The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 132

In the case against Dorian, Arabella's accusations weren't the most lethal blow. It was Beatrice coming forward as a false witness that truly turned the tide.

She spun an elaborate tale, down to the specific day and setting of the supposed event. To any reasonable person, it was absurd to believe a mother would falsely accuse her son of such heinous crimes without reason. Unless, of course, it was true.

This logic had swayed public opinion heavily against Dorian. His employer, the prosperous Vanwright Corporation, and even the future in-laws, the Ellington Group, suffered a hit in their stock prices due to the scandal.

Online, there were numerous people stirring up trouble for Vivienne. Whether these were paid trolls or not, it was hard to tell.

"You all know what kind of person Beatrice is, right?" Vivienne's voice was flat.

Beatrice was willing to sever ties with her own son just to get her hands on a perfume formula. She was hardly a saint. But Vivienne didn't believe Beatrice, a woman known for her self-interest, would go so far as to help Arabella frame her own son for no reason.

She also didn't believe that Arabella was reckless enough to destroy her own reputation out of spite, without any ulterior motives. They were likely driven by some kind of gain.

But who could be backing them?

"What do we do now? I went to the police station, but they wouldn't let me see your father." Cordelia choked out.

During an investigation, suspects weren't allowed to see their families.

"I'll handle this." Vivienne said. "You are not to meet with Arabella or anyone from the Hawthorn family."

This matter was highly publicized, so she couldn't use her connections to force the police to release Dorian. She needed to hire a lawyer and follow the legal procedures. Cordelia was silent for a moment before saying, "I got a call from Michael today. He wants to meet and discuss the situation."

"Did you agree?" Vivienne's voice dropped a notch.

"Yes."

Vivienne frowned.

Cordelia was desperate, and Vivienne could understand that. If they could convince Beatrice to recant her statement, things would be much easier.

"Cordelia, you don't need to worry about anything. Just stay at home and take care of Thaddeus. Leave everything else to me."

For some reason, Vivienne's calm and collected voice was a great comfort to Cordelia. Slowly, she began to calm down.

With the support of Percival, maybe everything would be alright. It was not their intention to take advantage of their ties with the Ellington family, but sometimes, when things were dire, you had no choice but to rely on family.

"Alright, Vivienne. I'll listen to you."

After comforting Cordelia, Vivienne received a call from Draven before she could even reach out to him.

She exchanged a glance with Percival, who was quietly observing her. With a slight nod, she moved away from him to answer the call by the window.

"We failed." Draven's voice was filled with regret. "We saw only Arabella in the room at the time, so we didn't guard against her, and then this happened."

"It was a trap." Vivienne said. "This was likely targeting me."

She told Draven to pay extra attention to Cordelia and Thaddeus. She didn't want anyone taking advantage of any loopholes.

"Don't worry." Draven reassured her.

"Find out who's backing Arabella." Vivienne ordered.

"Yes."

After hanging up, Vivienne messaged Matthew to hire the best lawyer for Dorian. Only a lawyer could meet with Dorian now and replace out the details of the case.

"Vivienne."

Vivienne stood by the window in deep thought. A warm body pressed against her from behind. Percival wrapped his arms around her, gently kissing the top of her head. "Don't worry. We'll clear your dad's name."

He had already contacted his men and all the connections he could use to investigate the case thoroughly and replace the puppet master behind Arabella.

"What I'm worried about isn't that." Vivienne said, leaning back against Percival. His support was comforting in this stressful time.

On her phone was the news of Elijah's arrest. The picture showed a smug Elijah, showing no signs of anger or resentment. From the start, what disconcerted her wasn't Arabella's accusations or Beatrice's false testimony. As long as Dorian was innocent, she could clear his name.

What unsettled her was Elijah.

With his temper that was as readable as an open book, it was expected that he would explode in a fit of rage after being betrayed by Arabella. But why was he laughing so hard instead?

She hoped her guess would not come true.

The most pressing matter now was to get Dorian out of there as soon as possible.

She could've asked Draven to negotiate and get Dorian released quickly. However, such a move would only provoke a fiercer backlash from the public. They had no choice but to let Dorian stay put for now. At this point, she couldn't afford to take any unconventional actions.

She leaned on Percival, closing her eyes for a moment to clear her mind. Opening them again, she asked, "Can I use your laptop?"

"Sure." Percival fetched his laptop for her.

He sat beside Vivienne, watching her huddle up on the couch with his laptop as her fingers danced rapidly across the keyboard. She was hacking into the surveillance system of the East District hotel, where Dorian had landed in trouble.

The hotel was called the Seaview Express Inn. Within a minute, the surveillance footage from the past few days appeared on the laptop screen.

The budget hotel was far from being a top-notch facility. From the footage, she could see that the corridors were narrow and windowless, and the dark red carpet was old and dirty.

According to what Cordelia knew, Arabella had called Dorian before the incident, sounding as if she were drowning in alcohol. Her words were slurred and unclear, but she kept on pleading for Dorian to pick her up.

The address Arabella gave was this run-down motel.

Despite her betrayal, Arabella was still the girl he had raised, and Dorian couldn't help but soften up. So he went to pick up Arabella alone, and that's when everything went south.