The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 315

Dorian agreed without hesitation. He thumped his chest and declared, "Absolutely! I've quit my job and made a resolution! Besides, Vivienne, you're also in Rivenwood." Dorian flashed a charmingly ingratiating smile. "With your help, our perfume company is bound to establish a foothold in Rivenwood!"

Vivienne responded coolly, without directly addressing him.

She could afford to give him anything, whether it was money or the perfume formula.

But that didn't mean 'this Dorian' here could handle it.

After dinner, Vivienne took Thaddeus to the guest room, while Dorian and Cordelia retreated to their own quarters.

The guest room was filled with children's toys and picture books, and the bedding was freshly changed.

Vivienne led him to the desk and patted his head gently. "You'll stay here for now. Don't worry about anything else, okay?"

Thaddeus, his eyes still red from crying, bit his lip and nervously asked from the chair, "Sis, will I go back to my aunt and cousins?"

His cautious demeanor broke Vivienne's heart.

"No." Vivienne hugged him closer and murmured soothingly into his ear. "I won't let you go back."

Thaddeus finally relaxed.

He clung to Vivienne and, with his childish and soft voice, asked, "Sis, can I stay with you from now on?"

"Yes." Vivienne responded as gently as she could.

"You're so nice, sis." Thaddeus finally managed a smile. But it quickly faded as his little face scrunched up. "Only you haven't changed; everyone else has. Dad and Mom don't love me anymore."

Vivienne's hand froze on his head, and a flicker of darkness passed through her eyes. Then, she smiled and reassured him. "Don't be afraid. Your parents haven't changed. They still love you. They're just sick, and their temperaments have become different. I'll cure them."

Thaddeus asked, not fully understanding what she meant. "Can you really cure them, sis?"

Vivienne nodded. "I can. Have you forgotten that I'm a doctor?"

"No, I remember that you're a great doctor." Thaddeus looked at her in awe.

"So, trust me when I say I'll cure your parents, okay?"

"Okay."

After settling Thaddeus, Vivienne received a phone call from the research institute. "Vivienne, there's some matter that requires your attention. When can you come over?"

Vivienne established this institute. They specialized in the research of antidotes for potions.

Although the staff was small in number, each one was an elite scientist with a reputation that was highly respected in the industry.

Vivienne glanced at the time and quickly replied, "I'll be right there."

She hung up and hurriedly left, taking a cab straight to the institute.

Half an hour later, she arrived at the institute. The researchers handed her the newly developed antidote. "Vivienne, this is the new antidote. Please take a look."

Vivienne put on some sterile clothes, took the antidote into the lab, and began to test it herself.

She skillfully used the tools and chemicals on the table to neutralize the antidote.

When the drugs interacted, they turned a mysterious, deep purple.

The potency was still not enough.

Vivienne furrowed her brows, removed her safety goggles, and exited the lab.

"Vivienne, how is it?" The head of the institute quickly greeted her and anxiously asked for some feedback.

"The potency is far from my standards." Vivienne handed him the report she had just written as she looked around at the ongoing experiments in the institute. "I gave you the cobra grass, so no matter what, you need to develop the antidote I want."

"Yes. We'll adjust the formula again." The scientist responded respectfully. "It might take some time, though. We hope you can provide us with some guidance, Vivienne."

No one could deny Vivienne's capability. Even the littlest advice from her could lead to great progress in the experiments.

However, Vivienne couldn't possibly oversee everything herself, so she delegated some research tasks to them.

"I'll give you another report." Vivienne nodded. "Adjust everything according to my reference data and finish as soon as possible."

After giving out a few more instructions, she left the institute.

At this moment, Calista, who was just leaving another institute, saw her and froze.

Vivienne?

Why was she here?!

All the institutes around here were top-notch organizations that researched medicines. Each one was a titan in the industry.

Their achievements left the entire medical community in awe, so why was Vivienne here?

Calista stared at the institute Vivienne had just left. She pretended to casually walk up to her and called out, "Vivienne?"

Vivienne turned around and saw Calista. Her expression noticeably turned cold.

Calista felt a bit awkward when Vivienne didn't respond. But in order to replace out what she wanted to know, she managed to squeeze out a polite smile. "It's such a coincidence to run into you here. What brings you to this place?"

"Does it concern you?" Vivienne asked.

Calista was taken aback. She struggled to maintain her smile as she continued probing for answers. "Are you meeting a friend nearby?"

Vivienne glanced at her while standing at the entrance of the institute as she looked off into the distance. "Can't you understand human language?"

"Vivienne!" Calista's smile twisted, and her nails dug into her palms. "I've been very respectful towards you, yet you keep giving me the cold shoulder! Have I offended you in some way? Even if we have some kind of grudge, at least show some basic decency!"

"Decency... Are you worthy of it?" Vivienne crossed her arms and spoke in an icy tone. "Ms. Pendleton, maybe you should go home and discuss decency with your mother. You seem to have forgotten how to act like a noble lady."

"You!"

Calista pointed at her angrily. She was ready to burst into a tirade.

However, a black sedan pulled up in front of them at that moment.

The car window rolled down to reveal Percival comfortably seated inside.

"Mr. Ellington!" Calista was taken aback, and she momentarily restrained her fury.

"Vivienne."

Percival barely glanced at Calista. He instead stepped out of the vehicle to open the passenger door for Vivienne. "Kept you waiting, didn't I?"

He had scheduled this pick-up at this exact time and was punctual to the minute, not wasting a single second.

Calista hurriedly approached him, trying to strike up a conversation with him. "Mr. Ellington! About the research project, I have something to discuss with you!"

She was convinced that Percival was deeply invested in this research and decided to use it as her bargaining chip.

"Talk to the person in charge."

However, Percival didn't so much as spare her a glance. His attention was solely on Vivienne, as if he were physically unable to divert it elsewhere. "I'm busy at the moment." With that, he shut the door for Vivienne and climbed back into the driver's seat.

Before Calista could utter another word, he drove off with Vivienne.

Calista gritted her teeth in frustration as she watched them recede into the distance.

Why? Why did all the good things belong to Vivienne?

Where did she fall short compared to Vivienne, and why couldn't Percival pay her more attention?!