The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Vivienne gazed deeply into the eyes of her mother, whom she had waited over ten years to reunite with. There

was an undeniable reluctance to let go.

Memories, after all, weren't everything. If they couldn't be retrieved, then so be it.

Karen ruffled Vivienne’s hair affectionately. “Frost, | believe in you. You're my pride and joy in this world, and

nothing will ever pose an obstacle in your way. You're my treasure, and whatever you set your mind to, you'll

surely succeed.”

She knew her daughter all too well.

Vivienne didn’t want to lose her; she didn’t want to be cast into the world as an orphan again.

Indeed, those lost memories weren't crucial.

She now knew how she had vanished and had been reunited with her biological father. Whether her memories

returned or not wasn’t important.

When F-Poison had abducted her from the Perez family, Diana hadn't even seen his true face.

At Scepter University, the white-haired old man who knew F-Poison had only seen Elliot's face.

Flynn might know, but he would never tell.

Thus, in this entire world, Karen was the only one who might have seen F-Poison’s real face.

And those lost memories? They needed to be recovered at all costs.

Vivienne bit her lower lip pensively. “I only have one chance.”

One opportunity: success meant jubilation; failure meant no second chances.

Karen smiled reassuringly. “I know, but I'm not going to die. Your mentor has seen it in the cards - I'm going to

live to be two hundred!”

Vivienne knew her mother was jesting, but it helped ease her tension slightly.

Karen continued, “I must recover that part of my memory, so rest assured, nothing will happen to me. And my

dear daughter, when have you ever faced defeat?”

Holding Vivienne’s hand tightly, Karen said, “Go ahead with confidence. No matter what happens, I'm here for

you.”

Vivienne's lips were pressed firmly together, and she didn’t respond for a long time.

She was contemplating, hesitating.

But seeing the resolve in Karen's eyes, her uncertainty seemed to fade away.

“Alright, we'll start tomorrow. For today, how about we go back and have a potluck dinner with Grandpa and the

uncles?”

“Sounds perfect!”

The mother and daughter left hand in hand, and Percival, seeing the streaks on Vivienne’s cheeks, didn’t ask any

questions. He took their bags and drove them back in his usual dependable manner.

Back at the Perez Mansion, Zelda had prepared a hearty stew, knowing Karen was coming hwith a craving.

The whole Perez family bustled about in preparation for the feast.

Except for Maddox.

The bachelor was immersed in playing house with Natalia and Yasmine.

As Vivienne, Percival, and Karen entered, they saw Maddox's head adorned with a variety of colorful hair clips.

“What role are you playing today, Uncle Maddox?” Vivienne chuckled.

Maddox heaved a sigh, only to be scolded by Natalia, “Vivienne, don’t talk to him; he’s in time-out!”

Yasmine sighed, “I mean, con, Yuri, don’t be so harsh on the kid. So what if she didn’t finish her homework?

Can't we just eat first?”

Vivienne finally caught on; Natalia and Yasmine were impersonating Zelda and Yuri Perez, and Maddox was, well,

themselves!

Vivienne laughed. “Uncle Maddox, have Natalia and Yasmine stopped letting you play the boy roles?”

Maddox looked helpless, sighing. “Having too many nieces isn’t great either. Fredrick, when are you going to

have a son?”

Fredrick lobbed a piece of watermelon into Maddox's mouth with absolute precision and said, “Shut it. | want

daughters!”

Alice Churchill chimed in, “You want more kids? Go have them yourself. Those two rascals are enough for me.

Dad, how about | bring them over tomorrow?”

Jasper, who had been enjoying the show, waved his hands frantically at the suggestion of taking on his

grandsons. “No, no, no, keep them. If it's too much, send them to your older brother; he loves entertaining kids.”

Luke balked. “No way, I'm done with that. They're grown now, not fun anymore!”

Carmen Pendleton sighed. “Why do you always treat kids like toys? It's exasperating.”

Vivienne's lips curled slightly. “Aunt Carmen, it's genetic. My mom does the same!”

“That runs in your grandpa’s side!” Karen added, munching on watermelon.

Percival squeezed Vivienne's cheek gently. “Don’t worry, when we have kids, | won't treat them like toys.”

Maddox, with watermelon juice all over his face, finally spoke up, “Vivienne, how many kids are you planning on?

I'll get you a big round bed!”

“Save the round bed for yourself!” All the men, except Percival, retorted in unison!

A couple of thuds later, two bumps formed on Maddox's head—one from a watermelon seed and the other from

the rind.

No need to ask; it was Jasper and Fredrick’s doing.

Maddox sighed deeply. “What's happened to this wicked world?”

The Perez Mansion was abuzz with laughter and merriment.

Not far away, Willa sat atop the garden wall, observing the scene.

Karen was always the first to sense Willa’s presence. She turned and saw Willa waving at her from afar.

Silently slipping away from the Perez Mansion, Karen met Willa at the ssmall steak house where she and

Finnian had dined previously. Two plates of steaks were already waiting.

“When did you get back?” Karen approached casually, taking a plate and cutting the steak with natural ease.

Willa took a bite of the side salad and pulled out a notebook from her bag—the very sone she had found at

Scepter University.

“Sasha,” she offered the notebook to Karen and said, “take a look. Maybe it will be useful to you.”

Truth be told, Willa had already snapped photos of the contents and sent them to Karen, although she couldn't

help wondering if the photos might differ from what was actually on the pages. After all, the original is always

the most reliable.

Karen flipped through a few pages, and there it was, something Willa hadn't captured with her camera.

A sketch of a butterfly, the kind a young girl might doodle.

Two of them, orbiting a rose, seemingly lost in a delicate dance.

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For reasons unknown, when Karen laid eyes on those butterflies, that phrase just popped into her head.

Karen chuckled. “They've got quite the romantic vibe going on.”

Willa had noticed the butterflies, too, but hadn't thought much of it.

In Willa’s world, love was merely a lubricant in life, not a necessity. So, for years, she had never let herself be

swayed by any sort of affection. Because, for the tbeing, she didn’t need any lubricant.

“Is it of any use to you?” Willa asked again.

Putting down the notebook, Karen faced Willa seriously. “Willa, aside from this, is there really nothing else you

want to tell me?”

Willa paused, spoon midway to her mouth, not understanding what Karen meant.

Looking into Willa’s baffled eyes, Karen couldn't resist and lightly tapped her forehead. “Why does something

have to be useful or helpful to be worth doing?”

Willa was even more perplexed. “If it's useless, why bother doing it?”

“For joy, for happiness, because | damn well feel like it!” Karen enunciated each word. “Just like right now, | want

to eat the filling of a steak without the salad. Because | want to!”

With that, Karen picked up the steak with her fork, leaving behind an untouched portion of salad.