The Million-Dollar Heart

Keith's voice dropped to a whisper, "No, I'm not leaving Rivenwood. With the officials and their hounds on my tail, I need a
hideout in some secluded part of Rivenwood. Stock it with a month's worth of water and provisions."
"Let them loosen their grip on the borders, then you can sneak me out."
Brady hadn't expected this casual contact, who hadn't been activated for ages, to be so resourceful.
But now wasn't the time for nitpicking. He took a deep breath and said, "Fine, as long as you're not afraid of being caught by
Vivienne and her crew. And remember, if you betray us, we, the Abernathys, won't spare anyone you care about!"
The next day.
Vivienne woke up from a good night's sleep unfazed by the news of Keith's escape.
She had anticipated this outcome, "Keith, always a thorn in our side since the Littleton debacle. Must be one of the Abernathys'
moles in the force."
In the car, Anna raised her voice, "Ms. Vivienne, isn't it better that he's vanished?"
Leopold's incredulous voice came through the speaker, "Better? Anna, are you still half asleep?! How do we dig into the
Abernathys without a lead?"
The front passenger seat pursed their lips in silence, turning away to massage their temples, not wanting to engage further with
Leopold.
Vivienne, even from the backseat, could feel the frustration, "If Keith is off the grid, we can spin the story however we want.
Whose side was he on? Use your head!" Leopold was stunned, "Really? But Vivienne, without solid evidence, won't we face
complaints?"
"The Abernathys wouldn't dare," Percival couldn't stand Leopold's periodic brain fades.
Leopold finally got it, "So, we're hunting for a legitimate reason to raid the Abernathys. Percival, why didn't you just say so?
What's with the riddles this early in the morning?" Pausing, Leopold added, "And don't we already have enough on them? Why
go through all this trouble just for an excuse?"
He was lost at the complexity that seemed to thicken around Vivienne and Percival's plans.

Simple matters turning unnecessarily convoluted.
Vivienne gave him a look reserved for idiots, "Shut it!"
"Zip!" Leopold mimed locking his lips.
Soon, they arrived at the courthouse.
Vivienne and Percival stepped out, followed by Anna, Leopold, Thomas, and others.
Harrison, along with a slick lawyer, awaited them.
He wanted to throw a jab at Vivienne but she ignored him completely and headed inside.
Leaving Harrison fluctuating between shades of purple and green.
Inside, Kenneth had already taken his seat among the jury.
The Abernathys had their representation too - Gavin, Victoria, Sophie, and in a corner, Ramona.
Vivienne scanned the room, her gaze pausing briefly before a smile played on her lips.
She whispered to Percival, "Looks like they're discarding Harrison."
Percival surveyed the room, "Let's wait. Harrison is more useful to them than Gavin. They might drop Gavin, but not Harrison."
Vivienne hummed, glancing at Gavin, "The fact that Gavin is still breathing is a miracle."
Percival, with a stoic face, "He won't survive tonight."
Vivienne raised an eyebrow.
Percival informed, "Got a tip. Someone's already en route to the Abernathys."
Vivienne smirked, "Wonder how much Gavin's willing to pay for his life."
Percival smirked back, "Vivienne, you've turned ruthless."
Gavin had to die.
But not by their hands.

Thus, Vivienne had someone safeguard Gavin, keeping his fate firmly in their grasp. How he would meet his end was a matter of
whimsy. Vivienne's smile didn't waver as the judge entered and court began.
The attorneys started presenting their cases. As the plaintiff, Jerry spoke first, "The Littleton incident a decade ago wasn't
thoroughly investigated." "For ten years, my client has been gathering evidence." He handed documents to the judge, "These
papers prove Littleton's product was safe." "Yet, the victims insisted it was Littleton's fault, backed by Harrison's testimony. We
suspect a conspiracy against the Littletons, involving Harrison." Vivienne's prior investigation had uncovered dirt on Harrison's
lawyer.
Rumors said he was specially flown in from abroad, an expert in these kind of cases.
Upon hearing Jerry's accusations,
the man remained stoic, waiting for Jerry to finish before finally speaking up: "I object! Your honor, this incident happened a
decade ago. The original recipe was destroyed long ago; how can we verify if what the plaintiff presents is legitimate?"
He clapped his hands, "On our side, we have a scientist who was part of the original research team as a witness. He faced
numerous challenges alongside my client to report the Littleton family."
The courtroom doors swung open.
All eyes turned, and a man in his late fifties or early sixties was ushered in by the police.
Handcuffed in silver, his beard unkempt and looking utterly disheveled.
Kaitlyn recognized him at a glance, "Vince?!"
She exclaimed, and the opposing lawyer seized the moment, speaking up first, "It seems Mrs. Littleton knows him. With this, we
can't be accused of making false denials."
Jerry narrowed his eyes, "You think everyone operates like you?"
As the man was led to the witness stand, Vivienne turned to Kaitlyn, a hint of guilt on her face, "Kaitlyn, is this man really one of
the original researchers?"
Kaitlyn nodded, her eyes filled with a touch of nostalgia looking at Vince, "He was one of the key researchers on that new
product. He was also my father's college buddy, they were very close."

"After that scandal, I've always
wanted to find him to testify, to
prove my father's innocence. But we
lost track of him. Only later did we
find out, after our family went
bankrupt, he turned himself in and went to prison."
"He turned himself in despite being a whistleblower?" Jerry listened to Vince's testimony, not missing Kaitlyn's words.
Percival responded coldly, "Probably out of fear."