The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 158

Tristan remained frozen in his stroke-like stance with his mouth hanging open and drooling, looking like a complete fool, until the school security had to drag him away.

With her backing gone, Arabella didn't dare cause any more trouble. Despite now being the heiress of the Brooks family, her past deeds in Havenwood were too vile and fresh in everyone's memory for anyone to want to associate with her.

The only ones hovering around her were those hoping to climb up the social ladder through her connection with the Brooks family.

So she had no choice but to feign peace. "Coral, I may have misunderstood what happened earlier. I ran upstairs too quickly."

"Shut up!" Coral stepped forward and slapped her. "Stop pretending. You set me up on purpose! If not, why were you just crying while your mentally ill brother was hitting me and not stopping him?" "You... you hit me!" Arabella had been enjoying a privileged life in Rivenwood for the past month, being pampered nonstop by the Brooks family. She was used to being treated like a queen and couldn't bear any insults or mistreatment.

"Yeah, I hit you! You can frame me, so why can't I hit you?!" Coral had always had a short fuse. Each time she thought about how Arabella used her in the past, she could feel her blood boil.

"You didn't fall over earlier or later, but precisely when you were passing by me! With all your crying and shouting, who would believe you weren't intentionally framing me?!"

Having said that, Coral turned around and walked away. However, halfway out, she started to worry. Ever since the Lockwood family was disciplined by Percival, she was no longer the reckless child who only caused trouble for her family.

She was now afraid of possible revenge from the Brooks family, given that she had offended Arabella and hit Tristan.

So, after much thought, she decided to seek advice from Vivienne.

When Coral arrived, Vivienne was planning the upcoming exam schedule for Class Eighteen. Percival, having nothing else to do, was feeding her snacks. Vivienne accepted whatever Percival offered her. Seeing her head buried in the documents while chewing and puffing her cheeks like a little squirrel made Percival swallow a lump in his throat. She was simply too adorable.

"Ms. Vivienne." Coral called out from the doorway.

"What is it?" Vivienne swallowed the nuts in her mouth and turned to Coral. She was puzzled as to why Percival was suddenly feeding her so many nuts. Her cheeks were even starting to ache. "I... Can I transfer to Class Eighteen?" Coral asked shyly.

With her head down and eyes averted, Coral waited for Vivienne's response. She had always looked down upon Class Eighteen and didn't have a good relationship with many of its students.

"If you want to transfer, then transfer." Vivienne didn't object. One more student wouldn't make much of a difference.

"Then I'll have my mom come to the school to process the paperwork right away." Coral left happily after receiving Vivienne's approval.

Just as Vivienne turned back to her documents, Percival stuffed another nut into her mouth. She glanced at him and saw him sitting there, watching her with a smile on his face, looking as if he were appreciating a masterpiece. She was utterly confused by his behavior.

Back at the Brooks family mansion in Rivenwood, the atmosphere in the living room was eerily silent. Judith sat on a leather couch, watching her eldest son, Scott, answer a phone call. After a few murmurs, he hung up. She finally asked, "What's the result of the investigation into Arabella's paternity test report?"

If Vivienne were here, she would recognize Judith as the elderly woman she had saved at the foot of Emerald Mountain.

"There was no falsification. Arabella is indeed my daughter." Scott replied, placing his phone on the coffee table.

"Mom," Timothy Brooks, Judith's second son, asked with confusion, "Didn't we do a paternity test when we first brought her back? Why do it again?"

"Or do you and Scott not believe that Arabella is Scott's daughter?" Melissa Brooks, Judith's daughter, chimed in. She then shook her head. "I think you're overthinking it. How could Aunt Beatrice manipulate the paternity test under our noses?"

Her "Aunt Beatrice" was none other than Beatrice Hawthorn.

Judith sat back in her chair, her old and clouded eyes narrowing, exuding an aura of solemnity. She remained silent. Scott also kept a calm face, giving nothing away.

Ashley Edwards, sitting next to Melissa, smiled at her. "Mom, Uncle Scott and Grandma probably couldn't accept what Arabella has done in Havenwood." Everyone in the room fell silent once again.

For some reason, news about Arabella's multiple attempts to frame her foster sister in Havenwood, her accusations of rape against her foster father, and her near-fatal medical misconduct spread quickly in Rivenwood that morning.

It seemed as though the news was deliberately kept from the Brooks until the last minute, by which time the rest of the town's prominent families were already in the know.

"I did the math. She's been in Havenwood jail twice." Ashley recounted as a mischievous grin appeared on her face while ticking off her fingers. "Once for nearly killing someone with her botched medical skills, and then again for trying to cover up her false claim of being assaulted by her foster father. She went as far as attempting to silence a witness."

Ignoring the increasingly dark expressions on the Brooks' faces, she continued. "Her foster father was too soft. He didn't press charges for slander, or else she would've been in jail a third time." "Enough, Ashley! Stop it!" Melissa intervened, noticing the grim faces of Judith and Scott.

"If I don't say it, does that mean others won't? Do you have any idea how much I was embarrassed at school today because of Arabella?" Ashley responded, her brows furrowed in frustration. Despite being an Edwards by birth, she had spent more time in the Brooks mansion than in her own family home.

She used to be the youngest daughter in this family, basking in the attention and affection of all the Brooks family members. But then Arabella, who was younger than her by six months, arrived and stole all their attention.

Arabella had been back for just over a month, but Ashley felt neglected.

Hence, Ashley had no love for Arabella.

Regardless of her feelings, she knew her place. Her uncle, Scott was the head of the Brooks family, and Arabella was his only child. For her sake and the Edwards', she couldn't speak ill of Arabella.

But Arabella was too much to handle. Ashley had tried to get along with her, but Arabella was always making things difficult. It made the Brooks believe Ashley was jealous, and their attitude towards her cooled significantly.

But now...

"Grandma, Uncle, you have no idea what my classmates were saying. They said it's disgraceful for the Brooks to accept such an immoral, ungrateful wolf like Arabella back into the family."

Ashley wore a gleeful expression. Arabella had already caused enough trouble for the Hawthorns; she saw no point in pretending everything was fine because she might now bring misfortune to the Brooks. "They even said that if it weren't for her foster father, Arabella would've starved to death. But she bit the hand that fed her. Who's to say she won't backstab us in the future, too? Think about it. She lived with her foster parents for eight years, but how long has she been back with us?"

"Oh, and there's also this..." Ashley pulled out her cell phone and showed them a couple of videos. It was of Arabella fabricating a story about Dorian assaulting her when they were kids, and of her badmouthing her poor foster parents and cutting ties with Dorian.

She gave Judith and Scott a meaningful look. "Watch carefully. Her foster parents saved her, but look at her choosing riches over love. If it weren't for our family's wealth, she probably wouldn't have come back."

"Ashley!" Melissa was trying to warn her to shut up.