The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)

Cloudcrest High School.

After the last class, Coral and Arabella left the classroom together.

Arabella held her phone in her hand, distraught. Recently, Doreen had been bombarding her with calls, saying that Faye was seriously ill and hoping she could visit. But she didn't go.

She had seen the prescription written by Dr. William herself. It was for a disfigured patient who had been cured. She was confident that the prescription was correct. However, Doreen insisted that Faye had developed symptoms of high fever, vomiting, and diarrhea after taking her medication. This infuriated her.

Faye's illness was her own problem. Why should Arabella be held responsible?

At first, she patiently explained a few times when Doreen called her. But when the calls became frequent, she got impatient and decided not to answer them anymore.

However, since noon, her phone hadn't rung. A sudden unease was gnawing at her.

Could something really have happened to Faye?

"Arabella, what's up with you? You seem a bit out of it." Coral noticed her unusual mood and asked.

Arabella was brought back to reality by her voice and shook her head with a smile. "Nothing, I was just thinking about the problem the teacher talked about today."

Then she changed the subject. "Coral, how's your uncle doing? Still got his job?"

Upon hearing this, Coral immediately got upset. "Don't even mention it. My uncle got sacked and our family business has run into some issues. My brother is staying at home, not going to work." Arabella was surprised. "Why? What happened?"

"I'm not really sure. My parents didn't tell me anything about it. But the atmosphere at home is really bad. My parents and brother are always looking gloomy. I don't even dare to talk to them." "Does it have anything to do with my sister?" Arabella asked.

"I overheard my parents talking. They mentioned the Ellington family. I guess Mr. Ellington is helping Vivienne." Coral said angrily. "Arabella, I really feel bad for you. You're clearly the best. You're the one who deserves Mr. Ellington. Just because Vivienne is the real daughter of the Hawthorn family, you have to give up your fiancé to her."

Arabella smiled, "Who knows? Maybe Mr. Ellington will change his mind in the future? I'll just focus on my studies for now. Maybe with time, Mr. Ellington will notice how great I am!"

After their conversation, they said goodbye at the school gate and got into their own cars. Tranquil Estates.

Gabriel, looking worn out, slumped on the sofa and pleaded with Coral's father, Brandon Lockwood. "Brandon, can't you help me out? I'm at the end of my rope. If I don't sort out my job situation, my family is screwed."

"How do you expect me to help?" Brandon replied grimly. "Your actions have landed the Lockwood family business in unprecedented trouble. Even Jaylan was almost affected. His position was in jeopardy. We've got our own problems to deal with. How can we possibly help you?"

"All I did was check into Ms. Vivienne's background at Coral's request. Who knew her background was so strong? Now, not only did I lose my job, but my wife also got fired. We've got two kids to feed. We're barely scraping by on a meager income. If you guys don't help out, we're done for."

"How old are you? You just believe whatever Coral tells you? She falsely accused Ms. Vivienne of theft not too long ago. And now she's stirring up new trouble. She doesn't know what she's doing, but do you? Even a layman like me knows that your department has a verification system. One check would tell you whether a diploma is fake!"

Brandon's face was thunderous. "But what did you do? You didn't even bother checking and just went straight in. You wanted to start an investigation without any evidence, and you were personally questioned by Rivenwood's higher-ups. If they didn't fire you, who else would they fire?"

Mrs. Lockwood on the side was also full of disappointment. "Gabriel, I told you before. The Lockwood family's position is hard-earned. I asked you to keep a low profile, but you just wouldn't listen. We used our connections to get you this job, and you took it for granted, acting high and mighty at work, as if you were invincible. You think we didn't know?"

"..."

"Don't you dare try to defend yourself!" Mrs. Lockwood cut him off angrily. "Even though Coral asked you this time, can you assure me that you didn't have selfish motives?"

Gabriel hung his head in silence.

He did have selfish motives. He wanted to use this situation to gain some benefits. The Hawthorn family is loaded. To protect Vivienne, they would naturally have to fork over some money.

But who knew that Vivienne's background was so powerful? She called the chief of Rivenwood directly. He didn't get any benefits, but instead, he got into big trouble.

"You repeatedly ignored our advice. Now, you've caused trouble not just for yourself but also for the Lockwood family. If you didn't come to see us today, I was planning to come to you. I want to ask you, what grudge does the Lockwood family have against you? What good did we do for you?"

Gabriel looked up, his face full of confusion. "Isn't Percival a loser? Where did he get such a huge capital?"

"You're the real screw-up!" Mrs. Lockwood retorted, standing up in fury. "The Ellington family has already announced that Percival will be taking over the family business. Percival, who you dimwits see as a waste of space, is actually a diamond in the rough, just waiting to shine. You messed with his fiancée, how could he possibly let that slide? And even if he was a screw-up, he's still the Ellington family's golden boy. If his fiancée is harassed, how could Richard just stand by and do nothing? What's going on in that head of yours? Can't you think about the consequences before you act?"

Gabriel slumped onto the couch, "So there's no other way out?"

"There is. Go apologize to Vivienne. Not just you, but all of us, after Coral finishes school. Whether the Lockwood family can weather this storm depends on Vivienne's attitude," Mrs. Lockwood said sternly. She had never met Vivienne, but she had heard a lot about her.

There were many versions, saying she was a country bumpkin, uneducated, disowned by the Hawthorn family, and so on.

Some even compared Vivienne to Arabella, saying Vivienne was inferior.

But she thought all those were pure bull.

Regardless of anything else, just look at the last incident where Coral accused Vivienne of theft. Vivienne was able to garner support from so many influential people, which was no simple feat.

This time even the leadership of the related government departments in Rivenwood was alarmed. Could Vivienne be an ignorant country girl?

And also, a sixteen-year-old with two PhDs, how many of them could you find in the country?

Therefore, if they hoped for the Lockwood family to be unscathed, they had to seek Vivienne's forgiveness.

"I get it now."