The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne) novel Chapter 139

As the camera panned in the news report, a crowd of infuriated locals, unable to bear Arabella's audacious lies, flocked to the scene to give her a piece of their minds.

The turnout was so massive that it caused traffic congestion outside the precinct, forcing the police to step in to maintain order.

However, perhaps because they too were fed up with Arabella's actions, the officers only kept the crowd from disrupting traffic, not from attacking Arabella.

Arabella and Beatrice were bombarded. They screamed nonstop. They had bleeding wounds and disheveled appearances. Yet not a single soul showed them sympathy.

Finally, Arabella and Beatrice were hauled away by an ambulance.

Coincidentally, they were taken to the same hospital where Dorian was staying.

Dorian had just been wheeled out of the operating room at that time, with Vivienne and others accompanying him. They overheard the nurses whispering. "You know the girl and the old woman who were just brought in?"

"The ones from the news who falsely accused their relative of pedophilia and indecency?"

"Right. They both had their heads cracked open. When we stitched them up, we intentionally reduced the dose of anesthesia. They were crying out in pain!"

"Good job!"

The nurses chuckled and walked away.

Vivienne glanced at Dorian, who was still under the influence of anesthesia and sound asleep.

He had lost a significant amount of weight during his two-day stint in detention. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his cheeks and temples were sunken. It was clear that he had been through hell.

Recalling the twenty-three stitches the surgeon had shown her earlier, Vivienne's lips curled into a cold smile.

Arabella! Good! This was just the beginning, as long as you can bear my tactics.

Cordelia had been muttering that once Dorian woke up, they should sue Arabella for defamation.

To Vivienne, compared to the harm Arabella had inflicted on Dorian and his family, this was hardly a punishment.

Sensing her thoughts, Percival lowered his voice and said, "Not satisfied?"

Vivienne simply looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Vivienne, if I can make you feel better, can I ask you a favor?" Percival smiled.

"A favor?" Vivienne raised an eyebrow in question.

"Don't worry, it's nothing outrageous." Percival assured her.

"What are you thinking?" Vivienne was genuinely curious about his intentions.

"Just wait and see." Percival said with a mysterious grin.

"I'm waiting." Vivienne said with a smile.

She had intended to take matters into her own hands, but since Percival offered to step in, she was happy to sit back and watch.

Arabella, being young, recovered quickly despite the beating. Beatrice, however, being an elderly woman, had a harder time. She had to stay in the hospital.

Despite Elijah paying off the Hawthorn family's debts, they still couldn't afford a caretaker. The rest of the Hawthorn family had been sent to the countryside when they went bankrupt. So, it was up to Michael and Joseph to take turns caring for Beatrice.

Upon learning that Dorian was also in the same hospital, Michael and Joseph avoided Vivienne and Cordelia like the plague, fearing retribution.

Fortunately, Cordelia was too focused on caring for Dorian to bother with them.

"Forget it; we'll discuss this after mom is discharged." After noticing Beatrice’s state, Joseph quickly gave Michael a knowing look. "I'm leaving first."

Michael nodded, watching as a weary Joseph left.

He chatted with Beatrice for a while. Once she fell asleep, he lay down on his own cot.

As soon as he closed his eyes, Beatrice's phone rang.

After picking it up, he saw it was Arabella. He immediately hung up and turned off the phone.

He was full of resentment towards Arabella. If not for her slandering Vivienne on Twitter, he would still be the successful man everyone wanted to associate with, not someone who couldn't even afford a caretaker.

The more he thought about it, the more he saw Arabella as a nuisance. Almost all the conflicts with Vivienne were stirred up by her.

He didn't understand why Beatrice was so enamored with her.

As he was lost in thought, his own phone lit up. It was Arabella again.

He scoffed, hung up, and turned off his phone.

It was late at night, so she probably didn't bring any good news. They had enough problems already. Whatever mess she got herself into, she could handle it herself.

In Dorian's private hospital room, even though Vivienne had hired two caretakers to look after him around the clock, Cordelia remained. Worry was etched all over her face.

So she had sent Thaddeus to Percival's apartment for Vivienne to look after him while she stayed here.

As she was checking Dorian's IV drip, one of the nurses suddenly said, "Madam, Mr. Hawthorn's phone just lit up."