The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 214

The lights in the hospital room were dim. The only illumination came from the soft glow of the medical equipment.

After closing the door behind her, Arabella silently moved towards Beatrice's bed, studying her aged face. A cruel smile spread across her lips as she touched Beatrice's oxygen tube. "Granny, you can't blame me for this. After all, you're the one who pushed me to this point. I never wanted to hurt you, but you gave me no choice."

With a smile still on her face, she reached out to remove Beatrice's oxygen tube.

"But your death will ensure Vivienne takes the blame for this forever. You could consider it your last good deed."

Just as she reached out, Beatrice, who had been lying there with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them wide and stared straight at Arabella.

Arabella jumped in surprise and took a step back.

Beatrice was only staring. She was unable to speak or move.

Arabella's smile faded. She swallowed her fear, reached out, and, without hesitation, removed the oxygen tube from Beatrice's nose.

Click!

The moment she did it, a pair of silver handcuffs were clamped onto her wrist.

The lights in the room suddenly brightened.

Arabella turned around in shock to see the doorway blocked by policemen. In a corner of the room, which she hadn't noticed before, sat a figure on a chair, watching her with a smile.

Vivienne!

"Bravo!" Vivienne sat there with her legs crossed, eagerly applauding Arabella. "Thanks for the free entertainment!"

"How did you replace out?!" Arabella's face turned pale.

"You thought using a burner phone would protect you?" Vivienne laughed. Her smile was as radiant as it had ever been. As if she were mocking Arabella's naivety. "Even if you destroy the phone, I can trace back the signals to the Hawthorn Mansion. Who else living in Hawthorn Mansion would need to secretly contact Beatrice?" Arabella realized then that all of this was a setup. The police had deliberately leaked information about Beatrice waking up to lure the perpetrator.

She tried to escape, but all exits were blocked.

"You wanted to frame me?" Vivienne looked at the cornered and desperate Arabella as her lips curled up in a smirk. "You wish."

"Vivienne, I'll kill you! Why don't you just die?! Why are you always against me?!" She screamed and lunged at Vivienne, but Jaylan grabbed the handcuffs, controlling her.

She forgot that if she hadn't used Beatrice's finger to write that bloody "Vivienne" message, Vivienne wouldn't have been involved in this case, and she wouldn't have been exposed so quickly. As many people say, "What goes around comes back around."

"By the way." Vivienne clapped her hands, pulled out her phone, and started dialing. "I should report the good news to the Brooks family."

"Vivienne, I'll kill you!" Arabella screamed, trying to stop her. She had already planned it out.

She was pregnant, so even if the police arrested her, they would have to release her on bail.

As long as she kept this secret and kept it off the news, the Brooks and Ellington families wouldn't replace out.

So, her wedding with Paul could still proceed.

Once married, she could negotiate terms with Beatrice, and she could walk away from this scot-free.

But she didn't expect Vivienne to snitch to the Brooks family.

"Mr. Brooks." Vivienne had already dialed Scott's number. "Your daughter just attempted murder."

"Who's this?" Scott was taken aback. He had to move cautiously.

"I'm looking forward to your next move." Vivienne laughed coldly.

Would he protect his daughter or uphold justice?

"You're Vivienne; wait, I have..." Scott guessed Vivienne's identity and wanted to talk to her.

But Vivienne had already hung up, watching as Arabella was forcefully taken away by the police.

The hospital room was quiet again.

Vivienne stood up from her corner chair with her hands in her pockets and walked over to Beatrice's bed. She leaned over and looked at Beatrice, who was silently crying.

"You thought I would help you?" Vivienne smiled slightly. "Don't worry, I just wanted you to see what kind of monster you've created."

She straightened up, but her eyes were still cold and merciless. "You'll spend the rest of your life lying here, unable to speak or move, until your life ends. That's your punishment." Beatrice stared at Vivienne in horror as tears streamed down her face.

Vivienne walked out of the room without sparing another glance at the frail old woman on the bed.

True to Arabella's prediction, because of her pregnancy, even though her crime was heinous, she was released on bail with the help of the Brooks family.

The child she considered an abomination, the one she wanted to abort, had saved her.

Now, she couldn't easily abort this child. If this case went to trial, she would need this child to get a reduced sentence.

But by the time the legal process was over and the case was sentenced, she would be too far along in her pregnancy to abort the child and she would have to give birth.

On the drive home from the police station, Arabella sat in the backseat, thinking about how to negotiate with Paul about keeping the baby.

Her best solution was to convince Beatrice to explain that it wasn't her who pushed her, and the incident in the hospital room was just a joke.

She didn't know that Beatrice would never be able to speak again, so she wouldn't be able to testify falsely for her.

"Ronald, the Ellington family doesn't know about this, right?" Arabella worriedly asked.

"Mm-hmm." Ronald responded, his tone icy cold.

It was beginning to dawn on him why Judith and Scott were so insistent that Arabella wasn't Scott's daughter.

He was starting to feel the same way.

Pregnant before marriage, killing her own grandmother who raised her, framing her foster sister...

How could such a malicious and foolish girl be the offspring of his uncle, Scott?

Arabella breathed a sigh of relief. If the Ellingtons didn't know, then everything would be fine. They wouldn't accept a would-be murderess as a daughter-in-law.

She didn't believe she could keep this secret forever. After all, Vivienne was Percival's fiancée, so the Ellingtons replaceing out was only a matter of time.

As long as the incident took place in Havenwood and as long as she could prevent it from going to trial, it didn't matter if they found out later.

Regardless, she was determined to marry into the Ellington family.

Unfortunately for her, Vivienne wasn't about to let her get away with it.

Just as she started to relax, a news bulletin came on the car radio.

"It has been reported that the perpetrator of the recent murder at Jewel Park attempted to strike again. The perpetrator snuck into a hospital ward in an attempt to kill the victim, Beatrice Hawthorn. The perpetrator has been apprehended, and shockingly, she is the adopted grandchild of Beatrice..."

Arabella's face suddenly paled. "Didn't you say you'd suppress the news?"

"Did I?" Ronald's tone remained indifferent. "Do you really think that we can control everything in Havenwood?"

Ronald's icy query hung in the air. "Arabella, why did you frame your foster sister?"