The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 308

After dinner, Vivienne led Dorian and Cordelia to the guest room.

Judith had already arranged for the room to be tidied up. It was spacious and comfortable. Furthermore, everything inside was brand new.

Dorian looked around and let out a few sighs of relief. "After seeing Vivienne living well, I can finally feel at ease. I was worried about her being mistreated by the Brooks family."

Cordelia chuckled. "With Vivienne's capabilities, who would dare bully her? Don't worry too much."

Dorian sighed. "You don't understand. As a father, how can one not worry about their daughter? Even though Vivienne has now been recognized by her biological family, in my eyes, she will always be my own daughter."

Vivienne lifted her eyes subtly and cast a glance at him without him noticing. Her smile seemed to deepen with every passing moment.

After a moment, she collected herself and spoke evenly. "Mr. Hawthorn, did you take leave from your job at Havenwood to come to Rivenwood?"

Dorian was taken aback, then frowned. "No. I quit!”

Vivienne raised her eyebrows. "Quit?"

"Yes." Dorian nodded. "At first, I thought the job was fine. It was decent, and it gave me a high salary. But you wouldn't believe how the chairman of Alliance Enterprises treats his employees. Despite my projects being flawless, he would always replace faults. He even insulted me in front of my colleagues. I was so angry that I resigned."

Vivienne found this amusing. "You mean, the Chairman of Alliance Enterprises publicly berated you?"

Interesting.

"Yes!" Dorian's face was grim. "So we came to Rivenwood not just to mend our relationship with the Brooks family but also to seek new opportunities."

Vivienne arched her eyebrow. "What do you want to do?"

Dorian hesitated while looking at Vivienne. "Vivienne, I've been thinking about this for a while, but I need your approval."

Vivienne listened with a placid expression. "Let's hear it."

"I want to start my own business using your mother's perfume formula." Dorian paused and observed Vivienne's reaction.

Vivienne lifted her eyes, signaling for him to continue.

Seeing no change in her expression, Dorian continued. "The Hawthorn family is in the past now, and I don't want to work for someone else forever. Thaddeus is still young, and his future education and living expenses will be costly. Working at Alliance Enterprises alone won't be enough to support our family.

But as you know, the Hawthorn family got their start in the perfume business, and I don't know much else. Your mother left her perfume formula, so I thought I could develop it and start my own company. However..."

Dorian paused, then continued. "When Cordelia was tidying up, she accidentally tore the formula. I tried to piece it together, but it was no use. So..."

Vivienne lifted her eyes slightly as her slender fingers played with a trinket on the table. "You want me to provide the perfume formula?"

Dorian looked a bit embarrassed. "I know this might be difficult for you, considering it's something your mother left behind. But I thought that if I could start a successful business, it would be a great help to you, wouldn't it?"

Vivienne smirked. "Fine! I'll give you the formula!"

Dorian was delighted. "Vivienne, you're wonderful. I knew all the care I've shown you wasn't in vain."

Vivienne looked at him with a cold gaze and an inscrutable expression.

"By the way, there's one more thing." Dorian suddenly remembered.

Vivienne lifted her eyes, signaling for him to continue again.

"We don't have any startup capital." Dorian looked embarrassed. "Right now, I only have the 300 thousand that Judith gave us. If we want to start a company, 300 thousand is far from enough. Vivienne, could you talk to your father and ask him to invest in us?"

Vivienne's fingers, resting on the table trinket, paused. Her gaze was thoughtful as she asked, "How much do you need?"

"For startup capital, we'd need at least 2 million to begin with." Dorian said.

Vivienne withdrew her hand from the trinket and casually said, "Fine! I'll give you the 2 million. There's no need to involve the Brooks family."

Dorian and Cordelia were shocked.

Neither of them expected Vivienne to agree so readily. They were momentarily speechless.

After seeing their surprised expressions, Vivienne arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing." Dorian quickly gathered his thoughts and laughed awkwardly. "I just didn't expect the Brooks family to be so good to you. Giving you 2 million just like that?! If your mother knew, she'd be so happy." Vivienne's lips curled slightly as she looked at Dorian and Cordelia. "You two should rest now. Don't worry about anything else."

"Alright."

Vivienne nodded and returned to her room.

As the door closed behind her, Vivienne's eyes narrowed, and an aura of sternness radiated from her.

She took out her phone and quickly dialed Matthew's number.

The call connected quickly. "Vivienne."

"Did you replace anything?" Vivienne's voice was cold and devoid of any warmth.

"Thaddeus is currently staying at his cousin's place, near Capital Elementary School. Dorian had him removed from school. There's no suspicious activity around the cousin's place, but..." Matthew hesitated, unsure if he should continue.

"Go on." Vivienne commanded him to continue. Her face, however, remained expressionless.

"Thaddeus isn't doing well. His cousin feeds him only one meal a day. It's just some greens and bread. The two kids there bully him constantly. When we arrived, Thaddeus was all bruised and noticeably thinner. To avoid detection, I secretly treated his injuries and gave him some food."

Vivienne's icy gaze didn't waver as she replied, "Has Dorian been found?"

After a pause, Matthew replied, "I've thoroughly traced Dorian's movements in the past two months. There's nothing unusual, and there were no unfamiliar faces around him. Vivienne, could you be mistaken?" "Did you check on Astrid?" Vivienne asked as she settled into a chair and reached for a framed photo on the table.

The photo inside the frame was of her with Dorian, Cordelia, and Thaddeus.

It was taken before she was engaged to Percival, just before she left for the Emerald Mountain. Cordelia had suggested they take the photo.

Ever since it was developed, she kept it with her. She even brought it to Rivenwood.

"I did." Matthew replied, "She's not suspicious either. After you left Havenwood, she came to Rivenwood with her boyfriend. The last time you had the family reunion, Dorian and Cordelia met with her before heading to the hotel. They then made a detour to the hospital to visit a friend."

Vivienne didn't reply; instead, she traced the faces of Dorian and Cordelia in the photo as a faint smile appeared on her face.

After a moment, she put the photo back. "Bring Thaddeus to Rivenwood. As for his cousin's family... They would fit very well in the coal mines below Emerald Mountain."

"Understood." Matthew then hung up the phone.