The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 539

Vivienne froze for a moment.

Was Maddox implying that she should carry on with this contract?

"Exactly as you're thinking," Maddox slid the contract toward Vivienne. "The Perez family has its own fish to fry these days, not focusing on bionic tech. And I know the reason the Ashfords have stood the test of time has a lot to do with this project."

He paused, his gaze growing intense before he continued, "The person who got the Ashfords involved in the first place was your mother, Karen, right?"

Vivienne nodded but remained tight-lipped.

She was not ready to stir the pot with the Perez family's waters still uncharted.

"Vivienne, only the Perez and the Boyd families are in on the bionic tech secret. Your mother managed to bring this concept to life, and it's nearly identical to what the Perez family envisioned. I think she must have seen their initial concept draft. I'm not saying she copied or stole it. I'm just saying..."

"Uncle, I get what you're trying to say."

Vivienne smiled at Maddox.

She knew he was beginning to question her identity.

If her mother had indeed introduced those concepts, matching the Perez family's ideas, it only meant she had some connection with them.

If that was the case, could Karen perhaps be Sasha?

Maddox hesitated to voice his suspicion, fearing another disappointment.

Vivienne tucked the contract away. "Thanks, Uncle. I'll take it from here and push the research forward."

Maddox nodded. "Yeah, I believe in you."

He also believed that she must be his niece, his sister's daughter.

But with a paternity test looming, this was a matter that still needed resolution!

At the Ashford Mansion.

The arrest of Eliza came as an abrupt blow, derailing Patrick's many schemes.

Eliza was now the sole survivor of the Boyd lineage, and Patrick had intended to consolidate his power by winning over the Boyd Group's shareholders with her help. It would save him a great deal of trouble. Plus, she was supposed to retrieve the Boyd family signet ring from Vivienne, and the contract was supposed to be in her possession.

But now, with her under lock and key and the murder footage spreading like wildfire online, no one could bail her out.

Patrick turned pale with anger.

What he thought was his trump card had become utterly useless.

"Dad, you've been pacing for ages; you're making my head spin. What's going on with Eliza? Did she really kill Wendy?" Gillian had woken up to see Patrick pacing and was clueless about the unfolding events Her mind was still preoccupied with dreams of marrying Percival.

Patrick sat down and asked, "Gillian, has Mara called you recently?"

"No, with their family in such a mess, why would she bother? Besides, I don't want to deal with her anymore. Percival has already cut ties with them, so she's useless to me now." Gillian snorted with disdain for her once close friend.

Why bother with someone useless?

Their friendship was one of mutual exploitation, nothing more.

Patrick frowned. "Gillian, call Mara. Tell her to replace a way to get close to Vivienne and retrieve the Boyd family signet ring. And try to replace the contract Wendy left behind. Tell her you can help her turn things around."

Gillian was puzzled. "Dad, you still want to entangle with them? A family full of criminals?"

"Just do as I say. Those two items are crucial for our family. We won't be at Vivienne's mercy anymore if you manage to get them. Hurry before Vivienne catches on."

Gillian wanted to probe further, but seeing Patrick's ashen face, she swallowed her questions.

She had never seen her father so agitated.

Following Patrick's instructions, Gillian dialed Mara's number. For the Boyd family fortune, Mara readily agreed.

Unbeknownst to them, Vivienne had heard every word of their conversation.

Vivienne took off her headphones, chuckling as she reviewed the translated documents on the table.

"Patrick's only managed to stay afloat all these years relying on GTO." Vivienne shook her head. The man was foolish.

Even now, Patrick was fixated on the contract rather than ensuring his safety.

Percival was monitoring satellite imagery on his computer, where three red dots were converging into a trap around a factory at the center.

"If he had any sense, he'd realize that loyalty to my mentor is the wisest choice," Percival remarked calmly.

Vivienne curved her lips. "Traitors always meet a traitor's end."

Ten minutes later, Mara's call came through to Percival.

"Bro, it's Mara."

Her voice was laced with sobs, still not fully comprehending how the Boyd family had fallen so far.

Percival turned on the speakerphone. "What's up?"

"I don't know what to do. With all this chaos at home, I... Can I come to you? I want to apologize to Vivienne, no, to your wife. I..."

"Head to the Ashford Mansion. Tell Gillian I'll bring over what she wants."

With that, Percival hung up.

He had run out of patience for playing games with these two dimwits.

Vivienne looked up, her gaze settling on Percival's expression with a hint of surprise. "What's wrong?"

Why did he suddenly stop toying with them?

Percival grabbed the public announcement tablet, where an urgent notice flashed in red-Micah, the Deputy Director of Rivenwood General Administration, had been suspended for investigation due to mismanagement and unauthorized task delegation, among other departmental violations.

Vivienne's brow creased slightly.

Someone had finally caught on to the real reason behind Percival's visit to Sea City.

Initially, Percival had used the excuse of visiting the Boyd family to gain entry into Sea City. However, his actual mission was to investigate the secretive virus research facility there.

This task had been assigned through a mysterious, classified document found on Micah's desk-not through the proper channels of the central office.

Thus, Percival's investigation into the Sea City docks and other related activities had gone unnoticed by the city's main office.

Now, they had finally turned their attention to Percival.

"Boss took the fall, probably took all the blame to keep me out of it," Percival said, taking a deep breath, his voice grave. "Looks like we'll be heading back soon. Once we do, I'll officially take over as Deputy Director."

Vivienne nodded in understanding. The position of Director at Rivenwood headquarters had always been vacant, with the actual Director consistently out on field missions. Newcomers, and even Percival himself, had never seen this enigmatic figure.

Consequently, the role of Deputy Director at Rivenwood headquarters was endowed with nearly equivalent authority.

With Micah's suspension, Percival was set to take the reins at Rivenwood's central office.

The more power bestowed upon him, the closer he would get to the epicenter of authority. And the closer he would be to unmasking the traitor.