The Million-Dollar Heart novel Chapter 136

Vivienne paused for a moment, diligently racking her brain for any loopholes in the intricate scheme laid out before her. Suddenly, an idea struck her. She sprang to her feet and strode towards the door, bumping into Felix as she passed.

Just as she was about to look up, she felt a strong pull dragging her away from Felix.

"Watch out." Percival said while holding her hand.

Felix's gaze briefly lingered on their intertwined hands before he nodded in apology and continued on his path.

"Percival, do you have your laptop in your car?" Vivienne asked abruptly.

"No, it's at home." Percival replied, shaking his head.

"Then take me home now." Without further explanation, Vivienne started towards the elevator.

"What happened?" Percival trailed after her with eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Ignoring his question, Vivienne rode in silence back to Bay Estates. As soon as they entered the house, she picked up the laptop from the couch and started reviewing the surveillance footage from the motel.

After discovering that a young woman had visited the room a day before Arabella had checked in, Vivienne delved deeper into the young woman's background. She discovered that the woman had previously installed a hidden camera in the room to catch her husband cheating. With this information in mind, Vivienne quickly dialed Matthew.

"Pass the word along. Have the police release a statement about discovering a hidden camera in the room at the motel where the incident occurred."

Being the efficient man he was, Matthew had the news circulated within half an hour. The internet was ablaze with discussions about the hidden camera found in the room where the assault had taken place.

The following afternoon, Vivienne received a call at school.

It was the young woman from the surveillance footage of the motel.

"Ms. Hawthorn, my name is Linda. I have the footage from that day in the room." Linda got straight to the point. "This video can definitely prove your father's innocence. I'm asking for 5 million dollars for it."

"How did you get this video?" Vivienne asked, matching Linda's directness.

"Ah, that." Linda chuckled. "I had previously installed a hidden camera in that room to catch my husband cheating. I forgot to remove it, and it turns out it captured your father's incident."

After a brief pause, Linda continued, "If you don't want the video, I'm considering selling it to someone else. I think your adopted sister would be willing to pay."

"She doesn't have money." Vivienne retorted with a cold laugh.

"Of course, I know you have money. After all, you do have a taste for expensive perfumes." Linda chuckled heartily. "So I came directly to you."

"Give me your address. I'll come to see you tomorrow for a face-to-face transaction." Vivienne decided.

Linda promptly provided her address.

After hanging up the call, Vivienne cast a cautious glance at the corner of the staircase from where Felix was descending with a stack of books.

However, the next day, Vivienne did not show up at Linda's place. Instead, she was leisurely sipping coffee at a café across the street from Linda's with her laptop in front of her, displaying a live feed of Linda's apartment.

The man sitting across from her, Percival, glanced out the café's window and informed Vivienne. "She's here."

Vivienne followed his gaze and caught sight of Arabella, dressed casually in a tracksuit and a baseball cap, entering the building where Linda lived.

Five minutes later, Arabella appeared on Vivienne's laptop screen in the surveillance feed.

"What are you doing here?" Linda's face paled as she saw Arabella. "Get out!"