fantishu
Chapter 294
No sooner had Mila spoken than Baron and Scott descended from the stairs.
The old man wore a scowl, sweeping his gaze over Mila and Calista in the living room. “The children of
the Brooks family don't need your lectures!”
“Baron, Scott…”
Their arrival left Mila somewhat flustered. She stood up, saying, “I didn’t mean it that way. I just wanted
to guide Vivienne on proper etiquette. After all, Vivienne has been on her own for a long time without
anyone to guide her. She's bound to be different from other refined young ladies...”
“Nonsense!”
Baron snapped and bristled in fury. “What do you mean no one guided her?! Our Vivienne is of good
character. She is as excellent as they come; she doesn't need you pointing fingers!”
Baron's strong demeanor silenced Mila. Scott’s face also showed a trace of coldness. “Mrs. Clark, my
daughter doesn’t need your guidance.”
“Scott!” Mila anxiously tried to defend herself. “I didn’t mean it that way. I was just trying to help.”
“Scott, my mother is just concerned about Vivienne.” Calista also came to her aid. “We want to resolve
past misunderstandings, and I hope to become friends with Vivienne.”
“I don’t need friends.” Vivienne tossed her magazine onto the table as she stood up. “And I don’t need
your concern.”
Did they really think she couldn’t see through their intentions?
Mila was aspiring to be the matriarch of the Brooks family? Ha!
As long as she was still trying to find out whether Scott was involved in her mother's death, she would
remain his daughter, so Mila could only dream about becoming her stepmother.
“Vivienne.” In the presence of Baron and Scott, Calista’s attitude shifted. “Regardless of what you think,
you should respect others.”
“We visited out of respect for Mr. Brooks. Surely, you understand basic hospitality?”
Vivienne lifted her chin and looked down at her. “You consider yourself a guest?”
Vivienne ascended the stairs after dismissing them with her cold remark, leaving Mila and Calista
standing there in frustrated fury.
“Vivienne doesn’t enjoy company.” Baron glanced at them, adding, “If you don’t respect Vivienne, you
will never be welcome here again.”
“Scott, I…” Mila wanted to explain to Scott, but he didn’t spare her a glance.
“I don’t want to hear it. Go home.”
Mila’s and Calista’s arrival didn’t affect Vivienne’s mood.
As soon as she returned to her room, her phone rang.
After picking it up, she heard a respectful voice from the other end. “This is Professor Madison. I
apologize for the interruption, but I was wondering if you might be free at the end of the month.”
Professor Madison was a highly respected figure in the medical field and had helped Vivienne with her
studies in the past.
“What is it?” Vivienne sat on the edge of her bed, playing with a special tool she’d acquired from a
junior disciple, Larry.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.
“There’s a medical conference at the end of the month.” Even though Madison was a respected figure
in his sixties, he still showed the utmost respect to Vivienne. “I was hoping to invite you to attend on
behalf of our institute.”
Vivienne wasn’t interested in such conferences, but considering Madison had helped her and
remembering that Calista had mentioned it, she found herself intrigued.
Her silence made Madison think she was refusing, so he anxiously spoke up again. “Vivienne, your
achievements in medicine are unmatched. For my sake, even half an hour of your time would be
appreciated, and I can accommodate any requests you have.”
He had called her several times before, only to be refused each time. He felt he had to convince
Vivienne to attend somehow.
Vivienne considered it briefly, then agreed. “Fine. Send me the details.”
Upon hearing her agreement, Professor Madison breathed a sigh of relief. “Excellent! I’ll share this
good news with everyone right away.”
After hanging up, Vivienne turned her attention back to the tool on her desk.
She needed to find a chance to revisit Scott's study so she could open that safe and see what secrets it
held.
Half an hour later.
Vivienne was about to head to the kitchen to get a jar so she could continue her experiments on an
antidote.
Just as she opened the door, she heard a mumbling sound coming from the next room, indicating some
commotion.
She tiptoed to the door and saw Carl squatting inside, tearing into a loaf of bread, and feeding a dirty
little kitten.
“Don’t blame me for not getting you cat food.” Carl rambled on, seemingly unaware of Vivienne’s
presence. “Blame Vivienne. If it weren’t for her scamming me out of 12 million, would I be in such a
state?!”
Every time he thought about it, he felt a rush of anger.
If Vivienne hadn’t deliberately outbid him, goading him into increasing his bid so he could bid higher
and suffer, he wouldn’t have ended up buying a mediocre black moss stone for 12 million.
Every time he thought about that stone, Carl gritted his teeth.
He'd assumed Vivienne was a small-town girl playing at being an expert in gemstone betting.
He really wanted to teach her a lesson, which was why he kept raising his bid. But in the end, he was
the one who got burned.
In his frustration, Carl tore at his bread, stuffing it into his mouth. “For now, you’ll have to make do.
Once I win the competition and earn some money, I’ll buy you better food.”
The kitten sniffed at the bread on the floor, then turned its head away despondently.
Who would enjoy eating this hard bread? Nobody liked stale bread. Even as a stray, it found it hard to
swallow.
“You’re quite picky.” Carl couldn't resist giving it a pat on the head. The kitten immediately rubbed itself
against his jeans in return.
He found this little cat in the bushes near the Brooks Mansion. Its skin was hugging its bones due to
starvation, and its body was covered in filth. His heart melted at the sight, and he brought it home
without a second thought.
However, his purse was as thin as a pancake. That broken piece of jade had consumed three years of
his pocket money, and he was still in debt.
The only option left for him was to mooch off his family. He barely had money to go out, let alone feed
the kitten. “Hey, how about you sneak into Vivienne’s room? She’s got a jackpot from that gemstone
auction. She must have something edible in there.”
Vivienne, who was right at the door, raised her eyebrow. “Do you think I’m deaf?” She thought.
"Meow..." The kitten mewed at him a couple of times, indicating that it fully agreed with his suggestion.
Carl sighed. "Nah, let's not. We may be poor, but we still have our dignity. I will check in the kitchen and
see if there’s something we can eat."
With that, he turned to leave but froze when he saw Vivienne standing at the door.
His temper flared up, and he stormed over to Vivienne, fuming, "What are you doing here? Do you
enjoy messing with me?"
"You're a jinx! Ever since the Brooks family took you in, nothing good has happened!"
Vivienne glanced at him dismissively. “You brought this upon yourself. How is it my fault?”
“How is it not your fault?!" Carl was short-tempered. He was so angry that he almost grabbed Vivienne
by her collar. "If you hadn't set that trap, I wouldn't have thrown all my money in! Even a fool could see
that stone wasn't any good. You deliberately bid against me, making my millions go down the drain!"
In his mind, Vivienne was to blame for everything. He was the victim and had been deceived and
manipulated.