The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)

Gregg's attempt was a complete bust. He glared at Vivienne, his voice dripping with hostility.

He had been so careful, yet Vivienne had effortlessly dodged his move. She had to be more than what she seemed.

Seeing Gregg fuming, Vivienne didn't even bother to give him a decent look. "You sneak up on me and then have the nerve to play the victim? I haven't even asked what you were up to, which is generous of me."

Gregg, seeing Vivienne still had the mood for roundabouts, dropped the act. "What's your deal, coming to Carly's over and over? Stirring up trouble again?!"

"I'm just here to deliver some ointment to Carly. How did that turn into 'stirring up trouble' in your book?" Vivienne retorted, showing the small jar in her hand.

Gregg realized his suspicions were misplaced but instead of backing down, he tried to snatch the jar from Vivienne, who wasn't about to let him.

The moment Gregg stepped forward, he tripped and face-planted into the ground, his teeth hitting the pavement hard. Soon, a metallic taste filled his mouth. "What did you do to me?!" Gregg's roar echoed down the alley.

Curious heads peeked from their doors, drawn by the commotion. Vivienne could feel the hostility in their gazes as they approached.

Surprised, Vivienne crouched to help Gregg, secretly pinning a small needle into his arm.

The moment her hand touched him, Gregg let out a scream that could rival a pig being slaughtered.

His buddies, seeing this, didn't move to help but instead collapsed to the ground, their eyes wide with terror. "What are you doing? I'm trying to help and you shove me?"

Gregg was speechless, his anger choking his words. He could only watch as Vivienne put on a show.

"Is this how you welcome guests in Luck Village? I try to help, and this is the thanks I get?" Vivienne's voice was filled with righteous indignation, reaching the ears of Mayor Thompson and others before they even got close. When they arrived, they found Gregg and another man sprawled on the ground. The leader's wife looked at Vivienne with disdain.

Gregg struggled to speak, managing only incoherent sounds.

"Speak up! What mess have you caused now while on patrol?!"

Gregg had no chance to explain himself, only managing to gesticulate weakly.

Mayor Thompson, frustrated, accused, "Are you mocking me?!"

His wife was even less kind, berating Gregg for always causing trouble.

Vivienne hid her amusement well, speaking up first, "We've come to cure the villagers as agreed, but this man has been nothing but trouble. If you don't take action, I'll have to assume you approve of his behavior." Mayor Thompson was taken aback by Vivienne's quick wit and boldness.

"You're lying!" Gregg found his voice, incredulous but quickly pointed at Vivienne, "You're always lurking around Carly's. It's normal for me to be suspicious! What did you do to me that I couldn't speak?"

Vivienne ignored him, "I was just delivering medicine. Carly hurt her face, and you know how much a girl values her appearance. Is it so hard to understand why I visited a few times?"

"Besides, you said it yourself, I've never met her before. What else could I be doing?" Vivienne's scornful gaze made Gregg's skin crawl.

He felt an inexplicable fear of Vivienne, a momentary terror that shook him to his core.

Before he could ponder further, Vivienne turned to Mayor Thompson, "If you don't trust me, feel free to check what's in the jar!"

After a tense moment, the jar was returned, the leader's eyes carrying an apology, "I'm sorry, miss. We were overly suspicious. Please understand, I have to be cautious for

the sake of the villagers."

Vivienne snorted, took her jar, and left. Gregg watched her leave, his rage boiling over, yet remembering the ordeal, he hesitated to seek revenge.

He was barely out the door when the leader's wife kicked him down, the leader sighing at his wife's increasing irritability.

"Worthless, always causing trouble. What use are you?" she scorned, looking down at Gregg without a trace of pity. The leader gave Gregg a final warning glance, "Let there be no next time, or you'll answer to me!"

With those harsh words, the leader and his company departed, leaving Gregg to nurse his wounds and his pride.

Vivienne flicked off the sound in her headphones, her mind replaying the words she had just heard from the mayor. The very fact that he was still doling out assignments meant they

hadn't had a moment's pet they

A smirk played at the corner of Vivienne's lips.

Suddenly, a series of intermittent noises came from outside the yard. After listening intently for a moment, she waved her hand, concealing the true image on the surveillance screen.

A few minutes later, Carly, who had been missing for several days, appeared before Vivienne and Logan.

Logan's eyes widened, about to warn Vivienne, but as he turned, he saw Vivienne already looking in Carly's direction.

Well, spending too much time here was starting to mess with his sanity.

Carly had exerted a great deal of effort to jump down from the wall, and just when she thought she'd surely injure herself, she landed safely.

Before Carly could recover from her shock, she heard Vivienne's indifferent voice, "What did you find out?"

Instinctively, Carly scanned the yard for cameras, stepping back in fright when she saw she was directly in view of one.

Seeing this, Logan explained, "Don't worry about that. Just tell us everything you know."

Carly looked like she'd been through a lot in the past couple of days, her clothes dirty and nearly unrecognizable, her face grimy.

Logan poured her a cup of tea and pulled up a stool, "Take a seat and take your time."

Grateful, Carly took a sip, calming her nerves before she began to share the information she had gathered.

"I've been tailing them these past few days. The place where they're hiding people is deeply concealed and heavily guarded. My skills aren't up to scratch; getting anywhere closeWould blow my cover, but I've managed to get a rough idea, Carly said, her eyes darting anxiously towards Vivienne, "Do you guys have a pen and paper?" Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Exchanging a glance, Vivienne and Logan gathered the materials and laid them in front of her, allowing her to detail her findings.