The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)

Finn saw the situation and said, "Bring both kids over to me. Let's see what's going on."

Leopold immediately nodded, "Understood, Master."

Casting a glance at Juliette, who was still unconscious, Leopold eventually brought both children over.

On the way to see Percival, Isaiah's lips were pressed tightly together. During a stop at a crosswalk, Leopold heard him ask in a low voice, "Is he really my dad?"

Leopold was taken aback by the question. He incredulously turned towards Isaiah. Weren't the father and son embracing each other up in the mountains just a while ago? How did things change so suddenly? He looked back at Isaiah, "Of course, he's your dad. Why would you ask that?"

Isaiah fell silent, looking out the window from the back seat.

Caught up in the earlier chaos, he hadn't had the chance to think too much. The moment he saw Percival, his only thought was a desperate hope that his mom would be saved.

Embracing Percival, Isaiah had already known the answer, but his question was more about seeking comfort than anything else.

Seeing Isaiah's silence, Leopold didn't press further. In their quiet journey, they soon arrived at the hospital.

Leopold was about to carry both children when Isaiah suddenly stepped back.

"What's wrong, Isaiah? We should go up; they're waiting for us," Leopold reached out to Isaiah again.

Isaiah looked up at Leopold, his eyes filled with sadness, "I don't want to go."

Surprised, Leopold squatted down to be eye-level with Isaiah, smoothing down his hair gently, "What happened all of a sudden? You were fine just a moment ago." Isaiah didn't speak, just shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes.

Leopold was taken aback by the tears. This ordeal had revealed a side of Isaiah he hadn't seen before, bringing out a sensitivity and fragility unexpected for his age. "Don't you want to see your mom? She's upstairs waiting for you. Why don't we go up and check on her, okay?" Leopold coaxed patiently.

Hearing his mom was upstairs, Isaiah wrestled with his emotions. He really wanted to make sure his mom was okay.

Finally, Isaiah looked up and grabbed Leopold's hand, "Okay, let's go."

He couldn't resist the urge to see his mom and find some peace of mind. "Alright, off we go."

The trio took the elevator up. As the doors opened, Isaiah braced himself.

Following Leopold, they stopped in front of a hospital room. Through the transparent glass, he couldn't see anyone until Leopold knocked on the door.

Soon, Isaiah saw a face appear, devoid of any warmth. The excitement he felt the first time was gone.

"Come in." Percival patted Leopold's shoulder and took Juliette from his arms to tuck her into the adjacent bed.

Isaiah's gaze immediately sought out Vivienne, desperate to check on her condition.

Finn scooped him up, "You wanted to see your mom, right? Here she is!"

Percival had just covered Juliette with a blanket when he noticed Isaiah's small figure, opening his mouth but unable to speak.

The moment Finn held Isaiah, tears burst forth. Looking tearfully at Vivienne, Isaiah asked, "Why hasn't Mommy woken up? It's been so long."

Trying to suppress his sobs, Isaiah bit his lip, forcing himself to stay quiet. Finn looked at him with pity.

Isaiah was so much like Vivienne, bearing everything silently...

"She's just tired and asleep. She'll wake up on her own soon enough," Finn finally resorted to comforting the child as best he could. Hearing this, Isaiah wiped his tears, and Finn was about to ask about what happened on the mountain when suddenly, Juliette woke up. Seeing the unfamiliar surroundings, she burst into tears, her cries echoing through the room before she buried herself under the blankets. Percival was the first to react, rushing to Juliette's side and gently patting her back through the blanket, "It's okay, the danger has passed." Juliette paused at the sound of a stranger's voice, peeking out from under the blanket to meet Percival's eyes.

In that moment, she froze, incredulously looking at the man before her - the man from her mom's photos.

Percival saw Juliette's hesitation and waited for her to process, not wanting to intrude.

After a moment, Juliette hesitantly said, "You are... Daddy?"

At the word "Daddy," Percival's eyes began to warm with emotion.

He had left when the children were just babies, and now they were talking and interacting with others.

"You really are Daddy." Juliette threw the blanket aside and lunged at Percival.

He caught her steadily, "Yes, it's me."

Finn glanced at Juliette but decided not to interrupt this father-daughter moment. He could see that Isaiah, still in his arms, hadn't accepted Percival as Juliette had.

"Can you tell me what happened up on the mountain?" Finn asked suddenly, pulling Isaiah's thoughts back to the present.

Isaiah lowered his head, fidgeting with his hands.

"Let me see if I can figure out why your mom passed out. Maybe we can pinpoint the problem that way, right?"

Finn seemed to have an endless reservoir of patience, and it wasn't long before Leopold joined in, both of them trying to coax Isaiah into talking.

Isaiah didn't say a word in response. He just glanced over at Juliet, who, by some twist of fate, was looking back at him. Their eyes locked in silent conversation.

"I think I saw a bit more than the rest of you."

As everyone eagerly turned their attention to Isaiah, Juliet suddenly spoke up, capturing everyone's focus.

Tears still glistened in Juliet's eyes as she woke up. Isaiah looked at her with concern, "Sis."

"What happened in the heart of that storm? Can you talk about it?" Percival gently asked, patting her on the back.

Juliet's emotion began to settle, "After we were thrown into that vortex, we kept rising. Mom came in not long after, following those two men."

The situation was dire; an invisible

force within the vortex tried to suck

them up. Just when Juliet thought they were goners, a gust of wind, fiercer than any before, swept through. NôvelDrama.Org: text © owner.

She and Isaiah were caught in the tempest, and through the blur, the only thing she could make out were those eyes, glowing red in the chaos.

"Then those two men started moving around the storm as if it was nothing, and Mom... she started fighting them."