The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)

Vivienne flipped through the stack of paperwork in her hands, the runes sprawled across the pages as if whispering ancient secrets.

She was deep in comparison, cross-referencing every detail when Percival stepped out to dispatch a team to track down Carly's whereabouts. As Draven reported, the small town seemed to swallow Carly whole; she had vanished without a trace by the time their team raided the place.

Initially, Draven suspected Carly might have fled or perhaps, tragically, got trapped and buried under debris somewhere in the chaos. After all, his last impression of Carly was nothing more than a mentally disturbed woman causing trouble around town. Having scoured the town early on, Draven noticed a message from Percival about a few survivors they had detained. Upon his arrival, the clamor was impossible to ignore; desperate voices cried for freedom.

"Let us out! Do you even realize this is illegal detention? Once I'm out, I'll make sure you all pay! You monsters, when will you let us go?"

These pleas seemed endless, initially a nuisance to Draven, who now found them unexpectedly useful.

Approaching the source of the commotion, Draven scanned the crowd. "Where's Carly?" he demanded.

The mention of her name caused a ripple of confusion.

Catching their stunned reactions, Draven knew there was more to this. "Speak up about her whereabouts, and you might get out. Stay silent, and you're stuck here for life."

The offer tempted many, but there were also those genuinely clueless. "Why bother with that nutcase? Even you guys can't find her; what chance do we have? She was always a bit off-the-rocker. What if she's dead? How are we supposed to help then?" Draven ignored the lengthy retort, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, searching for any hint of deceit. Yet, the allure of freedom didn't seem to shake the most agitated individuals, who now resumed a facade of indifference.

"Nobody knows her?" Draven pressed, patience wearing thin.

Met with only echoes of his own voice, Draven turned to leave, ignoring the renewed pleas behind him. Before exiting, he cast one last look at the suspects.

"Compile a report on those three men, including their relations within Luck Village and with the locals. I want everything," Draven instructed his subordinate, handing over his notes.

Back in the lab, Vivienne received Draven's information and a brief message.

'These are the three with odd reactions at Carly's mention. They've crossed paths but deny knowing her whereabouts.'

Opening the file, Vivienne noted these individuals were linked to the Torres family. What exactly was their connection to Gregg?

Despite sharing the Torres surname, there was no recorded blood relation. Could the records have been tampered with?

Diving back into her research, Vivienne re-entered a series of codes, pulling up images of Gregg alongside the three men.

DNA results confirmed they were indeed brothers, yet they posed as strangers in Luck Village. Was Carly associated with Abigail's group after all?

But why would she investigate the detention location? None of it made sense.

Frustrated, Vivienne set aside the paperwork, her face clouded with confusion.

"Was she really untraceable during those days?" Percival inquired.

Vivienne nodded, recalling the thorough search. "I checked every possible place in the village. Mentioning her name only made the villagers shun the topic even more." "How long was she gone?"

"Two days."

Two days sparked a revelation in Vivienne. If someone impersonated Carly for that duration, she would've noticed.

"I later scrutinized the village properly. It was small, with weapons hidden beneath farming plots, not hypnotic plants as suspected. Each household had their means of protection."

"Except Carly's," Vivienne realized,

noting the discrepancy with Carly's

empty land plot. They had

overlooked verifying Carly's home due to misplaced trust, and now, with Luck Village destroyed,

confirming the truth was impossible.

Regretting her haste, Vivienne was about to slam her fist on the table when Percival gently caught her hand.

"It's not your fault. We'll figure this

out. Even if Abigail makes no move soon, and Carly remains missing, we still have Connor. He's practically a dead end for Abigail now. Finding a new liaison won't be easy for them. We just need to locate Carly."

"Besides, Connor's last words might not even be credible. He could've been bluffing to unsettle us. Don't stress yourself over it," Percival advised, concern evident in his gaze. Vivienne had been tirelessly working on this, evident from the dark circles under her eyes.

"It's getting late. Let's go pick up the kids; they shouldn't have to wait," Percival suggested.

With a slight nod, Vivienne momentarily set aside her worries. The duo left the lab, heading to their children's school.

Brody glanced at the clock on the wall, setting aside his potion research with urgency. "Time to go!"

Anna barely caught his shout before he dashed out, his speed almost supernatural.

Brody expertly navigated to the dungeon, where Connor's agonized screams echoed, music to Brody's ears in this twisted scenario.

Brody sauntered down the hallway toward Connor, a light step in his stride and a tune on his lips.

"Dark souls and shattered dreams, I draw them in, day by day, a spirit's feast on despair's scream, only obedience keeps the reaper at bay..."

The haunting melody seemed to ignite a fiery impulse in Connor, who lay crumpled on the floor, a surge of desperation to end it all.

However, every attempt to throw himself against the wall ended with a harsh thud on the ground, further bruising his already battered body and oozing more blood, the stench of which Brody could detect from ten meters away. Casting a disdainful glance at the guard responsible for the dungeon, Brody complained, "Ever heard of ventilation? The stink in here is unbearable!"

As Brody grumbled, he approached Connor, finding a perverse sense of satisfaction in witnessing such despair, which, strangely, whet his appetite.

Without further ado, Brody dragged a chair over and sat down in front of the cell, starting to eat his meal, seemingly unfazed by Connor's miserable state. Thomas arrived just in time to witness this scene - Brody, with a smirk, enjoying his food in the hallway as screams echoed around them.

"You're twisted, man. How can you even eat with him looking like that? That's so you."ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .