The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne) novel Chapter 777

The moment Leopold spoke, the car fell into a silence that stretched for a full thirty seconds.

Vivienne looked up at Leopold with a hint of exasperation in her eyes. Her junior always had a knack for being clever at the most inconvenient times.

Some things, even if you know them, you just don't blurt out!

Realizing he might have put his foot in it, Leopold met Matthew's disapproving gaze and chuckled awkwardly, trying to change the subject. "So, what do we do now? Head over to the YQ Research Center first?"

Vivienne nodded. "Let's drop Holly off there first. She can't hold on much longer with just the meds I've been giving her. The lab's equipment is state-of-the-art, and with Brody there to help out, I can run some tests and stabilize her condition. Then, we need to focus all our efforts on dealing with the Abernathys!"

Neither Leopold nor Matthew objected to the plan.

Percival, who had regained his composure, gripped Vivienne's hand tightly, "Leave Gavin to me! I want to avenge Aunt Holly myself!"

...

YQ Research Center.

The soft blue floor lights flickered overhead. The roar of the rain and thunder was swallowed by the soundproof walls.

Behind the frosted glass doors, Percival and Leopold could only make out the vague silhouettes of two people inside.

"Hey, what's going on in there?" Enzo sidled up to Leopold, nudging his elbow.

The touch was met with an impatient brush-off, and Leopold held a finger to his lips, "Keep it down, will you? Come outside; I'll fill you in."

He cast a surreptitious glance at the stone-faced Percival and gestured for Enzo to follow him out of the lab.

Matthew, noticing their antics, chose to ignore them and pulled out a beer from seemingly nowhere. "Relax, with Vivienne in there, everything's going to be all right."

Percival's eyes flickered. "I know."

Matthew stifled a sigh, thinking, "If you know, then why are you still sitting here like a statue?"

Inside the operating room, Vivienne and Brody worked with grave intensity. "Hemostats." Vivienne let Brody wipe the sweat from her brow as she received the shiny forceps, her gloves stained with blood.

Brody glanced more than once at the woman lying on the operating table.

When she had first been brought in, he thought Vivienne and the others had dug up a corpse!

Learning that she was Percival's aunt, he was somewhat incredulous.

But now, seeing the woman, cleaned up yet with cheeks hollowed from malnutrition and unconsciousness, he could see the resemblance to Percival.

"I never thought I'd see the day when the Ellington family heiress would be reduced to this," he clicked his tongue. "You sure you can cure her?"

Based on his experience, someone like Holly should have been long gone. Her survival till now was nothing short of a miracle. If Vivienne hadn't brought her back from that remote village they mentioned, she probably wouldn't have lasted a few more months.

Frankly, even he wasn't sure he could save her.

Vivienne didn't blink as she replied, "It'll take some effort, that's all."

Brody looked at her in surprise. "Sometimes I really wonder just how advanced your medical skills are. Is there anyone in the world you can't save?"

The only sounds in the room were the ticking of the surgical instruments and the slicing of flesh.

Vivienne didn't respond, focusing instead on stitching up Holly's incision. After the final suture, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, put all the tools back on the tray, and removed her mask. "I'm no miracle worker. The equipment in Room 3 is top-notch; I've arranged for her to stay there."

Vivienne tidied up the aftermath of the surgery on Holly and, after scrubbing her hands, opened a sterile passageway. "Tomorrow morning, someone will come to take care of her. What you need to do is monitor all her vital signs. If anything unexpected happens, call me immediately. If you can't reach me, get Percival."