The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne) novel Chapter 1031

The chill in the air took everyone by surprise over the next few days.

Vivienne, thanks to her pregnancy, found herself succumbing to sleep more than ever, spending the majority of her day either eating or curled up in bed.

Percival, worried about leaving her alone, stayed by her side constantly.

One afternoon, while Vivienne was deep in slumber, her phone on the bedside table began to vibrate.

Seeing the caller ID, Percival picked it up and stepped outside to answer.

"Boss!" came Draven's voice through the phone.

"It's me," Percival replied with a stern voice. "Vivienne's asleep. What's the matter?"

Draven paused briefly, then quickly said, "Percival, Declan's made another move. But these symbols, only you can decipher them. We think he's trying to send a message out."

Percival frowned. "Did the surveillance catch anything unusual?"

Draven's response was firm. "Nothing at all."

Percival's gaze darkened slightly. "Keep an eye on him. Report back with any suspicions. I'll inform Vivienne."

When Vivienne woke up, she turned to see Percival sitting by her side, which warmed her heart. "Mr. Wolf, what time is it?"

Percival looked at her, closing his laptop gently. "You're awake. It's seven in the evening."

Vivienne rubbed her temples. "Why do I feel like I can sleep forever?"

Percival took her hand and massaged her temples gently. "Hungry? I'll whip up something you love."

She glanced outside at the night sky and nodded. Her morning sickness had been particularly bad before she fell asleep, leaving her stomach feeling incredibly empty.

As Percival stood to leave, he handed her the phone. "Draven called. There's been some activity on Declan's end. I've forwarded the details to your phone. Take a look while I get started on dinner."

After Percival left, Vivienne sat up and unlocked her phone.

The message from Draven was already two hours old, containing a surveillance video. She watched it, noting the addition of several cryptic gestures she hadn't seen before. These symbols didn't seem to relate to Abigail but rather looked like Declan paying homage to his "faith."

Percival returned with a tray of food just as Vivienne was puzzling over the phone. "Any leads?" he asked.

Vivienne shook her head. "Some of these gestures are coded. I can't decipher them."

Percival, guessing her thoughts, handed her a bowl of soup and said, "I'll have Thomas stick close to you from tomorrow. His current task is nearly done."

"What about Leopold?" she asked, taking a sip of the soup.

Percival sighed. "Kellan's got him running errands for the Martinez family. He'll be tied up for a day or two."

Vivienne remembered Leopold's engagement party, orchestrated by their mentor. She couldn't help but feel a sense of amusement and sympathy for Leopold, who was unaware that these gestures of goodwill were merely offhand remarks by their mentor. The reputation of Emerald Mountain hinged on such subtleties.

"But we don't need to rely solely on Thomas," she suggested to Mr. Wolf. "Let Anna stick by me."

Percival considered this for a moment then nodded. "That works. Anna, being a woman, might be more attentive to your needs right now."

The next morning, before Percival and Vivienne even left the house, Anna was already waiting outside.

Seeing Vivienne, Anna quickly approached and stood at attention. "Vivienne, I'm here."

Percival had zero interest in getting tangled in Leo's mess. “He asked for my help.”

“And you dared to pull a fast one on the father-in-law? Not scared of Griffin coming after you?” Anna chimed in from behind.

Only then did Leo notice Anna approaching. He couldn't resist a teasing laugh. “Oh, look who it is. Isn’t this the busy bee who couldn’t even make time for her friend's engagement party?”

Anna fell silent.

She was aware of Leo’s engagement and had even received an invitation, but she was deep into tracing leads on her birth mother at the time and couldn’t attend.

Subsequently, she ended up in the hospital over another matter, completely forgetting about Leo’s engagement.

Leo “generously” understood. “No worries about not showing up. Just don’t forget to send over your gift later.”

Anna rolled her eyes internally.

She should’ve known.

Vivienne, tired of the banter, took the blueprints from Leo and signaled for Matthew to open the door.

Together with Mr. Wolf, they entered the building.

In the main hall, Vivienne spread out the blueprints and was surprised to see new marks dotting the paper.

“These must be fresh,” she commented, eyeing the red dots that seemed newly added.

Percival spoke up, “Those are Mr. Watson’s work. With years of experience under his belt, he marked the spots he suspects are worth our attention, making our investigation easier.”