The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 353

Outside the art gallery.

Jasper Perez clutched a forged portrait Vivienne had given him, exhaling a wistful breath.

After hours of standing there, long after the gallery had emptied, he couldn't shake the feeling that the silhouette in the artwork was eerily familiar.

Yet it didn't quite match the memory of his daughter, Sasha, who had gone missing years ago.

Perhaps it was just his age playing tricks on him. After all, Sasha was just a ten-year-old kid when she vanished, and the woman in the portrait appeared to be in her mid-thirties. The gap in years made it hard to draw any solid connection.

Or was it simply because of the mole?

Just then, a man in a crisp black suit hurried over, "Dad, you had me worried sick! You can't just disappear like that. The brothers would have my head if anything happened to you!"

It was Jasper's fourth son, Yuri Perez.

Jasper gave him a side-eye and carried a commanding aura, "Since when do I have to report my whereabouts to you?"

"I didn't mean it like that!" Yuri said with a hint of frustration in his voice.

Ever since Sasha's disappearance, Jasper had never looked at his sons the same way. He had treated them with cold shoulders and hard stares over thirty years.

Yuri sighed, "Your health is not well, Dad. If you go somewhere, at least let me know. It worries us, you know?"

Jasper scoffed, "Instead of worrying about me, why don't you put that energy into replaceing Sasha?"

"We've already sent people out to look again," Yuri replied.

Jasper peered down at the portrait again, then handed it to Yuri, "Take a look at this. The woman in this picture has passed away, leaving a daughter named Vivienne."

Yuri glanced at the portrait and paused, taken aback, "The mole is so identical to Sasha's. Dad, where did you get this?"

"What does it matter where I got it from?" Jasper shot back, emotionless. "Vivienne has a fiancé, Percival, who is from the affluent Ellington family. Look into them and see if you can dig up anything that might lead us to Sasha."

"Okay. I'll get right on it!" Yuri said, a surge of hope in his voice.

Their search for Sasha had been exhaustive and fruitless despite it took the whole family's efforts.

They just found something but the lead was soon cut off. It didn't come to him that the picture, in which a woman having an identical mole behind the ear to Sasha, suddenly appeared.

Now, with a potential lead, he got an intuition that the light had pierced through the constant gloom.

Jasper grumbled with disdain after shooting him a look, "Just go and don't dawdle. I don't want to see you until you have news; seeing you boys just irks me!"

Yuri bristled internally. Some families favored their sons, but Jasper? He appeared to hold a grudge against them as if they were strays in the street.

Wait, they were even worse than strays. Strays at least got scraps from his table, while his sons were lucky to get a grunt.

Yuri knew better than to leave Jasper alone, so he said, "Let's get you home, Dad. Trust me, I'll replace Sasha for you."

If he didn't bring his dad home, his brothers might very well tear him apart and feed him to the dogs.

Jasper roared, "Home? I'm not going anywhere until Sasha is found. And I want you to buy me a townhouse. I'll be staying here for a while."

He couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity with Vivienne, and he needed to replace out why this young woman seemed so oddly close to him.

"What? You want stay in Rivenwood? It's dangerous here. You're coming home with me!" Yuri protested.

Before he could finish, Jasper swung his cane, striking Yuri on the head. It was followed by a fierce reprimand, "Just do as I say, will you? What dangers are you talking about? Do you see any gangs? If so, I'd like to see them try anything on me. I'll send them running."

Yuri was speechless.

"Still standing there? Go on, get moving!" Jasper bellowed.

Yuri wanted to protest, but seeing his father's temper, he reluctantly agreed, "Okay, I'll get you settled first."

For now, he'd have to comply and quickly inform his brothers. They'd need to arrange for Jasper's protection. This old man was truly a handful.

Yuri tried to help his father, but Jasper pushed him away, "Since when do I need help walking?"

Jasper glanced at him, devoid of expression, "Until Sasha is found, I'll cling to life. Even Death himself can't take me!"

Yuri sighed in resignation.

The old man's health had slumped for a long time and his whole family told him to recuperate. But the stubborn old cap refused to listen to advice. "What are you waiting for? Go buy me a townhouse! Do you want to freeze to death here?" Jasper was furious at the sight of his son.

What's the point of raising sons? They had no heart at all and it was better to have a daughter.

How nice little Sasha was. When she was little, she would pester him for a hug every day and give him her favorite treats.

Calling Daddy and Mommy was the first thing she did every day she woke up. And she would speak with her girlish voice, "Daddy, Mommy, I love you two!" When he was angry, she would come over in time to pat his back and say softly, "Daddy, don't be angry, I will sing you a song! "

When he was hurt, she would shed her tears and say, "Daddy, I will blow your pain away.'

That was before she was five years old, and he remembered every single piece of memory so well.

And his sons were so useless. They only knew how to make him deadly angry every single day.

Yuri held her tongue. He knew that silence was golden.

Back at the Ellington estate, Jeffrey stormed in to seek her mother, Heloise, "Mom, you need to talk to Fiona. She wants to give ten billion to Vivienne!" The thought of that sum falling into Percival's hands made him seethe.

Heloise was admiring her latest jewelry purchase, a necklace that must have cost a fortune, when the words almost made her drop the precious piece to the floor.

She fumbled but managed to catch the necklace just in time, then turned her gaze to Fiona, "Are you out of your mind? What possessed you to just give away ten billion? Do you think money grows on trees?"

Their family had scrimped and saved to amass ten billion over the years, and now Fiona was talking about giving it away as if it were nothing!

Heloise really began to doubt if her daughter's head was screwed on right.

Fiona glanced over at Jeffrey with an impassive expression and said coolly, "Why don't you ask your darling son what he's done?"

It was then that Heloise turned to Jeffrey and demanded, "What have you gotten yourself into?"