The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne) novel Chapter 535

Patrick was floored by the girl before him, his words catching in his throat as he fell silent.

Quincy did not bother with further conversation. Grabbing her press pass from the table, she stood up and left.

Patrick tugged at his tie, exhaling a long breath of relief.

Dealing with the devil always comes at a price, he mused.

After leaving Patrick's press conference, Quincy took a shortcut and emerged transformed, her professional aura all but gone.

Dressed in a tank top with overalls and sporting a baseball cap, she slung a canvas bag over her shoulder, the picture of a college student.

She waited at the crossroads until a nondescript black Volkswagen pulled up.

"Are you my Uber?" Quincy asked.

The driver poked his head out, sunglasses masking his eyes. "Yeah, hop in, sweetheart."

Quincy smiled and opened the door. Soon, the Volkswagen blended into the stream of city traffic.

"Captain Wolf, can't you guys get me a better ride next time? This one just doesn't suit my style," Leopold grumbled from the driver's seat, resting one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the door.

Percival, seated in the passenger seat, turned his head slightly, disregarding Husky's complaints.

In the backseat, Quincy tipped her cap to greet Vivienne. "Long time no see."

"You've gotten taller." Vivienne smiled back.

They skipped the small talk, diving straight into the heart of the matter.

"Ever since the operation to take down Mark ended, I've been out of the loop, just lying low in Rivenwood. After the lab was blown up by someone named Willa, I got zero instructions. It was not until yesterday that I was suddenly told to come to Sea City and give Patrick his next assignment."

Vivienne nodded. "Have you met the big boss?"

"Nope, all I know is that the boss goes by F-Poison. The orders come through online messages. I've tried tracking him, but there's nothing to trace." Quincy pulled out her phone and showed a forum post from F-Poison detailing the assignment.

Vivienne tried to trace the source on her laptop but hit a dead end.

"Their old network's been beefed up since our mentor's days. We can't track it with what we've got," Percival said, looking back at them.

Karen had indeed left behind a backdoor, but after all these years, GTO had upped their game. Plus, the original backdoor was locked away at Vanguard Agency headquarters, probably already compromised by the traitor.

Breaking into GTO's internal network was a pipe dream now.

Vivienne sighed, burdened by the thought of having such a clever mother.

Quincy pocketed her phone. "As for the bomb on the ship, I was out of the loop. That was another team under F-Poison."

"Another team?"

"That's right," Quincy confirmed. "After Mr. B, namely Belle, was captured, I thought F-Poison would activate us, the underlings, but it never happened, and the operations kept running smoothly. This leads me to believe Mr. B was not the real second-in-command or that others at her level are still out there."

"So, you're saying F-Poison has more than one so-called second-in-command like Belle?" Leopold queried.

"Exactly. Like the bomb incident—handled by her deputy in Sea City. I've yet to figure out who that is," Quincy said, which aligned with Vivienne's suspicions.

Take Patrick, for instance. If it had not been for this trip to Sea City and the discovery of the bionic scandal, Vivienne would never have suspected him.