The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 117

It seemed like Vivienne had a tail on her even before she reached Midland Villa. She was on high alert, trying to figure out this man's game plan, but he never showed his face.

She grinned while reaching into her fanny pack, where she casually snatched a wasp's nest while climbing over a wall earlier.

The wasps she had drugged were mostly awake by now and were stirring in the bag.

She opened the bag and, as she passed a tree, tossed the wasp's nest onto the mysterious guy, and quickly bolted.

The wasps caused quite a ruckus, but surprisingly, the guy didn't flinch.

She stood outside the villa's wall, listening for a while, only hearing the bodyguards shouting about wasps but no mention of an intruder.

She smirked and disappeared into the darkness, laying low.

In the basement.

This was no secret lab or prison cell.

It was a fragrance room piled high with spices and glassware. Even the ventilation system was top-notch to prevent the scents from mixing up.

Upon entering, Elijah saw a young man in a white coat playing with toys with a little girl around twelve.

The girl sat on the floor, quietly focusing on her toys.

Both of them had striking Eurasian features.

After Elijah's entrance, the little girl didn't look up. Instead, the young man turned to glare at him.

They had been held captive by Elijah for over a year.

Elijah ignored his hostility and examined the half-completed perfume on the fragrance table.

"I need her to create a new perfume within a week." Elijah ordered as his gaze rested on the quiet little girl.

He placed nine bottles of perfume in front of them. "The perfume she creates must surpass these nine scents."

The bottles were perfumes that Beatrice originally had Evelyn create. He suspected Vivienne would use Evelyn's recipe to challenge him, so he needed a scent that could outdo Evelyn's.

"You were trained in perfumery. You should know that coming up with a new scent requires inspiration."

The young man paused and responded coolly, "I can't guarantee Riley will have new inspiration within a week. Besides, perfume is subjective. You can't just compare them willy-nilly."

"If you two don't want to die, you'd better do as I say." Elijah chuckled. "I believe in her. Isn't she the master perfumer, Master Q? Her creations 'Hallucination,' 'Abyss,' and 'Fading Dream' prove she can create a perfume that surpasses all others."

Their argument was heated, but the girl seemed oblivious. She was still engrossed in her toys.

"I've told you already that Riley is not Master Q." The young man, full of anger, retorted. "Master Q is Riley's mentor."

"Raymond Fairfax, you still deny it after all this time." Elijah didn't believe a word of it.

"When I was in Graslandia, I started investigating. The house you two siblings lived in was where Master Q resided. When you two left Graslandia, Master Q vanished from Graslandia. Moreover, Master Q only made twenty bottles of 'Hallucination.' Each bottle has an owner, so why do you have a bottle?"

Only twenty bottles of the infamous 'Hallucination' perfume were made, causing much disappointment to those who couldn't get their hands on one in the perfume world.

"Most importantly..." Elijah's eyes fell on Riley Fairfax's ring. "Why is she wearing Master Q's ring?"

Master Q, the legendary perfumer, never showed his true identity. The only clue was the unique ring he wore.

"Also, if Master Q is really her mentor." Elijah sneered. "Why has Master Q never denied it when I claimed to be his disciple for over a year?"

When he first suspected that Riley might be Master Q, he was thrilled. He knew his chance had come.

A deaf-mute girl with a knack for creating extraordinary perfumes and her average brother could be easily manipulated once under his control.

For the past year, he rose to fame in the perfume industry as Master Q's disciple, but all the perfumes he produced were actually Riley's creations. Raymond remained silent in response to Elijah's questions.

Master Q was an enigma, taking Riley as the disciple on a whim, partly due to her exceptional talent and partly out of sympathy for the siblings' dire circumstances.

After leaving Graslandia, they hadn't seen Master Q. They were even worried something might have happened to Master Q.

"Do you think by purposely lowering her standards and creating perfumes that are lesser than 'Hallucination,' 'Abyss,' and 'Fading Dream' that I would believe you?" Elijah snorted. He was about to say something else when his phone rang.

He answered impatiently and listened to his subordinate's report. "Elijah, there's a wasp's nest in the yard. A lot of us got stung."

"Get to the hospital then, idiot!" He hung up. He was not in the mood to argue with Raymond anymore and stormed off.

Before leaving, he turned to Raymond. "Remember, one week. If it's not done, you know the consequences."

...

Tranquil Estates.

After leaving Midland Villa, Vivienne returned home and was about to rest after freshening up when she got a call from Isolde.

"Vivienne, you gotta help my brother!" The little girl's sweet voice was tinged with sorrow. "He got stung by a wasp!"

Vivienne was dumbfounded.

What on earth was going on?

Isolde was crying pretty hard, so Vivienne comforted her. "Don't worry, I'm on my way."

After ending the call, Vivienne was about to head out when she remembered something. She turned around, took out her suitcase, and packed a few sets of clothes.

As she was about to pull her suitcase out the door, Dorian and Cordelia, who had been woken up by the noise, looked at her in surprise and asked, "Vivienne, it's so late. Are you packing because you're going far away?"

"Percival got a little hurt, and I promised Richard I'd take care of him, so I decided to stay with him for a few days." Vivienne said calmly.

"Oh, well..." Dorian hesitated a bit. "Isn't it a bit inappropriate for a guy and a girl to be alone together?"

He felt like someone else was about to eat the cabbage he had grown.

"I think it's quite good." Cordelia glared at Dorian and spoke with a smile. "It's a good thing for two young people to spend time together and develop their feelings. I believe they're both sensible kids."

Vivienne fell silent.

Of course, she wasn't moving into Percival's house to develop feelings for him.

She had never found the opportunity to investigate why her mother's pendant was in Percival's possession.

Now, the opportunity had come.