The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Chapter 36

“Ha ha!” At that, Leopold burst out laughing.

Vivienne was straight to the point with her comeback.

Percival and Thomas didn’t show much emotion, but Isolde looked confused. She tilted her head to

look at Vivienne and asked in a childlike tone, “Vivienne, isn’t she a human?”

“Nope.” Vivienne answered frankly.

“Ha ha!” Leopold couldn’t hold it in anymore and laughed out loud.

Vivienne, you’re a riot!

Isolde thought for a while, then asked, “Is she a ghost then? Why did she disappear when she went

into the room with you? Did she use magic to disappear?”

After she said this, she felt something was off and corrected herself, “No, ghosts can’t use magic. They

can only scare people.”

She then hid in Vivienne’s arms and pretended to be scared, “I’m scared! There’s a ghost!”

Although Isolde’s words were amusing, everyone in the room was smart. They all started thinking

seriously about this.

Arabella had come to the room with Vivienne, but then she brought people to catch them in the act.

But what they caught was Joseph, so Arabella claimed that Vivienne had drugged him.

Thinking carefully, there were many questions in this situation.

As for what the Hawthorn family was up to, they had no idea, and since it didn’t concern them, no one

said anything. They just treated it as a joke.

Arabella’s face was extremely darkened, she suppressed her rage and demanded, “What do you mean

by that, sis?”

Vivienne gave her a casual glance, “Don’t you understand?”

“I don’t understand!” For some reason, whenever Arabella talked to Vivienne, she couldn’t control

herself, her voice unconsciously rising a few pitches, “I came to the room with you, but after I got you

your clothes, I left because you told me to go and get Mr. Ellington for you. I don’t know anything about

what happened after.”

Arabella saw everyone looking at her strangely and quickly shifted the blame to Vivienne, “The maid

heard strange noises from the room, so we came to check. Who knew it would be Joseph here? Only

you guys were here during that time, are you saying this has nothing to do with you?”

Vivienne chuckled, her smile mocking, “The maid heard strange noises and came to check?”

“Yes.” Arabella answered confidently.

She looked around at everyone and said leisurely, “What did you want to see? If Mr. Ellington and I

were doing something in there? If we were, wouldn’t you usually handle such scandals internally? You

guys came in with a group of people, as if you couldn’t wait for people to find out. Why were you so

certain that Mr. Ellington and I were having an affair?”

Vivienne’s gaze turned cold, “Or was it because when you came in and saw that the person inside

wasn’t me, you were mortified?”

Everyone thought she had a point.

Even if Vivienne and Percival were having an affair, Beatrice should have immediately had the news

suppressed and not let it spread.

No family would want their private matters to be publicized, especially in high society where a scandal

could be greatly exaggerated by the media.

Yet, Arabella deliberately told Beatrice in front of everyone that Vivienne and Mr. Ellington were alone in

the room, as if they were doing something unmentionable.

This was obviously done on purpose.

Everyone understood then, Ms. Vivienne might have been framed, and the person behind it was the

talented woman well–known in Havenwood, Arabella.

Everyone looked at Arabella, their eyes filled with various emotions.

Arabella felt everyone’s gaze on her, her face burned. She hadn’t expected Vivienne, this country girl,

to be so logical. With just a few words, she drew everyone’s attention to her.

She had underestimated Vivienne.

“You are shameless!” Beatrice cursed in a fit of rage, “You’re not even married yet but you’re having an

illicit affair with Mr. Ellington and framing Joseph. You’re not sorry at all and even blame others, you’re

absolutely lawless.”

“Did you see me having an illicit affair with Mr. Ellington? Vivienne replied calmly.

Before Beatrice could say anything, Vivienne interrupted her, “If you didn’t see it, why are you throwing

dirt at me? I’m arrogant and domineering? I don’t respect you? Please tell me, Beatrice, what right do

you have to judge my character when you never cared about your own granddaughter and are always

critical of your daughter–in–law?”

The room fell silent.

The guests were shocked at the news about the Hawthorn family.

Donan and Cordelia heaved a sigh of relief.

Ever since Vivienne came back, she spoke very little. If she could avoid talking, she wouldn’t say a

word.

“What nonsense are you talking about!” Beatrice reacted, shouting angrily, “Everyone can see your

arrogant and domineering behavior, and you blame me? I don’t care about you? With your attitude,

have you ever given me a chance to care about you?”

She wished Vivienne would disappear from her sight!

This ungrateful girl, what was she trying to do saying all this in front of so many people?

Was she trying to embarrass her?

Vivienne said, “In that case, I’ll give you a chance to care about me.”

She glanced at Joseph and the maid still struggling in the servant’s room, her eyes full of indifference.

Keep struggling!

She had made the drug herself, and it would take a long time to wear off.

She shifted her gaze and said nonchalantly, “Mr. Ellington has got some juicy stuff on his hands. You

should take a look first, then worry about me.”

On hearing this, Percival, in his wheelchair, handed his phone to Thomas, saying, “Since the Hawthorn

family loves to watch things, you can project it on the wall. Let’s all get a front–row seat.”

Thomas acknowledged with a nod, and promptly projected the video from the phone onto the wall.

The image gradually came into focus.

Arabella was seen in a corner, handing a packet of something to a nanny, instructing, “During dinner,

slip this into Vivienne’s glass. And remember, don’t get caught.”

Arabella’s face turned ghostly pale in an instant.

There was a camera in that corner?

She was sure there wasn’t one, but how did Percival get his hands on this?

Percival rested his hands on the arms of his wheelchair, fingers intertwined, speaking in a calm tone,

“Beatrice, Hawthorn family’s adopted darling has tried to drug Ms. Vivienne. If Ms. Vivienne wasn’t

medically savvy, our reputation would’ve been ruined by now.”

He slowly raised his eyes, his voice steady, “Ms. Vivienne has been wronged. Don’t you care about

her?”

There wasn’t supposed to be a camera there, but then, Vivienne had installed one.:

He didn’t question how Vivienne managed to install hidden cameras in all blind spots under the

watchful eyes of the Hawthorn family. This video was sent to him by Vivienne.

Yes, Vivienne said, she hoped her fiancé could help her sort this mess.

“Beatrice, here’s your chance to show you care about me,” Vivienne said seriously.