The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 131

Arabella made a quick assessment of her situation.

She had slipped out when the guards at the entrance were off guard, planning to replace a nearby place to borrow a phone to call the police.

By turning in Elijah, she would sever all ties with him in the public eye, and once he was locked up, she could finally be free.

She had fled in such a hurry that she hadn't even put on her shoes. She ran barefoot on the concrete pavement, eyeing a man in a black suit standing at the bus stop ahead.

"Sir, could I borrow your cellphone? I need to call the police!" She ran towards him, ignoring her raw and bleeding feet.

"Oh?" The man turned his face. His handsome looks made it hard to distinguish whether he was masculine or feminine, yet he was utterly aloof. "You need to call the police?" "Yes, I've found a fugitive. I need to report him!" Arabella nodded frantically.

With a cold smirk, the man suddenly covered Arabella's mouth with his gloved hand, dragging her back to the basement.

Oh no!

A chill ran down Arabella's spine as she realized this man was in cahoots with Elijah.

"Useless!" The man threw Arabella at Elijah. "You can't even keep an eye on your own girl! She nearly ran off to the cops!"

"Mister!" Elijah had been lounging on the bed, looking like a disheveled mess. He scrambled to his knees at the sight of the man.

But after seeing Arabella, he couldn't help but slap her harshly. "You traitor! How dare you betray me?!"

Arabella curled up, shivering. She was too frightened to make a sound.

"Have you forgotten who bailed you out of jail?!" Elijah lunged at Arabella.

"Worthless!" The man kicked Elijah onto the ground. "You're supposed to be here on a mission, but instead, you're messing around with perfume making, and you've ruined your reputation!"

"It was her. She encouraged me to challenge Vivienne!" Elijah quickly pointed at Arabella, blaming everything on her.

"You lost your mind over a woman? And you still have the balls to speak?" The man's voice grew colder.

"Sir, I beg you to let me make amends!" Elijah pleaded while kowtowing. "I promise I'll get my hands on Vivienne's perfume formulas!"

"No need." The man was ruthless. "From now on, I'll take over. You'll do as I say."

"Yes, yes." Elijah crawled like a dog on the ground, not daring to resist.

The man's gaze suddenly turned to Arabella, who was huddled to one side. Arabella had overheard their conversation and was wondering what they wanted Vivienne's perfume formulas for when the man's icy voice fell on her ears. "Didn't you want to call the police?"

"No! No! I was wrong! I won't do it again! I won't call the police!" Arabella couldn't help but tremble.

"Don't be afraid; here's the phone. Go ahead and call the police." The man took out his phone and handed it to Arabella.

Arabella blankly took the phone.

...

Bay Estates.

Vivienne had been busy settling in Riley and Raymond this week.

Given the publicity surrounding Riley being Vivienne's apprentice and Vivienne's low-profile approach to her perfume business, many well-known brands had turned their attention to Riley.

However, since Raymond and Riley had little experience in this field, Vivienne, fearing they would be taken advantage of, had Matthew arrange for a legal aid to review their contracts.

When Vivienne returned to Percival's apartment after settling everything, she was met with his resentful gaze.

"Vivienne, am I really that old?"

Vivienne looked at him and, while resting her chin on her hand, seriously said, "You don't look old."

Percival was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard Vivienne say, "But you are old, Mr. Wolf." Percival was speechless.

He regretted it.

He shouldn't have let her change his title.

He preferred Mr. Ellington.

Just as he was about to ask Vivienne to change his title back, Vivienne's phone rang.

It was Cordelia.

"Vivienne, your father's in trouble!" She said anxiously on the phone. "It's Arabella. She's accusing him of rape!"

"What happened?" Vivienne's heart sank; her face was darker than the sky on a cloudy day.

Percival, who had been sulking on the couch, suddenly became serious. He opened the news on his phone and showed it to Vivienne. "Vivienne, look."

"Don't worry. I'll call you back after I replace out what's going on." Vivienne reassured Cordelia and looked at Percival's phone.

The voice from the news video came out. "Today at two in the afternoon, the East District police received a report. Master Q's father, Dorian Hawthorn, was accused of raping his adopted daughter, Arabella, and has been arrested by the police."

"It is reported that Dorian has a paedophile inclination, and Arabella alleges that after adopting her, he would often molest her. To protect her from being violated by her adoptive father, Dorian's mother, Beatrice Hawthorn, would often keep Arabella by her side. Now, Beatrice Hawthorn has also come forward to testify."

After watching the video, Vivienne's face turned icy cold.

She then found another news piece about Elijah being arrested in the East District due to Arabella's tip-off.

The news portrayed Arabella as a daring woman who was brave enough to sever ties with her master, Elijah.

According to Arabella herself, she and Beatrice's family were taken hostage by Elijah. He fancied her and used the threat of harm to Beatrice and her family to manipulate her. She had no choice but to comply. However, she found an opportunity to escape and sought refuge with her foster father, Dorian. She hoped that Dorian would call the police, but instead, he attempted to take advantage of her. She fought back, knocked Dorian unconscious, and managed to escape unharmed.

"Hmm." Vivienne put away her phone and chuckled softly. But her laugh sent a chill down one's spine.

An icy aura seemed to radiate from her.

Was everyone under the impression that she was easygoing?

Percival gently patted her head and whispered, "Don't worry, I'll handle this."

Vivienne looked up with a frosty expression on her face. "No need. I'll deal with it myself!"

She paused for a moment before returning Cordelia's call. "Cordelia, I've seen the news."

"Vivienne, your father is absolutely not like that!" Cordelia's sobbing voice came through the phone. "When we adopted Arabella, your father truly loved her like his own. But she chose to chase after wealth and left us."

"I know." Vivienne softened her voice to reassure her. "Cordelia, don't worry. As long as he is innocent, I can prove it."

"How could she do this after all your father did for her?" Cordelia couldn't comprehend. Even if she resented them for cutting ties and wanted to take revenge, there was no need to tarnish her own reputation. "And your grandmother; she's your father's biological mother; how could she say those things?"