The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)

When Coral got home, Gabriel was already gone.

She saw her parents sitting in silence on the sofa. She wanted to say something, but the vibe was off, so she tiptoed towards her room.

But as soon as she took one step, Brandon's angry voice boomed, "Stop!"

Coral instantly stopped, looking at Brandon with terror, "What's up, Dad?"

She knew that her actions had caused Uncle to lose his job and trouble for Vivienne, which had plunged the Lockwood family into crisis. Her parents were upset, and she knew they were going to hold her accountable.

Days passed and her parents hadn't mentioned the incident. She thought they wouldn't blame her, but now, she was starting to worry.

Her mom was usually pretty laid back and spoiled her, but her dad, oh boy, when he was angry, it was terrifying.

"Kneel down!" Brandon roared.

Coral was shocked. She wanted to argue back, but seeing the fury in Brandon's eyes, she lowered her head and obediently knelt down.

Jaylan Lockwood, hearing the commotion, came out. He glanced at Coral, but didn't say a word.

Yeah, this little sister definitely needed some discipline.

"Whack!" Brandon's hand came down on Coral's face, "You ignorant child! I have always been upright and never harmed others, but I never expected to raise such a troublemaker like you!" Coral, clutching her face, looked at Brandon in disbelief.

No matter what wrongs she had done in the past, her father had never hit her. This slap was a heavy one, and she could feel her face swelling up. Feeling wronged, she suddenly stood up, crying and glaring at Brandon, "Dad, you hit me? What did I do wrong, why did you hit me?"

"Whack!"

Before Coral could finish, she got slapped again, this time by Mrs. Lockwood.

Coral looked at her mother in disbelief.

Her father hitting her was one thing, but her mother too!

"We've spoiled you rotten! You're so reckless, and you still don't know to repent. You've really let me down." Mrs. Lockwood said coldly.

Coral had never seen Mrs. Lockwood so stern before, and she was a bit dazed, "Mom! Why? Why is this happening? I don't understand!"

Wasn't it just asking Uncle for a little favor?

Vivienne's diploma was real, she had no idea! Who would've thought that someone raised in Emerald Monastery would have a double degree doctorate at the age of sixteen?

Uncle got fired, and she felt guilty. This wasn't what she wanted to see, but her parents didn't understand her and even hit her.

"You don't understand?" Mrs. Lockwood said sternly, "The Lockwood family's company is on the brink of collapse, your uncle and aunt have lost their jobs, and your brother is under investigation and suspended from work."

Coral lowered her head, not saying a word.

"All these problems, you caused them all, and you're saying you don't understand?" Mrs. Lockwood was filled with disappointment.

Her parenting style was not strict. As a girl, she wanted Coral to have a privileged upbringing, to be loved and taught the right values. But she never imagined her daughter would go astray. This was her responsibility.

"Your father started from nothing and founded the Lockwood Group. Your brother studied until two in the morning every night to earn his current job. Do you know how hard it was for our family to get to where we are today? Your brother is transparent and fair in his dealings. He never acts out of line. Last time when you framed Vivienne for theft, your brother almost lost his job. Now, because of you again, your brother is under investigation. Can't you stand to see the success of our family?"

Luckily, the last time Coral framed Vivienne for theft, Jaylan took Vivienne back for investigation. It was a normal procedure, but because Coral was his own sister, he was suspended from work, but he was quickly reinstated.

But this time was different. This time was an investigation!

Being investigated as a law enforcement officer meant that the higher-ups suspected Jaylan of wrongdoing!

Once caught, being suspended was the least of his worries. Jail was the worst.

Luckily, Jaylan was upright and loved his job. He never broke the rules, so there was nothing to find even if they did check.

But Coral needed to be taught a lesson.

"No, how could I not want to see our family succeed? I, I just..." Coral was flustered.

She really didn't think things would get this serious.

"You just couldn't stand seeing Arabella being bullied, you just wanted to stand up for Arabella, you just thought Arabella was the real lady and Vivienne didn't deserve to be!" Mrs. Lockwood finished Coral's

sentence.

Coral looked at Mrs. Lockwood in surprise, "Mom, how do you know all this?"

Indeed, everything she did against Vivienne was for Arabella.

Arabella was her friend, and she couldn't bear to see Arabella being bullied.

"I've lived for over forty years, what tricks haven't I seen? Do you think Arabella's little schemes can fool me?"

Coral stared at her in surprise, "I don't get it! Don't you like Arabella?"

Mrs. Lockwood glanced at Coral, expressionlessly saying, "I don't like Arabella at all. The reason I'm friendly to her when she comes over is because you consider her a friend. I don't want to upset you, so I let you two be friends."

She didn't like Arabella from the first time she met her. She felt Arabella was too manipulative.

Actually, she wanted to stop Coral from being friends with Arabella, but she loved Coral and didn't want to upset her, so she let it slide.

When Coral framed Vivienne for theft last time, she made it clear that Coral should not be friends with Arabella anymore and even grounded her at home for a few days.

But then she got busy with the company and didn't have time to deal with Coral.

Who would've thought that not much time had passed, and trouble arose again.

"What the heck? Arabella's so smart and gentle. Everybody wants to be her friend. Mom, how come you don't like her?"

Coral was completely blindsided. Her mom didn't like Arabella?

But she truly didn't get it. Wasn't Arabella great?

Mrs. Lockwood had planned to give Coral a stern lecture, but seeing her bewildered face, she sighed instead, "Coral, think about it, does Arabella really consider you a friend? Doesn't she always ask for your help to solve her problems?"

"She's my friend. Is it wrong for me to help her?" Coral didn't think she was wrong.

"There's nothing wrong with helping friends, but Arabella isn't worth it. Take how she keeps saying Vivienne is targeting her. If that's true, why did Vivienne's family move out? Also, if Arabella is so great, why wouldn't the Ellington family want her, but pick Vivienne who grew up in the countryside instead? Do you think Richard is a fool?"

"Richard has seen more people than the food you've eaten. He chose Vivienne over Arabella, which means there's something wrong with Arabella. Moreover, Vivienne earned dual doctorate degrees at sixteen that's an honor. If it weren't for Arabella stirring up trouble, wouldn't you have thought Vivienne was impressive too?"

Coral didn't answer.

It seemed to be true.

Her bad impression of Vivienne was all because Arabella always acted like a victim in front of her, including this time. Arabella claimed that Vivienne's certificates might be fake, so she got her uncle to help. "Today is the last time we'll talk about this. Tomorrow we're going to apologize to Vivienne. Think hard about it. If you get it, come with us. And about Arabella, I hope you can make the right judgment. Is such a friend worth it?"

With that, Mrs. Lockwood went into the room with Brandon.

Jaylan glanced at Coral, said nothing, and also went into his room.