The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Chapter 139

Beatrice had tried to find the cameras but failed. She assumed they had been removed.

As the video wrapped up, Dorian turned to Arabella and said, “Arabella, tell me truthfully, didn’t my wife

and I go without food and clothing for two years so that you could have enough? Thaddeus is my own

son, and there were times when he went hungry, but didn’t! always make sure you never had to?”

The social media community was left in utter disbelief. They started commenting, “Did Dorian adopt a

daughter or a devil?”

The couple had scrimped and saved, even sacrificing their own sor’s needs, just to make sure Arabella

was well fed and dressed. And what was their reward for all of this?

They got a daughter who chose wealth over kindness. A daughter who cosied up to Beatrice and left

her adopted parents in the dirt.

Their reward was an adopted daughter who, after eight years, repeatedly smeared their names and

even accused Dorian of a serious crime, leading to him being severely injured. Even when Dorian was

still in surgery, she didn’t forget to tarnish their name to clear her own. This kind of daughter was

nothing short of a demon.

And what about Beatrice? This old crone.

Arabella being adopted was bad enough, but Beatrice was Dorian’s own mother! How could she help a

foster granddaughter ruin her own son?

They had cut ties, so she could no longer get benefits from Dorian. For this simple reason, she decided

to destroy him.

This kind of mother was even scarier than Arabella.

The live broadcast from Havenwood News was on the television screen. After Vivienne had

released the videos, the journalists at the scene had naturally seen the content.

Those who had initially sympathized with Arabella and Beatrice quickly changed their tune. The

seemingly pitiful girl and elderly woman in front of them now seemed like two demons in disguise.

Unaware of the tide turning against her, Arabella continued to address the cameras. “I truly apologize

for this wastage of police resources. But I have no regrets; I will never forgive that demon, Dorian! I…”

Just as the word “demon” left her lips, a rotten egg was splattered on her face.

Arabella was momentarily stunned. Before she could react, another egg hit her, followed by a voice

shouting, “You have the audacity to talk about forgiveness?! Why don’t you ask your adopted father if

he forgives his lying daughter?!”

Immediately after, a barrage of rotten eggs and spoiled vegetables rained down on Arabella and

Beatrice. Some even threw stones.

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As the camera panned in the news report, a crowd of infuriated locals, unable to bear Arabella’s

audacious lies, flocked to the scene to give her a piece of their minds.

The turnout was so massive that it caused traffic congestion outside the precinct, forcing the police to

step in to maintain order.

However, perhaps because they too were fed up with Arabella’s actions, the officers only kept the

crowd from disrupting traffic, not from attacking Arabella.

Arabella and Beatrice were bombarded. They screamed nonstop. They had bleeding wounds and

disheveled appearances. Yet not a single soul showed them sympathy.

Finally, Arabella and Beatrice were hauled away by an ambulance.

Coincidentally, they were taken to the same hospital where Dorian was staying.

Dorian had just been wheeled out of the operating room at that time, with Vivienne and others

accompanying him. They overheard the nurses whispering. “You know the girl and the old woman who

were just brought in?”

“The ones from the news who falsely accused their relative of pedophilia and indecency?”

“Right. They both had their heads cracked open. When we stitched them up, we intentionally reduced

the dose of anesthesia. They were crying out in pain!”

“Good job!”

The nurses chuckled and walked away.

Vivienne glanced at Dorian, who was still under the influence of anesthesia and sound asleep.

He had lost a significant amount of weight during his two-day stint in detention. He had dark circles

under his eyes, and his cheeks and temples were sunken. It was clear that he had been through hell.

Recalling the twenty-three stitches the surgeon had shown her earlier, Vivienne’s lips curled into a cold

smile.

Arabella! Good! This was just the beginning, as long as you can bear my tactics.

Cordelia had been muttering that once Dorian woke up, they should sue Arabella for defamation.

To Vivienne, compared to the harm Arabella had inflicted on Dorian and his family, this was hardly a

punishment.

Sensing her thoughts, Percival lowered his voice and said, “Not satisfied?”

Vivienne simply looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

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“Vivienne, if I can make you feel better, can I ask you a favor?” Percival smiled.

“A favor?” Vivienne raised an eyebrow in question.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing outrageous.” Percival assured her.

“What are you thinking?” Vivienne was genuinely curious about his intentions.

