The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 15

When the posh lady met Vivienne's gaze, she instinctively took a step back. What a terrifying look it was. It was like staring into the eyes of death. "I......." She was left speechless under Vivienne's intense gaze.

The principal and teacher were also left stunned by Vivienne's overwhelming aura.

Dorian, watching the scene through the surveillance footage, roared in anger, "This is too much! It was clear that Dino was the one who attacked my son unprovoked, yet you all are ganging up to frame him! He's only five and scared speechless by you guys. Don't you have any humanity?"

His outburst left the principal and the posh lady trembling. "Mr. Hawthorn, this is a misunderstanding," the principal quickly apologized, trying to smooth things over with a forced smile. "I didn't properly investigate. I only saw Thaddeus holding a knife and assumed he had attacked Dino. I apologize."

"If apologies really worked, would we even need cops?" Vivienne replied, cocking her head to the side.

Cordelia, already fuming, quickly picked up on Vivienne's words and blurted out, "Dorian, call the police! We must seek justice for our son!"

Dorian immediately pulled out his phone to make a call. The principal went into panic mode and tried to stop him. "Mr. Hawthorn, please give us another chance. I promise this will not happen again." The posh lady quickly added, "I apologize, it was all my fault. I blamed Thaddeus without asking for the full story. I can pay compensation. Is fifty thousand dollars enough?"

Dorian gave her a cold stare, without saying a word.

"One hundred thousand dollars? Or you could name a price. I'm willing to pay anything I can afford." The posh lady was truly desperate now. They had a reputation to uphold in Havenwood. Being taken away by the police would tarnish their image and affect her family's business. Her mother-in-law would surely blame her.

"Do you think money solves everything?" Dorian asked emotionlessly. "Can money make up for the wrongs my son suffered today? Who can compensate for the mental trauma he's been through?"

"I...I can explain." the posh lady stammered. "Beatrice from your family made me do it. My husband has a contract to sign with your company. Beatrice wanted me to replace a way to get Thaddeus expelled from the kindergarten, and I..."

The principal nodded in agreement. "Yes, Beatrice ordered it. I didn't want to do it, but she threatened me. She said if I didn't comply, I wouldn't be allowed to be the principal anymore."

Dorian was shocked. He hadn't expected Beatrice, in her ambition to marry Vivienne off to Percival, would go as far as to harm her own grandson.

Vivienne's eyes flickered. So, Beatrice really wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted. She glanced at the posh lady and the principal, and said in a calm voice, "Let's leave it to the cops." With that, she turned to leave.

The posh lady fell to her knees in front of them, sobbing. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I promise I won't do it again."

Vivienne turned around to look at her, her face impassive. "If I hadn't recovered the surveillance footage, would my little brother have been wrongfully blamed?"

"I..." The posh lady was at a loss for words. Indeed, if there was no surveillance footage, Thaddeus would have been the one to bear the blame.

Vivienne gave a small smile. "So, you need to face the consequences."

She paused, then turned to the principal. "By the way, we've decided to withdraw Thaddeus from school."

After leaving the kindergarten, Dorian took Thaddeus straight to the hospital. Vivienne wanted to say it wasn't necessary because she could care for him, but considering Dorian might not trust her, she kept silent.

Thaddeus only had minor injuries, but his nose was hurt quite badly. Dino had really packed a punch. After the checkup, the police came to take their statements. Vivienne handed over the surveillance video she had copied from the kindergarten. She didn't bother with the rest.

By the time they arrived home at Tranquil Estates, it was already evening. Cordelia led a timid Thaddeus to Vivienne and whispered, "Thaddeus, this is Ms. Hawthorn."

Thaddeus looked down, not daring to meet Vivienne's gaze. He was a bit scared but still managed to mumble, "Ms. Hawthorn."

His timidity and fear touched Vivienne. She used to be this scared when she and her mom were hunted. She lightly touched Thaddeus' face, her voice softer than usual. "Does it hurt?"

Thaddeus looked up at Vivienne, with his eyes wide in surprise. She was so gentle. Although he had a sister who was also very kind, the sister in front of him was even kinder. He shook his head. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

Vivienne hummed in response and went to her room to grab a few things. She gave one of them to Thaddeus. "This is a gift for you."

It was a set of anime figures.

"Wow!" Thaddeus exclaimed in delight. "This is the latest anime model. I love it. Thank you."

"Glad you like it."

Then she handed the other two gifts to Dorian and Cordelia. "Dorian, Cordelia, these are my gifts to you."

She had planned to buy them gifts when she went shopping last time, but she forgot due to Isolde's sudden illness. So, she went shopping again.

She wasn't sure what they would like, so she bought Dorian and Cordelia a set of clothes each. She had something for Astrid too, but she hadn't seen her yet, so she kept it for now.

Dorian looked surprised as he accepted the clothes. "This is from Elegance Wave? Each piece costs at least a thousand dollars. Where did you get the money?"

Vivienne rubbed her temples. "I spent my own money. Is there a problem with that?"

Dorian quickly handed the clothes back to her. "Then I can't accept this gift. You must have worked hard to earn that money. It's better if you keep it. You should return these clothes and keep the money." Vivienne paused for a moment. "Just take it, it only cost me a hundred bucks. I did a favor for the shop owner the other day, and he gave me a 90% discount."

"Really?" Dorian was skeptical.

"Cross my heart." Vivienne sighed, looking like she was getting tired of fibbing to convince people to accept her gifts.

Dorian happily accepted the clothes and immediately went to try them on. Cordelia held the clothes in her hands, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Soon, they emerged in their new clothes, and their faces lit up with joy. The clothes fit them perfectly and flattered their style.

"Thanks, Vivienne, we love it." Dorian could not stop laughing heartily while feeling the material of his clothes.

Vivienne gave a small smile and seeming to remember something, asked, "Mr. Hawthorn, other than Eastern Star Nursery in Havenwood, are there any other good kindergartens?"

"The best one would be Imperial Blossom Nursery, but it's super tough to get a kid in there. Even if you throw a ton of money at them, it's no guarantee. They gotta pass a test first," said Dorian. "Thaddeus is out of luck. He didn't pass the test. I'll check out other kindergartens in a few days."

Vivienne nodded., "Alright, got it."

Back in her room, Vivienne took out her phone and called Matthew. The call was picked up quickly. "Mystic Mistress."

"Can you sort something out for me? I've got a kid I want to enroll in Imperial Blossom Nursery."