The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 263

No sooner had Cathy finished speaking than Richard shot her a frosty look. "If you keep your mouth shut, no one will mistake you for a mute." Cecilia's and Nathan's faces darkened as well, but out of respect for Vivienne's first visit, they chose to keep their opinions to themselves.

After all, they had the old man to handle the situation.

He alone could command the room.

Catching their icy glances, Cathy raised an eyebrow. "Why are you all looking at me like that? Is this bracelet worth more than that gemstone?"

She turned her gaze towards Vivienne, assuming an air of superiority. "Vivienne, no offense, but you secretly kept the stone you won from the gemstone auction. I heard that you used Percival's money for it. It's a beautiful gemstone, so why didn't you show it to your grandfather? That's quite selfish of you."

Vivienne looked up at her, took a sip of her tea, and nonchalantly asked, "Who told you I used Mr. Ellington's money?"

Cathy paused for a moment and then frowned. "Are you lying? Everyone saw Percival pay for it. What? You don't want to give the stone to the Ellington family, so you're making excuses that the money wasn't Percival's? Then who paid for the gemstone, you?"

Before Vivienne could respond, Cathy sneered. "I don't mean to insult you, but you should know your place. You grew up in a small town, so you've never seen such a large sum, let alone 30 million."

"30 million, huh?" Vivienne leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. "That's a whole lot of money."

She turned her gaze to Percival as a playful smirk appeared on her face. "Percival, how many bills make up 30 million?"

Percival grinned and answered in an indulgent tone. "Quite a lot, I suppose. I've never counted. Would you like to, Vivienne?"

Vivienne's eyes crinkled in amusement. "No, I'm just a small-town girl. I haven't seen much of the world."

Percival's smile grew brighter as he took Vivienne's hand and gazed at her with all the tenderness he had. "There's no need to argue with such ignorant people. My Vivienne is a rich woman. I'll be relying on you to support me."

These fools only saw him paying for her, but they didn't see who was actually footing the bill.

If they knew that she was the one with a limited-edition black card, they might just drop dead.

"Deal!" Vivienne's eyes twinkled. "One bread roll a day. I'll keep you well-fed."

Cathy was instantly annoyed to see Vivienne disregard her and flirt with Percival. "Vivienne, what's with your attitude? I'm talking about the stone. Why are you talking about 30 million?"

"Shut up!" Richard roared. "Vivienne won the stone because she's capable, so why are you acting so jealous?"

He then turned to Vivienne. "You know, ever since I put on this bracelet, I haven't been able to get angry. It's strange."

He usually had a fiery temper, but now he felt unusually calm, even when dealing with these foolish youngsters.

He knew anything with the Specter Healer mark was valuable, but he never expected it to have such a calming effect.

Vivienne turned to the old man and smiled. "Isn't that a good thing? It'll help you keep your health."

Richard admired the bracelet on his wrist. "This is a treasure. I need to show it off to Baron!"

Vivienne was at a loss.

That was completely unnecessary.

"Dad, how could you say that?" Cathy looked upset. "You're showing favoritism towards Percival. He can spend 30 million on a woman he's not even married to, while Paul can't even buy a car he likes because you control his finances. You're being too biased."

The Ellington family, although a powerful clan, was under the financial control of the old man.

Each of his sons had a five percent stake, with dividends paid out at the end of the year and a fixed monthly stipend of a million. Not a penny more.

Unless there was an emergency, the old man would not give out more money.

But Percival was different. The old man was always generous with him. Percival even spent 30 million this time, and he didn't say a word.

Anyone would feel uncomfortable about this.

Moreover, the old man had previously announced that Percival would be his successor.

How could this be?

The old man's sons, even his other grandsons, were more capable than Percival.

Even the youngest, Kenneth Ellington, was a three-time E-sports champion.

Percival was a wastrel. If he took over the Ellington family, wouldn't it lead to their downfall?

Richard gave her a cold look. "I'm biased? How do you have the nerve to say that?"

"Am I wrong?" Cathy retorted.

Ryan shot her a glare. "Enough! Stop talking!"

"Why shouldn't I?" Cathy's emotions flared up. "Dad doesn't only have one son, and there are more grandsons than just Percival. Paul is older than Percival, but he hasn't found a suitable partner yet. Has dad ever worried about him?

But for Percival, Dad personally attended his engagement party in Havenwood and even gave him so much money for his fiancée. Have you ever considered how the rest of us feel?"

As soon as she said this, the woman, who had remained silent from the start, suddenly interjected. "Cathy's right, Dad! I don't mind you giving Percival money, but you have to treat everyone fairly. You can't just favor one over the other!"

This was Richard's second son, Henry Ellington's wife, Heloise.

She sat upright in her chair with her eyebrows slightly lifted and her tone indifferent. "If you gave Percival 30 million; then you have to give the same to all your grandchildren!"

"BANG!"

Richard slammed the table in anger. His voice was thunderous as he yelled, "What?! You all want to rebel?!"

"We're not rebelling!" Cathy stated, "We just want you to treat all the grandchildren fairly!"

"You're asking me for fairness?" Richard was furious, but for some reason, ever since he put on that bracelet, he was able to suppress his rage.

He scanned the crowd as his gaze finally fell on Cathy. "You want me to give Paul 30 million, but I ask you, what makes him deserving of this money? He's always out, messing around and making a fool of himself. First, he brings home Arabella, completely tarnishing the Ellington family's reputation. Now he's involved with this Lisa, a flamboyant woman who spends her days in endless revelry. What else does he do?"

"I..." Cathy tried to explain, but Richard didn't give her the chance.

"And then there's Earl Ellington; all he does is tinker with his damn motorcycles. The company generously gives you 50 million every year, so you can afford to waste 20 million on him. What do you mean by fairness?"