“Just wait and see.” Percival said with a mysterious grin.

“I’m waiting.” Vivienne said with a smile.

She had intended to take matters into her own hands, but since Percival offered to step in, she was

happy to sit back and watch.

Arabella, being young, recovered quickly despite the beating. Beatrice, however, being an elderly

woman, had a harder time. She had to stay in the hospital.

Despite Elijah paying off the Hawthorn family’s debts, they still couldn’t afford a caretaker. The rest of

the Hawthorn family had been sent to the countryside when they went bankrupt. So, it was up to

Michael and Joseph to take turns caring for Beatrice.

Upon learning that Dorian was also in the same hospital, Michael and Joseph avoided Vivienne and

Cordelia like the plague, fearing retribution.

Fortunately, Cordelia was too focused on caring for Dorian to bother with them.

As for Vivienne, she merely glanced at them with cold eyes and ignored them..

The Hawthorns were now destitute. Beatrice couldn’t afford a private room. The other patients in the

ward, aware of Beatrice and Arabella’s scandal, were extremely cold towards them. Even the doctors

and nurses often couldn’t help but roll their eyes at them.

In their words, they were professionals and usually didn’t behave this way. However, they just couldn’t

help it this time.

One night, during their shift change at 9 p.m., Joseph couldn’t help but complain to Beatrice.

“Arabella is getting out of hand! She doesn’t help take care of you when you’re sick; she doesn’t even

bring food. She shows up for a moment, then disappears!”

“Yeah, we’re the ones doing all the hard work, and she doesn’t lift a finger.” Michael added grumpily.

“It’s because of her that you’re in here, isn’t it? She has the audacity to stroll around. like nothing

happened!”

“You don’t understand.” Beatrice scolded them. “Arabella is trying to contact those people. We did what

we were supposed to do. It’s not our fault it didn’t work. I’ve thrown away my dignity for this, and any

semblance of a relationship with Dorian is gone. They need to fulfill their promise!”

“You believe her?!” Michael retorted. “The schemers have all fled, leaving only Elijah in detention

awaiting sentencing. How can Arabella find anyone? We’ve been used and discarded!”

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Beatrice was livid. Before framing Dorian, the mysterious man had promised a significant amount of

money to help the Hawthorn family recover. But they were tricked.

“From now on, don’t listen to Arabella’s nonsense.” Michael continued. “If it wererit for her stirring up

trouble everywhere, would we be in this mess? Every day we’re in this hospital, we are at risk of

Vivienne sending Percival after us.”

Joseph scoffed. “Instead of banking on her, you’d be better off trying to connect with the relatives in

Rivenwood. After all, we share some blood; they might be willing to lend us a

hand.”

The relatives in Rivenwood…

Beatrice’s gaze flickered.

The Hawthorn family in Havenwood was a branch that had splintered off from the Brooks family in

Rivenwood. She had once harbored grand ambitions of surpassing them.

But now, those ambitions were futile. She felt like a beaten dog that was begging for scraps.

Thinking about this made Beatrice feel a sharp pain in her chest. She had been diagnosed with high

blood pressure and warned to avoid stress, lest she risk a stroke.

“Forget it; we’ll discuss this after mom is discharged.” After noticing Beatrice’s state, Joseph quickly

gave Michael a knowing look. “I’m leaving first.”

Michael nodded, watching as a weary Joseph left.

He chatted with Beatrice for a while. Once she fell asleep, he lay down on his own cot.

As soon as he closed his eyes, Beatrice’s phone rang.

After picking it up, he saw it was Arabella. He immediately hung up and turned off the phone. He was

full of resentment towards Arabella. If not for her slandering Vivienne on Twitter, he would still be the

successful man everyone wanted to associate with, not someone who

couldn’t even afford a caretaker.

The more he thought about it, the more he saw Arabella as a nuisance. Almost all the conflicts with

Vivienne were stirred up by her.

He didn’t understand why Beatrice was so enamored with her.

As he was lost in thought, his own phone lit up. It was Arabella again.

He scoffed, hung up, and turned off his phone.

It was late at night, so she probably didn’t bring any good news. They had enough problems already.

Whatever mess she got herself into, she could handle it herself.

In Dorian’s private hospital room, even though Vivienne had hired two caretakers to look after him

around the clock, Cordelia remained. Worry was etched all over her face.

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