The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne) novel Chapter 461

Leopold, the leader of the first squad, knew the unwritten leadership rules all too well. So, it stood to reason that Percival, the head honcho of the entire task force, would be even more clued in.

But now, even Leopold's moves were being curtailed, never mind the liberty of the whole special squad.

Percival set aside the application form he had been holding, tapping his polished fingertip on the signature line. "Why don't you take this up with the boss yourself?"

The rage on Leopold's face fizzled out in an instant.

Would he dare?

For someone even Percival called “boss,” he was just a small fry; there was no way he would throw himself into the shark's jaws.

Leopold slumped into his chair, rubbing his temples in frustration.

After a few seconds of silence, he asked, "Boss didn't even ask you before signing off on this? Why didn't you go to him first?"

Percival took a sip of his sweet fruit juice and said, "He said since Fiona's my flesh and blood, having me sign could give someone leverage over me. If anything went sideways, there would be no one to cover for me, so he just went ahead without telling me."

Leopold's jaw worked silently, failing to snap shut.

Every word Micah said was for Percival's sake. How could anyone argue with that?

Unable to sit still any longer, Leopold cursed under his breath, stood up, and stormed out. He slammed the door behind him, not caring if he would end up getting a beating.

This was just too damn suffocating.

Percival neatly filed the application form away and glanced up at Vivienne, his eyes usually icy, now melting with a certain warmth. "Vivienne, shall we go have a look?"

Vivienne rose, taking the fruit juice from Percival's hand, and sipped the rest through the straw. "Yeah, let's check it out."

...

Inside the Ellington family's private hospital.

Heloise was wailing in the hospital room, and from her cries, one could have thought her daughter Fiona was already gone.

"My poor baby," she sobbed, "Dad, you've seen it. Fiona was fine when she went in, and now she's in the ICU. Can you imagine her suffering? It's all Vivienne's fault. If not for her, my girl wouldn't be like this. Dad, even if you're mad at your son, you can't just stand by and watch your granddaughter get tortured to death!"

Heloise, her face wet with tears, laid the blame thickly on Vivienne, pouring out her grievances to Richard.

"Dad, the things Henry did, Fiona and Jeffrey weren't involved at all. I'm just an Ellington by marriage; you can ignore me, but my children are Ellingtons by blood. If you don't step up, we three might as well die now and stop bothering you!"

Richard's forehead knotted in irritation. He had never approved of Heloise marrying Henry, knowing she was not the type to settle down. But she was pregnant, and the scandal was huge. The Ellington family had no choice but to take responsibility.

He would have sacrificed half the Ellington fortune to keep such a woman out if he had known it would come to this.

Fiona weakly tugged at Heloise's sleeve on the hospital bed, her complexion ashen. "Mom, please leave us. I want to speak with Grandpa alone."

Heloise wiped her tears, knowing when to stop her theatrics. She left, allowing Fiona to make her own appeal — it was always more effective than her own hysterics.

Moreover, the more she made a scene, the more reasonable Fiona appeared. That was the real reason behind her relentless pressure.

"If you don't stand up for yourself like before, I'll disown you," Heloise warned before slamming the door behind her.

Fiona closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, they were rimmed red with distress. She turned to Richard. "Grandpa, this mess is my fault. It has nothing to do with Percival or Vivienne."

Richard seldom meddled in the younger generation's affairs. He had taken even more of a back seat since the Ellington family was now in Percival's hands.

He knew Percival had his own fish to fry and never interfered.

Fiona's stint in jail was not just a simple case of financial fraud; it was bound to be part of a bigger scandal.