The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Juliet was baffled by the questioning, "Why do you care what my mom does?"

"I didn't mean it like that," Floyd waved his hands, trying to explain himself, "It's just, it's just..."

He wasn't sure if he could really say what was on his mind, especially considering the state he was in. After all, his dad had strictly

forbidden him from meddling with or even asking about certain family affairs.

If he were to spill the beans to Vivienne, his dad would have a fit.

But to Floyd, Vivienne had been a benefactor. In his eyes, her family's arrival had filled the void of affection that had been missing

in his life for years.

He was utterly lost.

Watching Floyd's internal struggle, Juliet's patience was wearing thin, "If you don't want to talk about it, fine. | didn't want to hear it

anyway!"

As she brushed past Floyd to leave, she muttered under her breath, "Good thing you didn't mess up those items, or my mom's

efforts would have been for nothing."

Floyd caught the murmur, his lips tightening as he watched Juliet walk away, his hand slowly clenching at his side.

Isaiah, hidden in a corner of the hallway, witnessed the entire exchange and sent the video he'd captured to Percival.

"Evidence."

Percival's lips twitched upon reading his son's message.

What did that mean? Couldn't he be more explicit?

As he shared this with Vivienne, she couldn't help but chuckle at Percival'splaint.

"Don't et who his father is. He's just like you. Are you reallyplaining about yourself now?"

"Me? I've never been like that with you."

Vivienne thought about it and realized it was true; the father and son were indeed cut from the scloth.

"Isaiah isn't just like that with you. He's like that with everyone, just not much of a talker."

After smore teasing, Vivienne hung up and watched the video of Floyd's struggle. As expected, Floyd seemed to know

something.

Now, it was all about whether Floyd was willing to take the next step.

Juliet and Isaiah spent the day hoping Floyd would approach them, especially since their mom had assured them Floyd would

surely talk today.

But as school was about to end, Floyd showed no signs of moving. Would he actually speak up?

Juliet fretted for a moment, but then Floyd looked up, their gazes meeting directly.

Just before school let out, Floyd dropped a note on Juliet's desk.

Upon opening it, she saw the message asking her to wait after school. She nodded at Floyd and stealthily signaled an OK to Isaiah,

who simply looked down and tapped something on his phone.

As the school bell rang, Vivienne received a message from Isaiah, her smile indicating that everything was going according to plan.

Together, they watched from afar as Floyd followed Juliet and Isaiah to meet Vivienne. When they arrived, Vivienne could sense

Floyd's apprehension.

She raised an eyebrow at Percival, as if to say, "Looks like Mr. Wolf lost his temper last night?"

Percival hadn't mentioned it to Vivienne, thinking it was trivial, but to his surprise, the boy seemed quite affected.

"Let's head hand say goodbye to your friends," Vivienne said with a smile to Floyd. "Your nanny is here too; we'll head out

first."

Floyd hesitated but finally gathered the courage to speak, "I have something to tell you."

"Oh? What is it?" Vivienne squatted to be eye-level with him, curious.

"About the things in your study," Floyd said, glancing nervously at Percival for approval.

Percival sighed, not expecting the boy to understand those documents.

Vivienne signaled to Percival, "What about them? If you want to talk, talk. I'm here; he can't do anything to you."

Encouraged by Vivienne, Floyd opened up, "l understand sof it. If you're stuck, | could help."

Floyd was taken aback by his own offer, having just promised strangers something potentially critical to his family's survival.

Vivienne, while pleased, still sought confirmation, "You're willing to share this with us? Why?"

Floyd was stumped. He hadn't considered why, and his momentary silence filled Vivienne with doubt.

She couldn't shake off a feeling of mistrust towards Floyd, his image somehow overlapping with that of someone who had once

posed a threat to Connor.

Shaking off the thought, she realized the physical discrepancies. The figure in her memory, though childlike, was taller and

differently built than Floyd, possibly someone with dwarfism.

Before any further mistrust could develop, their immediate concern was the Field family's secrets.

"Master Floyd? We've been looking for you; what are you doing here?" The nanny approached, her face relaxing as she saw

Vivienne and the others, "Nice to see you again, Mr. Ellington, Mrs. Cecilia."

"I'm going to hang out with my friends today," Floyd quickly said, presenting a dilemma for the nanny who had been instructed by

Madam not to let Floyd stay out late, resulting in his lack of friends and usual solitude.

The urgency in Floyd's eyes didn't escape the notice of his babysitter, who found herself in a bit of a bind.

Stepping forward, Vivienne reassured her, "Don't worry, he's safe with us. After dinner, we'll make sure he gets hsafely."

"Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?"

"Not at all. It's pretty normal for kids of their age to want to hang out together. As parents, we just want our kids to make friends

they feelfortable with."

Percival's words touched the babysitter, and after a glance at Floyd, she reluctantly agreed, "Then I'll have to trouble you."

Watching Vivienne's family take Floyd away, with Juliette and Isaiah flanking him, chatting away mostly through Juliette, the scene

looked better than any other day Floyd had left school. The babysitter's eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

It was as if a missing piece of love had been found at that moment.

If the young master was happy, so was she.

"Do you know what those weird symbols mean? It's like magic. My mom barely knows any, and Isaiah and | couldn't figure it out

with a dictionary. But you know," Juliette was surprised that this cheeky boy had stricks up his sleeve.

Perhaps Juliette's tone was a bit too exaggerated because Floyd responded with a slight smile, "Because they're from my family's

language.”