The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 19

Other people might not have known, but they did, Ms. Hawthorn was the new owner of No. 1601. And anyone who could buy this house at three times the market price within a few hours, wasn't your average Joe.

On top of that, the manager had specifically told them not to reveal that Ms. Hawthorn was the owner. They could only say that the resident of No.1601 was a tenant. The manager kept emphasizing not to stir up trouble, so they chose to zip it.

At first, they didn't know Vivienne, but because she frequently came and went around the neighborhood, the security gradually recognized her.

And now Coral was calling Vivienne a thief?

The security immediately furrowed his brows. "You guys got it all wrong, right? Ms. Hawthorn is a tenant here."

"What?" Coral's eyes widened, she couldn't believe what the security was saying, "Tenant?"

Arabella had known all along that the security would say this, so she just smirked without a word. The security nodded. "Yes."

"Are you kidding me? Tranquil Estates never rents out to outsiders, the people here are all high-profile, so how could they rent a house to someone like her? If anything goes wrong, who's gonna take responsibility?" Coral was fuming. She felt that she was born noble. She looked down on common folks, especially those from poor backgrounds like Vivienne. Living in the same neighborhood with a country bumpkin, she felt extremely uncomfortable.

The security's face changed. They were used to being looked down upon and even insulted by the rich folks living here. Only Vivienne and her family were always very polite to them. A few times, Mrs. Hawthorn had even brought them ice cream and cold water when the weather was hot. Although it wasn't worth much, it made them feel very comfortable. Hearing Coral's words, the security couldn't help but defend Vivienne, "Ms. Hawthorn's lease is in order. The fact that the owner is willing to rent the house to them shows that they trust Ms. Hawthorn's character. Ms. Lockwood, if there's nothing else, we gotta ge back to work."

"No way!" Coral yelled. "She stole my mom's bracelet. You guys call the cops!"

The security was a bit helpless. Would someone who could afford to buy a house with such a large sum of money steal a bracelet?

"Do you have any evidence?" The security asked professionally.

"If I had evidence, why would I need you guys?" Coral snapped. "The people in this neighborhood have been living here for a long time, and only Vivienne just moved in. My mom's bracelet went missing as soon as she moved in, so I have every reason to suspect her."

The security didn't know what to say. According to the rules, if the owner lost something, they should indeed help investigate. But Vivienne's identity was special, they couldn't reveal it, so they didn't know how to handle it.

The security looked at Vivienne. She was about to say something when someone said, "Coral, why aren't you home. What are you doing here?"

Coral saw who it was and immediately ran over excitedly, pointing at Vivienne and said, "Jaylan, she stole mom's bracelet, I want the security to call the cops, but they don't seem willing to do it."

"Oh? Really?" Jaylan, Coral's brother, glanced at the security with a rather authoritative look.

The security was rigid. Jaylan was a big shot in Havenwood; as the captain of the police station, he was efficient and decisive. If they pissed him off, it would be a disaster.

Just when the security was at a loss, Jaylan's stern voice rang out. "If you stole something, you should be punished by the law."

With that, he said to the two people behind him, "Take her back for investigation."

Hearing this, Arabella grinned. Vivienne being caught stealing would definitely make headlines. From now on, Vivienne wouldn't pose any threat to her.

The two uniformed men next to Jaylan walked up to Vivienne and said sternly, "Please come with us."

Vivienne looked up at them, a smirk on her face. "Are you sure you want to take me away before things are cleared up?"

"We just want to take you to the station for questioning."

Vivienne's face was expressionless, but her tone was calm. "Are you sure? Once I'm in, I might not come out."

Coral laughed, "Are you okay? What do you think the police station is? You can come and go as you please? Stealing valuable property, you better be prepared to stay in jail for a long time." Vivienne raised an eyebrow. "Alright, let's go."

As soon as they walked out of the neighborhood gate, Vivienne's phone rang. She was about to answer the phone when the law enforcement officer said sternly, "Please hand over your phone. You can't have any contact with the outside world until things are cleared up."

Vivienne glanced at them, a hint of chill on her face. "Am I being charged with murder?"

"This is the procedure, so please cooperate." The law enforcement officer answered professionally. "We'll answer your phone and notify your family."

Vivienne smirked and threw the phone to the officer. "Take it." With that, she gave them an intense look and walked away.

Behind her, Vivienne's phone kept ringing. The law enforcement officer answered the phone and said sternly, "This is Havenwood Police Station. Vivienne is suspected of theft and has been taken back to the police station for investigation."

Matthew on the other end of the phone stared at the suddenly hung up call; it took him a while to react.

Stealing? Police station? Investigation?

Were they out of their minds!

Matthew quickly checked his contacts and made several calls. The content of each call was the same. "Vivienne was taken away by the Havenwood Police. She's being accused of theft."

On the other hand, Jaylan, who had ordered Vivienne to be taken away, had no idea that his action had caused a stir in the whole of Havenwood.

The Hawthorn family.

After Vivienne was taken away, Arabella came back and immediately spilled the beans to Beatrice, "Gran, Vivienne got nabbed for swiping Ms. Lockwood's mom's bracelet. The engagement with the Ellington family might be off. Should we inform them?"

If the Ellington family got wind of Vivienne's sticky fingers, they'd definitely call off the wedding. In that case, she wouldn't have to worry about Vivienne not wanting to tie the knot and having her step in. "What? Pinching stuff?" Michael exclaimed, fuming. "I knew that Vivienne was no good. Now, she's landed with the Hawthorn family in hot water. I bet the Ellington family would call off the engagement." Beatrice took a sip of her tea, nonchalantly saying, "This might actually be a blessing in disguise."

Joseph asked, puzzled, "Mom, how on earth could this be a good thing? If the Ellington family calls off the wedding with the Hawthorn family, our investment would go down the drain. That's a massive loss for us."

Joseph still couldn't wrap his head around it and continued, "Regardless, the marriage could at least bring in investment. Our company is up the creek without a paddle now, and no one wants to shell out for

us."