The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)

Half an hour later, Vivienne reached her destination. It was an eerily desolate spot, with nary a soul in

sight. It was just a landscape of iron and brick.

Without much effort, she found Thaddeus in a corner of the warehouse, bound, blindfolded, and

shivering with fear.

"Thaddeus." Vivienne stepped forward and untied him. "It's okay now. Don't be afraid."

Thaddeus, who had been shaking in fear, finally relaxed as he heard her voice.

After releasing him from his shackles, he couldn't help but burst into tears and throw himself into her

arms. "Sis!"

"Don't be afraid; I'm here." Vivienne comforted him in a low voice.

"Sis, she… she wanted to harm me..." Thaddeus was crying so hard that he could hardly breathe; his

small face was turning bright red.

Suppressing her inner fury, Vivienne asked softly, "Who was it?"

Stammering, Thaddeus revealed the person's name, causing Vivienne to scoff.

As she suspected, this was indeed an inside job. Someone within the Brooks family had helped those

men; otherwise, things would not have gone so smoothly.

The only plausible explanation for slipping past the Brooks Mansion's security system was an internal

betrayal.

"Let's go home." She patted Thaddeus on the back and took his hand.

"But sis…" Thaddeus was clearly still traumatized by the incident.

"I'm scared…" He timidly said.

"You don't have to be afraid of anything." Vivienne's gaze was resolute, and each word was laced with

a promise of retribution. "I'll get justice for you."

At 1:00 am, Vivienne returned to the Brooks Mansion with Thaddeus.

The entire Brooks Mansion was brightly lit, and everyone was still waiting for their return.

"Vivienne! Thaddeus!" Upon seeing them return safely, Judith was both relieved and terrified. She

rushed over and embraced them. "You scared me to death! You were gone for so long, and we heard

nothing from you. I was beside myself with worry!"

"We're fine. Thaddeus is okay." Vivienne knew Judith was genuinely concerned and responded calmly

and softly. "It just took a bit longer."

"That's okay! As long as you both are home safe and sound, everything else is trivial."

A servant immediately brought over some water. Judith showered Thaddeus with concern. "Are you

hurt? You must've been terrified. Now that you're back, no one can harm you again."

Percival stood nearby, watching Judith fuss over Vivienne and Thaddeus. He stepped forward and

asked, "Are you hungry? I had food prepared."

"A little." She smiled at him, but soon her smile faded. "But there's something we need to deal with

first."

As she spoke, Vivienne turned to look at Paul, who was sitting nervously in a corner. "Thaddeus had an

incident. Paul, don't you have anything to say?"

Caught off guard, Paul jumped up, quickly revealing his vicious side. "What does this have to do with

me? Your brother is the one who got kidnapped, which caused chaos in the Ellington family. We all had

to make an extra trip because of it, and yet you're asking me questions?"

Cathy didn't say anything, but her thoughts mirrored her son's.

Was it worth all this fuss for a brother with no blood ties?

Fiona sat silently beside them, not joining the conversation and quietly watching the drama unfold.

"I'm giving you one last chance." Vivienne stared at him coldly.

"Screw your chance! I don't need it!" Ignoring her, Paul was about to storm off when Vivienne's swift

action caused his knees to buckle, and he fell to the ground.

Vivienne took out her phone and played a video. "Why don't you watch this first, then decide if you

want to explain?"

The video showed the masked men who had kidnapped Thaddeus and attacked her.

The leader was talking directly to the camera. "This was all Paul's idea, the eldest grandson of the

Ellington family."

"He asked us to kidnap Thaddeus, so we could lure you out alone by asking you to deliver the ransom

and then take you out."

The mention of Paul caused everyone present to gasp in surprise, and they turned their heads to look

at him.

Paul's face turned pale. He sat on the ground, unable to utter a single word.

The video continued.

Vivienne asked, "So his goal was my life?"

The leader nodded repeatedly. "Paul said to leave no witnesses and to make your death as painful as

possible."

"How did you enter the Brooks Mansion and take Thaddeus?"

The masked man answered truthfully. "Someone inside the Brooks Mansion helped us. We didn't need

to find a way in."

The video ended there. Vivienne put away her phone and looked at Paul again. "Don't you want to

explain?" This content is © NôvelDrama.Org.

Everyone from the Brooks and Ellington families was still in shock. They were unable to process what

they'd just heard.

They didn't know whether they should be more surprised that Paul had hired the assassin or that there

was a traitor within the Brooks family.

"How do we know you didn't fake the video?!"

Paul was still struggling and arguing angrily. "You're trying to frame me! You just want to throw mud at

me! You want to keep me from inheriting the Ellington family's fortune!"

Vivienne threw a pile of documents on the ground. "These are your call logs and transfer records."

Clearly outlined were the details of how Paul had personally sought out these assassin and paid them

a deposit to carry out their heinous acts.

"These are all lies!" Paul blustered angrily.

He loathed Vivienne with every fiber of his being. From the moment she stepped foot into the Ellington

family, his wave of misfortune began.

For no apparent reason, he was scolded by the old man, got himself into a whole lot of trouble, and

nearly had his manhood crushed by Percival when he tried to get closer to her.

Even today, he could still feel a dull ache down there.

"Vivienne, you witch! You're behind all this! You'll get what's coming to you!" Paul screamed

hysterically.

Cathy hurriedly jumped in to back him up. "Paul would never do such a thing! It must be Vivienne

setting him up!"

They had barely finished hurling their accusations when Percival's gaze turned icy cold.

With just a look, his men immediately understood, stepped forward, and delivered a ferocious slap to

Paul, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Paul was hit so hard that he almost spat out blood. His ribs snapped with the force of the blow.

"How dare you! How could you lay a hand on my son?!" Cathy was furious. She was ready to fight for

her son. However, the next moment, there was a knock at the door of the Brooks Mansion.

A police officer, led by one of the servants, walked in.

"We've received a distress call." The officer said while looking at Paul crumpled on the floor. "You're

suspected of kidnapping and attempted murder. Please come with us."

"No! No!" Paul's world was crumbling. "I can't go to the police station! I can't go to jail! It will ruin my

life!"