The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 129

Arabella sat rigidly beneath the stage, completely at a loss as to how things had spiraled so disastrously out of control. It seemed that every time she made a move against Vivienne, things took a turn for the worst.

Elijah had suddenly been branded as a kidnapper and a fraud.

And she, as his apprentice... What would become of her?

She watched the angry crowd, trembling in fear of being swept away in their rage.

She tried to stay unnoticed, hoping to slip away in the chaos, but was confronted by a group of high school girls.

They hurled insults at her with scathing words.

"Arabella! Where do you think you're going?! No wonder Elijah chose you as his apprentice; you're both nothing more than scum!"

"Yeah, pretending to be all high and mighty because you're Elijah's apprentice, ordering us around like we're your servants. You're useless!"

In the blink of an eye, punches and kicks began to rain down on her. Once a brawl started, it was hard to stop it, especially when the crowd felt justified in their anger.

Each punch and kick was seen as a righteous act.

The mob's fury was eventually subdued by the arrival of the police, who took Elijah away on charges of kidnapping and illegal confinement.

Once the chaos in the auditorium had subsided, the sound of soft sobbing could be heard from a corner.

Arabella's long hair had been hacked off haphazardly, and her school uniform was torn to shreds, revealing her undergarments. Bruises covered her from head to toe, and her face was so swollen that it was hard to recognize her once beautiful features.

But no one paid her any attention or offered her any assistance. Once Elijah's crimes were exposed, everyone remembered her past deeds.

Most importantly, she herself admitted that Beatrice had tested her and Vivienne's talent in perfumery. She had claimed that Beatrice favored her because Vivienne lacked talent, which led to Vivienne's jealousy and Percival's plot to bankrupt the Hawthorn family.

But was that really the case?

Vivienne lacked talent?

She was the renowned Master Q!

She could earn more money with a single perfume than the entire Hawthorn family fortune. Did she need to be jealous or seek Beatrice's approval?

So Arabella had been lying.

That day of the apprenticeship, she and Elijah had teamed up to humiliate Vivienne.

Such a habitual liar who constantly tried to tarnish her sister's reputation did not deserve sympathy.

"Why are you doing this to me?! What have I done wrong?!"

Seeing that no one was willing to come to her aid, Arabella angrily got to her feet, accusing everyone. "It was all Elijah's doing! I've only been his apprentice for a few days. I didn't know anything." Still, no one paid any attention to her; their faces were indifferent, lacking even a hint of pity.

Unable to bear this cold treatment, she fled in despair.

Vivienne remained on stage. Although a large group of people had rushed up to beat Elijah, the stage was in chaos, where she stood, everything was clean and orderly; even the bottles and jars on her perfume table were still neatly arranged; not a single one had fallen over.

After releasing the news, she hadn't said a word. She just watched coldly as Elijah was beaten into a pulp by the angry crowd before being taken away by the police.

In truth, she could have used her influence to rescue Riley and Raymond directly.

However, she hadn't fully figured out Elijah's background yet and didn't want to expose her own strength so quickly. Also, she wanted to use this scandal to help Riley and Raymond.

After she left Graslandia, she returned home and started investigating the potion issue, neglecting the siblings, which allowed Elijah to take advantage of them.

After this incident, everyone would know that the deaf-mute girl, Riley, was Master Q's apprentice, and all the perfumes that Elijah had launched on the market were the creations of this 12-year-old girl. With these achievements, the siblings' future would be secured.

Vivienne suddenly addressed the crowd still in the auditorium. "I'm here today to present my fourth creation."

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback.

Vivienne returned to her perfume table and quickly mixed another perfume.

The audience's attention was immediately drawn to her, especially the perfume enthusiasts, who were thrilled to witness the birth of a new creation from the mysterious Master Q.

The five judges sitting in the jury box were in awe.

Mrs. Dunhill and the others were all stunned when the chaos ensued. They hadn't expected a simple perfume competition to turn into a crime scene.

When they thought about it, the perfumes they had just praised from Elijah must have been created by Riley, which made them feel sick to their stomachs. How could he have the audacity to accept their praise?

But now, their attention was entirely focused on the new perfume that Vivienne had just finished mixing.

"Ms. Hawthorn, no, Master Q." Mrs. Dunhill stood up excitedly. "Could we be the first to experience your new creation?"

"Mrs. Dunhill, may I ask, if I were not Master Q, would you still want to try the perfumes I create?" Vivienne asked calmly.

Mrs. Dunhill paused, exchanging glances with the other judges.

Apart from Henry White, the other four were all ashamed.

Due to their prejudice, they had dismissed Vivienne's perfume. Now, they realized they were the ones who were blind. Their unfair behavior was not fair to the competition.

If Vivienne wasn't the renowned Master Q but just a talented young girl, their arrogance could have crushed and destroyed a true genius.

"I'm sorry. I'm deeply ashamed of my behavior." Mrs. Dunhill hung her head low.

The other three perfumers also started to apologize to Vivienne.

"I accept your apologies." Vivienne didn't push them further. Instead, she had her newly formulated perfume delivered to the five judges.

Mrs. Dunhill and her colleagues, who had thought they were out of the game, were overjoyed at this development.

They were flattered beyond belief to be the first to review Master Q's new perfume.

Mrs. Dunhill and Henry White were the first to take up the scent strips sprayed with the perfume, gently fanning them to catch the aroma.

The other three perfumers followed suit.

A few minutes later, Mrs. Dunhill's face lit up with delight. "Master Q has never failed to impress. This perfume has a fougère base. It starts off strong and masculine, then takes a rich, deep turn, and finally becomes warm and seductive. It's absolutely splendid!"

Henry White also nodded approvingly, asking Vivienne in his broken English. "Is this a men's perfume?"

Vivienne nodded and smiled. Her gaze met Percival's, who had been quietly watching her from the audience. "I've named it 'Timeless Man Cologne.""

Percival was left speechless.