The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 1

On a July evening, around seven o'clock when the sky was still not completely dark.

On Emerald Mountain, Vivienne was standing in front of a nameless grave, dressed in black casual clothes with a cold expression. She said to the tombstone, "Mother, tomorrow marks the end of our ten-year pact. You asked me to temper my edge for a decade, and I've done it. Tomorrow, I'm going back to the Hawthorn family."

It was so quiet that only the sound of the wind could be heard. Suddenly, a loud "bang" made Vivienne turn her head. There was a black car not too far away, skewed to the side. Obviously, a tire had blown. A man stepped out of the car, dressed in black sportswear, staggering forward as if he was injured. Then, about a dozen men followed him, all dressed in black.

Percival turned his head and looked back. His face bore a layer of coldness, and he clutched his abdomen with one hand, his lips turning pale.

"Just give up. We've paid such a high price. You can't escape," the men in black closed in on Percival. The leader of the group had an expressionless face, emanating a strong aura of menace.

"You think you can catch me?" Percival narrowed his eyes, his voice icy. He felt a sharp pain in his stomach, like a knife cutting into him. He could feel his blood draining out and knew he couldn't hold on much longer.

"Let's see about that," after the leader of the men in black spoke, he launched an attack towards Percival.

Just then, a stone came flying and hit the man in black, who immediately fell to his knees.

"Who's there?" The man in black yelled.

Vivienne answered casually, "You're disturbing my mother's rest. Can you fight somewhere else?"

Everyone turned their attention to Vivienne, their expressions serious. Even Percival looked surprised. The people before him were international assassins, each one a formidable force. Yet they had been defeated by a young girl with a single stone. This girl was something else.

"I hope you will remember to mind your own business in the next life." The man in black ordered, "Kill her." His followers immediately rushed at her.

Vivienne's eyes were cold.

"Watch out." Percival yelled seeing the men rush at Vivienne. But he was immediately stunned. He saw that the dozen or so assassins didn't even have a chance to react before they all fell in front of Vivienne. Vivienne was still standing in the same spot, her face emotionless, not even blinking. If it weren't for the sight of her hand not yet withdrawn, Percival would have thought he was seeing things.

"Get lost." Vivienne's voice was ice-cold.

The men in black looked at her as if they'd seen a ghost, "Who are you? What did you do to us?" They still didn't understand how they had fallen. All they saw was the girl slightly lifting her hand and scattering some sort of powder, then they all fell. They hadn't even touched a single finger of the girl.

While waiting for Vivienne's response, the men in black all passed out. Vivienne glanced at them and then looked at Percival not too far away. His heartbeat quickened as he saw her clear eyes, as clear as the moon. Collecting his thoughts, he walked over and said gently, "Thank you."

Vivienne glanced at him, "I didn't do it to save you." She just didn't want her conversation with her mother to be interrupted.

After saying that, Vivienne turned around and lightly patted the tombstone, "Mom, I'm leaving. Take care." Vivienne waved her hand and moved on.

"Wait a minute..." Percival didn't finish his sentence when he fell to the ground.

Vivienne turned back, frowned, and then left. Suddenly, a gust of wind picked up around her. Vivienne stopped and looked at the tombstone, "You want me to save him?" There was no response, Vivienne was silent for a moment, sounding a bit helpless, "Alright, I'll save him."

Vivienne crouched down, opened Percival's clothes and saw that he had a serious wound on his stomach. But it wasn't a big deal. She took out a small porcelain bottle from her bag, sprinkled some powder, and then took out another bottle and fed Percival a mysterious pill.

If Percival were awake now, he would definitely see that the pill was a highly sought-after healing medicine on the black market. One pill was worth fifty dollars and was in short supply.

After feeding Percival the pill, Vivienne didn't stay any longer and walked away.

At the Hawthorn Mansion in Havenwood.

"As long as I'm alive, Vivienne will never get into our family." An angry voice echoed, heard throughout the mansion.

In the living room, Vivienne lifted her eyes slightly to look at the furious Beatrice in front of her. Her gazes were meaningful and her face expressionless. In an angle where others couldn't see, she showed a hint of mockery.

She was brought back by her father, Dorian. Before she could settle in, Beatrice had already gotten the news and called them to the Hawthorn Mansion.

As soon as they entered, Beatrice made it clear that she didn't agree with Vivienne coming back.

Dorian clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, trying to hold back his emotions. After ten years, he finally found his daughter. He was overjoyed but never expected that his mother would not let Vivienne come back. Moreover, she disrespected Vivienne in front of the whole family.

"She's not worthy. I will never acknowledge her as my granddaughter." Beatrice slammed the table, "My only granddaughter is Arabella."

Beatrice's gaze turned to Vivienne. Those tired old eyes stared straight at her like a knife. Vivienne lifted her eyes to meet Beatrice's, then turned away. She didn't care about the old woman staring at her. Dorian suddenly looked up, "Now that I've found Vivienne, I'm not letting her go again. Mind your own business, mom."

"You dare!" Beatrice stood up abruptly, her voice booming, "If you dare bring her back, I'll strip you off your position and revoke your shares."

Dorian laughed scornfully, "Position? Shares? Mom, I'm just a small fry in the company, earning a measly 4 grand a month. It's you who's clinging onto me, not wanting me to leave. And about my shares, haven't you already taken them all back?"

"You!" Beatrice was so angry she was grinding her teeth, "Are you deliberately picking a fight with me?" She couldn't believe that this son of hers, who'd always been seen as a pushover, would dare to talk back to her because of Vivienne. She knew that Vivienne and her late mother were nothing but troublemakers, out to wreck the relationship between her and her son.

Just as Dorian was about to speak, Arabella, who had been silent for a while, suddenly piped up, "Granny, please let my sister, Vivienne, come back."

"Humph." The old lady looked at Arabella with less hostility, but still replied coldly, "Let Vivienne come back? Dream on."

"But she's Mr. Ellington's fiancée." Arabella blinked, flashing a smile.