Chapter 158
Tristan remained frozen in his stroke-like stance with his mouth hanging open and drooling, looking like
aplete fool, until the school security had to drag him away.
With her backing gone, Arabe didn''t dare cause any more trouble. Despite now being the heiress of
the Brooks family, her past deeds in Havenwood were too vile and fresh in everyone''s memory for
anyone to want to associate with her.
The only ones hovering around her were those hoping to climb up the socialdder through her
connection with the Brooks family.
So she had no choice but to feign peace. “Coral, I may have misunderstood what happened earlier. I
ran upstairs too quickly.”
“Shut up!” Coral stepped forward and pped her. “Stop pretending. You set me up on purpose! If not,
why were you just crying while your mentally ill brother was hitting me and not stopping him?”
“You… you hit me!” Arabe had been enjoying a privileged life in Rivenwood for the past month, being
pampered nonstop by the Brooks family. She was used to being treated like a queen and couldn''t bear
any insults or mistreatment.
“Yeah, I hit you! You can frame me, so why can''t I hit you?!” Coral had always had a short fuse. Each
time she thought about how Arabe used her in the past, she could feel her blood boil.
“You didn’t fall over earlier orter, but precisely when you were passing by me! With all your crying
and shouting, who would believe you weren’t intentionally framing me?!”
Having said that, Coral turned around and walked away. However, halfway out, she started to worry.
Ever since the Lockwood family was disciplined by Percival, she was no longer the reckless child who
only caused trouble for her family.
She was now afraid of possible revenge from the Brooks family, given that she had offended Arabe
and hit Tristan.
So, after much thought, she decided to seek advice from Vivienne.
When Coral arrived, Vivienne was nning the uing exam schedule for ss Eighteen. Percival,
Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.
having nothing else to do, was feeding her snacks. Vivienne epted whatever Percival offered her.
Seeing her head buried in the documents while chewing and puffing her cheeks like a little squirrel
made Percival swallow a lump in his throat. She was simply too adorable.
"Ms. Vivienne." Coral called out from the doorway.
“What is it?” Vivienne swallowed the nuts in her mouth and turned to Coral. She was puzzled as to why
Percival was suddenly feeding her so many nuts. Her cheeks were even starting to ache.
“I… Can I transfer to ss Eighteen?” Coral asked shyly.
With her head down and eyes averted, Coral waited for Vivienne’s response. She had always looked
down upon ss Eighteen and didn’t have a good rtionship with many of its students.
“If you want to transfer, then transfer.” Vivienne didn’t object. One more student wouldn''t make much of
a difference.
“Then I’ll have my mome to the school to process the paperwork right away.” Coral left happily
after receiving Vivienne’s approval.
Just as Vivienne turned back to her documents, Percival stuffed another nut into her mouth. She
nced at him and saw him sitting there, watching her with a smile on his face, looking as if he were
appreciating a masterpiece. She was utterly confused by his behavior.
Back at the Brooks family mansion in Rivenwood, the atmosphere in the living room was eerily silent.
Judith sat on a leather couch, watching her eldest son, Scott, answer a phone call. After a few
murmurs, he hung up. She finally asked, “What’s the result of the investigation into Arabe’s paternity
test report?”
If Vivienne were here, she would recognize Judith as the elderly woman she had saved at the foot of
Emerald Mountain.
“There was no falsification. Arabe is indeed my daughter.” Scott replied, cing his phone on the
coffee table.
“Mom,” Timothy Brooks, Judith''s second son, asked with confusion, “Didn’t we do a paternity test when
we first brought her back? Why do it again?”
“Or do you and Scott not believe that Arabe is Scott''s daughter?” Melissa Brooks, Judith''s daughter,
chimed in. She then shook her head. “I think you’re overthinking it. How could Aunt Beatrice manipte
the paternity test under our noses?”
Her "Aunt Beatrice" was none other than Beatrice Hawthorn.
Judith sat back in her chair, her old and clouded eyes narrowing, exuding an aura of solemnity. She
remained silent. Scott also kept a calm face, giving nothing away.
Ashley Edwards, sitting next to Melissa, smiled at her. “Mom, Uncle Scott and Grandma probably
couldn’t ept what Arabe has done in Havenwood.”
Everyone in the room fell silent once again.
For some reason, news about Arabe’s multiple attempts to frame her foster sister in Havenwood, her
usations of rape against her foster father, and her near-fatal medical misconduct spread quickly in
Rivenwood that morning.
It seemed as though the news was deliberately kept from the Brooks until thest minute, by which
time the rest of the town''s prominent families were already in the know.
“I did the math. She''s been in Havenwood jail twice." Ashley recounted as a mischievous grin appeared
on her face while ticking off her fingers. "Once for nearly killing someone with her botched medical
skills, and then again for trying to cover up her false im of being assaulted by her foster father. She
went as far as attempting to silence a witness.”
Ignoring the increasingly dark expressions on the Brooks'' faces, she continued. “Her foster father was
too soft. He didn''t press charges for nder, or else she would''ve been in jail a third time.”
“Enough, Ashley! Stop it!” Melissa intervened, noticing the grim faces of Judith and Scott.
“If I don''t say it, does that mean others won''t? Do you have any idea how much I was embarrassed at
school today because of Arabe?” Ashley responded, her brows furrowed in frustration.
Despite being an Edwards by birth, she had spent more time in the Brooks mansion than in her own
family home.
She used to be the youngest daughter in this family, basking in the attention and affection of all the
Brooks family members. But then Arabe, who was younger than her by six months, arrived and stole
all their attention.
Arabe had been back for just over a month, but Ashley felt neglected.
Hence, Ashley had no love for Arabe.
Regardless of her feelings, she knew her ce. Her uncle, Scott was the head of the Brooks family,
and Arabe was his only child. For her sake and the Edwards'', she couldn''t speak ill of Arabe.
But Arabe was too much to handle. Ashley had tried to get along with her, but Arabe was always
making things difficult. It made the Brooks believe Ashley was jealous, and their attitude towards her
cooled significantly.
But now...
“Grandma, Uncle, you have no idea what my ssmates were saying. They said it''s disgraceful for the
Brooks to ept such an immoral, ungrateful wolf like Arabe back into the family.”
Ashley wore a gleeful expression. Arabe had already caused enough trouble for the Hawthorns; she
saw no point in pretending everything was fine because she might now bring misfortune to the Brooks.
“They even said that if it weren''t for her foster father, Arabe would''ve starved to death. But she bit the
hand that fed her. Who''s to say she won''t backstab us in the future, too? Think about it. She lived with
her foster parents for eight years, but how long has she been back with us?”
“Oh, and there''s also this...” Ashley pulled out her cell phone and showed them a couple of videos. It
was of Arabe fabricating a story about Dorian assaulting her when they were kids, and of her
badmouthing her poor foster parents and cutting ties with Dorian.
She gave Judith and Scott a meaningful look. “Watch carefully. Her foster parents saved her, but look
at her choosing riches over love. If it weren''t for our family''s wealth, she probably wouldn''t havee
back.”
“Ashley!” Melissa was trying to warn her to shut up.