The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)

Midland Manor.

In the cellar.

When Elijah awoke from unconsciousness, he found himself in the very place where he had held Riley

and Raymond Fairfax captive.

His hands and feet were spread and fastened to the wall, and standing before him was a stoic-faced

Raymond.

"Why are you here?!" He asked, stunned and unsure.

Raymond glanced at him with disgust but didn’t respond.

"I'm talking to you!" Elijah was quick to anger when Raymond ignored him. After all, he had always

seen the Fairfaxes as easy prey.

His original plan for that day was to escape from the local county jail. He feigned a sudden illness by

overdosing on pills. He was to be taken to the hospital, where his gang, GTO, would help him escape.

However, the ambulance suddenly changed its route halfway and headed in the opposite direction.

Realizing something was wrong, he tried to fight back but was promptly sedated and knocked out.

Now, after seeing Raymond, it was clear he’d been intercepted.

But he didn’t believe Raymond had the capacity to do so.

“Call out the person behind you! Who is it? Vivienne?”

“It’s me. Surprised?” Vivienne’s cold voice echoed in the room.Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

She was dressed in a black hoodie and a baseball cap. She radiated an air of oppressive gloom.

Percival, also dressed in a casual black outfit, had a commanding presence.

“So it is you!” Elijah glared maliciously at Vivienne, his gaze then falling on Percival. “I thought you had

some real skills, but in the end, you’re just relying on a man!”

Vivienne ignored his insult; her frosty face was devoid of any expression. She looked at Elijah, her

voice as cold as ice. “You’ve been hiding for so long. It's time we settle our scores.”

“Kill me if you want!” Elijah retorted defiantly.

“I’m a civilized person. I don't like violence.” Vivienne suddenly laughed, her pace unhurried.

Elijah was stunned. She wasn’t going to kill him?

However, after looking at Vivienne's smiling face, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Suppressing his fear, he asked, “What do you want?”

Vivienne didn’t answer him. Instead, she turned to Raymond. “Do you know why I asked you to be

here?”

“To get revenge?” Raymond hesitated before asking.

He hadn’t forgotten how Elijah had tortured him to force Riley to make perfume.

The cellar was filled with an array of torture devices, most of which Elijah had tried out on him. As a

result, his body was covered in scars hidden beneath his clothes.

“Not just that.” Vivienne motioned to the cellar, filled with the same tools of torture that the police had

confiscated but Percival’s men had restored.

“Riley is a special child. Her talent in perfumery matches mine and is bound to be coveted by many. If

you want to protect her, you need to harden your heart. Use him to practice being ruthless today.”

Vivienne handed Raymond a whip covered in sharp spikes.

Raymond hesitated while holding the whip. Hating Elijah was one thing, but hurting him was another.

“You can’t do it?” Vivienne’s voice turned cold. “If you can’t handle this, how can you protect Riley?”

Startled, Raymond saw the malevolence in Elijah’s eyes and knew Vivienne was right.

Some people, unless you beat them so badly that they steer clear of you, would always think they

could walk all over you.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Raymond steeled his heart and began to whip Elijah.

“Raymond! You dare hit me?!” Elijah cursed in pain. “I will kill you, give your sister to old men to play

with, and then kill her!”

“Shut up!” Raymond’s face grew colder, and he lashed the whip across Elijah’s mouth.

With each insult thrown by Elijah, Raymond’s whips grew harsher and stronger.

And Elijah’s curses gradually faded as the whip continued to rain down on him.

The spikes on the whip tore through his skin. His blood mingled with his cold sweat, staining his prison

clothes.

Despite the pain that took his breath away, he gritted his teeth and refused to beg for mercy.

Vivienne watched for a while before leaving with Percival.

“Take your time; don’t rush. I’m going to have a romantic chat with my fiancé in the courtyard.” She told

Raymond.

“Vivienne!” After noticing that Vivienne was about to leave, Elijah called out to her as he gasped in

pain. “What? You can’t bear to watch? You’re still a useless woman! You can’t even avenge your father

personally. You need this wretch to do it for you!”

“Heh.” Vivienne laughed lightly as she turned back to look at Elijah. “If I started, you wouldn’t be able to

stand long enough for him to take his revenge.”

She shook her head at Elijah as if she were looking at a fool. “Trust me, when it’s my turn, you’ll regret

the words you’ve said today.”

With that, she left the cellar arm-in-arm with Percival.

Vivienne had to admit that the villa Elijah had chosen had a certain charm. It was night now, and the

courtyard was bathed in the silvery light of the moon, casting an ethereal glow on Vivienne and

Percival.

Ignoring the fact that a man was being tortured in the cellar, the scene could almost be described as

romantic.

“Vivienne.” Percival suddenly pulled Vivienne into his arms, his voice husky. “You said you wanted to

have a romantic chat with me?”

Vivienne blushed slightly. She wasn’t sure how those words had slipped out. She coughed lightly to

change the subject. “Does your wound still hurt?”

“Answer me.” Percival wasn’t letting her off the hook. His uninjured arm was wrapped tightly around her

waist. “How do you want to express love? How do you want to discuss our relationship?”

“Cough, cough!”

Just as things were getting serious, Leopold came barging in. In his hand, he held a handful of cattle

hair needles. “What about this?” He made a suggestion to Vivienne and Percival. “We stick these all

over that jerk, Elijah. That should teach him a lesson, huh?"

"I'm thinking you should be the one to learn a lesson first!" Percival's face turned red with anger. He

could feel that his relationship with Vivienne had made significant progress since his accident. They

were so close. In just a few more steps, they could admit their feelings for each other.

"What's going on? What were you guys doing?" Leopold finally noticed the intimate position Vivienne

and Percival were in and realized he had unintentionally disrupted their moment.

Under Percival's brooding gaze, he shrank back, nervously explaining, "These cattle hair needles…

They're hard to find, especially when you need so many at once. I got too excited, so I didn't notice."

With a swift kick, Percival sent him packing. "Beat it!"