The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne) novel Chapter 541

Gillian's grip did not loosen; if anything, it tightened with a fierce determination.

Just moments ago, she had been planning to invite Percival over to her house to negotiate a partnership with the Ellington family following her father's successful acquisition of the Boyd family.

But then, in a twist of fate as cruel as it was sudden, her father was arrested, the Ashford Mansion was seized, and her family's fortune evaporated into thin air.

The shock was unbearable; she simply could not accept it!

Unable to get her revenge on Percival or Vivienne, Gillian directed all her rage at Mara.

Just as Mara's breath was being squeezed out of her, agents from the DEA arrived in the nick of time, subduing Gillian.

Mara's life was saved, but her face was ruined beyond recognition. The infection from the cuts, made worse by the dirty porcelain doll fragments embedded in her flesh, had spread too far.

"Gillian's been arrested for assault, Mara's fallen into a depression after her disfigurement, Teresa has divorced Theodore and left the country with her kids, and Nancy has absconded with all of the Boyd family's wealth, taking her children far from Sea City. Everyone else is in prison. Ms. Vivienne, that's all there is," Anna reported the fates of the Boyd and Ashford families to Vivienne.

None of this was surprising or particularly stirring to Vivienne, except Gillian's breakdown – that was unexpected.

"Got it," Vivienne said, tucking the translated contract into her bag and donning a baseball cap before getting into her car. "Tell Mr. Wolf to wait here; I'll be back shortly."

Anna nodded, watching Vivienne drive away, already rehearsing the story she would tell Percival - Ms. Vivienne had a date!

Vivienne pulled up in front of the restaurant and stepped out, clutching her bag. Inside, the restaurant hosted only one table of diners, reserved by two familiar faces: Zachary, patriarch of the Churchill family, and William, patriarch of the Pendleton family.

"Madam." Zachary stood first, his eyes glistening slightly.

William was more composed, for Vivienne was his mentor, even though he had never imagined his mentor to be the long-sought daughter of Karen.

Vivienne nodded, indicating that they should sit.

"Why did not you tell me the truth from the beginning?" She asked directly.

Zachary and William exchanged looks before Zachary sighed. "Madam, to be frank, we had no idea you were the boss's daughter nor that her name was Vivienne. You seemed familiar when I met you in Havenwood, but I never connected the dots... If I had known, I would have safeguarded you long ago."

Realizing that Vivienne hardly needed his protection, he trailed off awkwardly.

"You didn’t know my name? Then how did Patrick recognize me so readily?" Vivienne had assumed her mother had revealed her name to them.

William snorted. "Patrick, that conniving little weasel. He stole the boss's tech reports from us and lied that they were lost. He wouldn't have been strutting around Sea City if we hadn’t lost touch over the years."

After Karen's death, the three families she had supported had secretly met, agreeing to cut off contact to avoid drawing attention to their past allegiance to Karen. They all suspected foul play in Karen's death and wanted to preserve what she had left behind. For a decade, they kept their distance from each other.

Except for Patrick, the Churches and Pendletons looked for Karen's daughter, intent on protecting her. But aside from knowing she was female, they had no other information.

Little did they know that Vivienne had grown strong enough to protect them.

"Looking back, the boss must have sensed a traitor among us, which was why she disclosed so little," William said with a grave tone, a flicker of ruthlessness crossing his eyes.

Zachary agreed, slamming his fist on the table, "That Patrick—if I'd known he was the traitor, I would have used my family's entire might to prevent him from getting away with so much for so long, nearly harming you."