Chapter 96


    Vivienne''s face was icy, but she still sneakily kicked Percival hard under the table.


    Cordelia wasn''t sure what was going on between them, but didn''t Percival know himself?


    She noticed that Percival seemed extra keen to hold her hand and stuck to her like glue whenever he


    had the chance.


    Suddenly, a news alert popped up on Vivienne''s phone. "Chairman of Hawthorn Group falls ill suddenly


    and is rushed to the hospital."


    She tried to wriggle her hand out from Percival''s tight grasp but failed. She shot him a cold nce,


    wondering if her blowing up now would scare Cordelia.


    Percival, however, held onto her hand still, put down his cutlery, and showed Vivienne the news on his


    phone.


    Vivienne nced at the phone. The image in the news was of doctors lifting someone from the


    Hawthorn Mansion onto an ambnce.


    Though the face was blurred out, she could tell from the clothing that it was Beatrice.


    Vivienne, amused by the picture, decided to let Percival off the hook for now.


    Cordelia was watching their interaction when her phone screen lit up.


    "Hey, Dorian, what''s up?"


    Her face grew darker as she listened to Dorian on the other end of the phone.


    "Vivienne." She sighed after hanging up, "Your dad called. Beatrice is seriously ill and in the hospital.


    He wants us to go see her."


    "Haven''t we cut ties with them already?" Vivienne''s tone was also icy.


    "Well, yes." Cordelia sighed again. "But Beatrice is still your dad''s mother. It''s our duty to show filial


    respect. Your dad should go see her."


    Vivienne silently ate her pasta. Percival, noticing her displeasure, lightly tickled her palm, but she just


    red at him coldly in response.


    "But don''t worry." Cordelia paused. "Your dad knows his limits. Let him go by himself; we''ll stay out of


    this for now."


    As she said this, she nced at Percival. If the Ellington family was behind what happened to the


    Hawthorn family, Beatrice must already know by now.


    Cordelia guessed right. That was exactly what Beatrice thought.


    In the VIP ward of the hospital.


    Beatrice, who had just woken up, looked gloomy and sickly.


    She looked at her two sons by the bedside and asked coldly, "Was it really the work of the Ellington


    family?"


    "The situation at the bank is unclear." Michael''s face was also grim. "But several suppliers indeed


    imed that the Ellington family were the ones who applied the pressure."


    "And Dorian? I''m on my deathbed, and he can''t even bother to see me once?" Beatrice''s voice was full


    of resentment.


    Just as she finished speaking, hurried footsteps came from outside the ward. Dorian came in.


    "Mom!"


    As soon as Dorian called out, Beatrice frowned when she saw that he was alone. "Where''s Vivienne?"


    "Vivienne didn''te."


    Beatrice immediately grabbed the coffee cup from the bedside table and threw it at Dorian.


    BANG!


    With a loud noise, the coffee cup hit the white wall of the ward. Dust fell from the wall, and the coffee


    cup fell to the floor. The lid bounced off and hit Dorian''s shin, and the coffee inside sshed all over the


    floor and onto Dorian.


    Luckily, the coffee wasn''t very hot; otherwise, Dorian might have been scalded.


    Dorian stood awkwardly at the door. There was a hint of hurt on his face, but he still insisted on looking


    at Beatrice. "Mom!"


    Beatrice didn''t care if Dorian was hurt. She just stared at him coldly with hostile eyes. "Get Vivienne


    back. Do you think I''ve lived too long? I went all out to help her be the daughter-inw of the


    Ellington family, and this is how she repays me? By letting the Ellington family ruin the Hawthorn


    family?"


    Dorian was stunned for a moment. He thought of Arabe''s Twitter and the negative news about the


    Hawthorn family and immediately understood what was going on.


    His tone also became very heavy. "Mom, Vivienne''s engagement to Percival was arranged by Evelyn.


    Our family''s status is not good enough for the Ellington family. And initially, you didn''t want Arabe to


    marry Percival because of his disability. Later, you wanted to use Vivienne''s marriage to make some


    money. So, let''s not talk about doing it for Vivienne''s sake anymore."


    "You!" Beatrice''s face showed an awkward expression. She was outraged. "Sure enough, now that you


    have the support of the Ellington family, you talk differently."


    "And today''s incident, even if it was really done by the Ellington family. It''s Percival who is helping


    Vivienne." Dorian continued.


    "Don''t tell me you don''t know that Arabe ndered Vivienne. She first said that Vivienne stole her


    fiancé and then imed that Vivienne took credit for curing Faye''s illness."


    He showed Arabe''s Twitter on his phone. "But I already checked with the Baker family before I came


    here. It was clear that Arabe took the wrong medication and almost killed Faye. Luckily, they found


    Vivienne in time. If anything happened to Faye, Arabe would be in jail now!"


    This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.


    Knowing the truth made Dorian absolutely livid. He had never regretted adopting Arabe so much.


    His adopted daughter was selfish, greedy, and had almost cost a life, yet turned around and med


    others.


    "Arabe is still your daughter! She''s Vivienne''s sister!" Michael butted in. "Even if there are conflicts


    between sisters, can''t they be solved privately? There''s no need to bring it to the point of bankrupting


    the Hawthorn family."


    "Yeah, Dorian, don''t forget that you''re part of the Hawthorn family too." Joseph chimed in.


    Michael and Joseph went from dissatisfaction with Vivienne to hoping she would nevere back.


    Ever since she returned, the Hawthorn family had gained nothing from her but constant trouble. Now


    they were going bankrupt.


    Dorian felt like they were joking. He was part of the Hawthorn family? Yet he had never felt any warmth


    from this family, only pressure.


    "Settle it privately? If Arabe really wanted to settle it privately, why did she nder Vivienne on


    Twitter and instigateizens to attack Vivienne?"


    He turned to look at Beatrice. "Today people blocked my doorstep, and others went to Thaddeus''


    kindergarten to stir up trouble. Our entire corridor was sshed with red paint and filled with curses


    against Vivienne."


    He sneered and suddenly felt an overwhelming fatigue. "Netizens are not stupid. Posting attacking


    so foolish as to rally for an irrelevant Arabe and publicly cause such big trouble? What''s the deal with


    these people? Are they reallyizens?"


    "What... what do you mean?" Beatrice''s eyes flickered as she avoided Dorian''s sharp gaze.