering with a complex, shadowy light.

Voice recognition allowed the android to quickly find its corresponding master in its memory chip, "I heard Vivienne and her crew found you. Are all your wounds healed?"

Samantha's movements froze as she listened to the emotionless voice. Suddenly, everything clicked, and she glanced up at the blinking red light of the surveillance camera, "Pretty much. I just came to see that you're doing 'fine.' Now that I see you are, I can rest easy."

What she meant by 'fine' was anybody's guess.

The flawed programming of the reject was evident, and it failed to produce a response in time before the sound of high heels echoed again.

Just as Samantha vanished from sight, Percival, ensconced in the grandeur of the Martinez Mansion, received a call from his underling, "Are you sure she went to the prison alone?"

The voice on the other end was cool yet respectful, "The face in the surveillance footage matches the photo you gave us."

After a brief pause, the caller added, "However, initially, we couldn't access the prison's cameras. It seemed she used some gadget to jam them. We only realized she was there after she left."

It was a daring move, no doubt about it.

And yet, they were at their wits' end with the female F-Poison, unable to catch the one who could slip through the fingers of both Vivienne and Percival. The leader of the GTO organization clearly had some tricks up her sleeve.

Percival frowned, his gaze shifting back to the closed door. "Understood. Wait for my instructions."