The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne) novel Chapter 750

Vivienne's fingers froze atop her phone screen, Griffin's contact highlighted. The sudden pause was punctuated by a sense of déjà vu.

A café?

Why did that sound so hauntingly familiar?

She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "How could I have forgotten about this?"

Meanwhile, in a café, Victoria perched in a reserved booth, her gaze drifting over the bustling crowd through the panoramic windows.

Irritation flickered in her eyes.

Vivienne!

She really had some nerve!

Twice now!

That wretched woman had stood her up twice!

Calls unanswered, texts ignored, just like she had vanished off the face of the earth. How could Richard have ever approved of such a granddaughter-in-law, bringing shame to the Ellington name?

And Percival!

Birds of a feather indeed. Both just as unreliable as the other!

Victoria gnashed her teeth on the freshly served scones as if she were biting into Vivienne and Percival, those two good-for-nothings. "Let's go find War God! Damn it, I refuse to believe I can't handle the two of you!"

...

Over at Northway City, within the Grimshaw estate—a structure reminiscent of a middle-age castle—Oliver Grimshaw sat at Asher's bedside.

Looking at his unconscious son, he snatched a cup from the desk and hurled it at Isaac's forehead. "Useless! Can't even handle a simple task, and now the young master's been hurt. What use are you to me?!"

"Please, forgive me, Patriarch!"

Despite the modern era, the Grimshaws clung to archaic traditions.

Isaac dropped to his knees, forehead pressed to the ground. "We underestimated the situation. We never anticipated a young woman could be so formidable. I suspect she might come from an ancient warrior lineage."

"Absurd!"

Another teacup flew. "You think I'm a fool? How powerful could a twenty-something-year-old possibly be? Go on, inquire about it. See if there's a family with such a prodigy. Wouldn't those old coots be parading her around like a trophy by now?"

Even the Grimshaws, as one of the five major families, had no such genius.

What could those old fools possibly boast to have such a talent? And if they did, he'd have eliminated them already!

"Enough! Down you go to receive your punishment. I'll give you one more chance. Whatever it takes, that bio-weapon must be retrieved!"

Oliver pounded the desk emphatically. "If fate has placed this opportunity before us, then it's destined to be the Grimshaw's."

...

Back at the café in Rivenwood a day later, Victoria was still fuming over being stood up.

Even facing Arthur, her words were laced with bitterness. "War God, for the sake of my mother who once aided you, could you please convey a message to the Ellingtons? Vivienne and Percival have gone too far! They're clearly toying with me!"

Arthur listened sternly, his fingers tapping the tabletop intermittently. "You're too impulsive. Vivienne and Percival are both shrewd; you've had past issues with them. It's no wonder they don't trust you."