The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 21

Before Jaylan could react, the other end of the line went dead. He furrowed his brows, still trying to wrap his head around the situation, when his phone rang again.

"Boss, we're in deep shit," the voice on the other end of the line said. "The girl we arrested today, she's got a complicated background. The bigwigs already know about it. They've made their decision. If we don't let her go, we're gonna be in a world of trouble. You better get here ASAP."

Jaylan was dumbstruck.

The bigwigs knew about it? What the hell was going on? Wasn't it just a petty theft case?

Jaylan took a moment to collect his thoughts before responding, "So what if she's well-connected? We're supposed to be fair and just. We didn't frame anyone. As a suspect, it's her duty to cooperate with the investigation."

"Damn suspect! We've already contacted your mom. She said she didn't lose her bracelet." The voice on the other end informed him. "Also, Ms. Hawthorn isn't just a tenant of Tranquil Estates. She's the owner She bought a place there not long ago at triple the market price."

"What?" Jaylan exclaimed. "The bracelet isn't lost?" A dreadful thought occurred to him, and his face turned dark.

"Herman is pissed off. I'm calling you on the sly. You better get your ass here."

After hanging up, Jaylan stormed out of his room, storming over to where Coral was.

"Slap!"

Coral was chatting with Arabella when she was suddenly slapped across the face. She covered her cheek and stared at Jaylan in disbelief. "Jaylan, why did you hit me?"

Jaylan glared at her, his face livid. "Tell me the truth, did mom really lose her bracelet?"

He had always found his sister to be obedient and sensible, so when she said someone had stolen their mom's bracelet, he didn't question it. And when he got back, their mom wasn't home, so he didn't ask further.

Coral blinked. "It really was lost."

"Slap!"

Jaylan slapped her again. "You dare to lie to me again! Coral, is this how I raised you? Framing others for this? Are you trying to bring down the Lockwood family?"

Coral went pale. "You know everything?"

Looking at her foolish expression, Jaylan was beyond furious.

Thinking of what Herman had said on the phone, he grabbed Coral's arm. "Come with me to clear things up. I'm warning you, if you dare to mess up again, I'll kick you out of this house." Before Coral could even say anything, she was dragged away by Jaylan. Arabella, who was left behind, looked on in shock, completely taken aback.

Police station.

Jaylan rushed to the police station with Coral. From a distance, he could see Herman, red in the face and blowing his top. The officers around him were catching hell.

Jaylan hesitated for a moment before walking over. "Herman."

"So you finally showed up! I thought you would just piss off after causing trouble!" Herman barked the moment he saw Jaylan. "Do you think this is your own house? That you can do whatever you want? Jaylan, is this how you usually handle cases?"

Jaylan was left speechless by the onslaught.

Seeing him silent, Herman glared at him. "What are you still doing here? Go apologize to Ms. Hawthorn. She was brought here because of you, and now she refuses to leave! You have ten minutes to get her out of here, or you can get the hell out of here!"

Upon hearing this, Jaylan immediately headed towards the interrogation room. He pushed open the door to see Vivienne sitting there, her face expressionless. He cleared his throat and forced a smile. "Ms. Hawthorn, I apologize. I made a mistake. I blindly believed in my sister's lie and brought you in without any investigation."

Vivienne crossed her arms and smiled at him, a chilly smile. Although Jaylan had no clue about Vivienne's powerful background, her gaze alone was enough to make him nervous. He immediately turned to Coral. "What are you still doing standing there?! Apologize to Ms. Hawthorn."

Coral was extremely unwilling. She didn't want to apologize to Vivienne at all. But seeing Jaylan's stern face, she reluctantly spoke, "I'm sorry, Ms. Hawthorn. I misunderstood you. We found my mother's bracelet. It turns out our maid misplaced it. I thought it was lost."

That was what Jaylan had told her to say on their way.

"So, am I innocent now?" Vivienne asked in a challenging tone.

"It's our mistake. You are not guilty," Jaylan quickly responded. "We will compensate for the misunderstanding. I'll drive you home right away."

"I have no plans to go home," Vivienne said indifferently. "I feel quite comfortable here."

Jaylan was at a loss for words.

Hearing this, Herman burst into the room, saying with a forced smile, "Ms. Hawthorn, I promise to offer you a satisfactory solution to this incident... We're all rather busy. Would you mind going home now?" If Vivienne didn't leave, it would have been him who had to leave.

Vivienne leaned back in the chair, smiling. "What solution do you have in mind?"

Caught off guard, Herman said after a moment, "Ms. Lockwood will be detained and investigated for false accusations and defamation. Jaylan will be suspended for three months due to negligence, and the others for two months. How's that?"

Vivienne smiled slightly. "We're all busy, so I won't be a bother."

With that, Vivienne stood up, took a look at Coral, then turned and exited the room. Coral bit her lip, her face filled with rage.

Herman let out a sigh of relief, "I'll walk you out."

At the entrance of the police station.

As Vivienne and Herman walked out, they saw Dorian, Cordelia, and Thaddeus, who had rushed over.

"Vivienne!" Dorian caught sight of her and rushed over. "You okay?"

Vivienne looked at his worried face and felt a warm feeling in her heart. "I'm fine."

Cordelia gave her a once-over, making sure she wasn't hurt, and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god, we saw the news, and it scared the living daylights out of us. Are you hungry? I can whip up something wher we get back?"

Vivienne gave a small laugh. "Yeah, I could eat."

"Great, I'll fix you something when we get home."

Vivienne asked suddenly, "Wait, I was on the news?"

Cordelia nodded. "Every media outlet in Havenwood is buzzing about it. The Hawthorn family's daughter was arrested for theft. Your dad and I came as soon as we saw it."

Vivienne replied, "Got it."

Not too far from the police station, A black sedan was parked. Thomas took a glance around before turning to Percival. "Mr. Ellington, should we go over?"

Percival's fingers were resting on the edge of the window. His eyes squinted slightly as he thought for a moment before saying, "No need, let's go."

His fiancée was full of surprises. She got Herman to escort her out personally. There were only a handful of people in Havenwood who could pull that off.

In the car, Percival said slowly, "Teach the Lockwood family a lesson."

Thomas asked in confusion, "Are you implying we should back Ms. Hawthorn up?"

"She's my fiancée. They shouldn't mess with her." There was a palpable chill in Percival's voice.