The Million-Dollar Heart

Alyssa's arms were etched with scabs and whip marks that Brianna could clearly see, yet she pretended not to notice.

Those were the handiwork of Grandpa George himself, a man who wouldn't stop until he'd drawn blood.

The mention of it left Alyssa in a daze.

Right, she thought, I'm the eldest daughter of the Wright family. Even for the sake of the family name, Arthur shouldn't have treated me this way.

It must be Sasha who's stirring things up.

"Big sis?"

Brianna watched Alyssa zone out, her eyes betraying a hint of disgust.

Winston, accompanied by a servant, came jogging over, his young face full of concern that seemed genuine. He was startled upon seeing Alyssa's injuries, "Big sis, what happened to you?" Alyssa frowned and withdrew her hand.

The last person she wanted to see right now was Winston.

If it hadn't been for him, Grandpa George wouldn't have been so harsh on her.

Brianna saw it all and, hiding her scorn, explained to Winston, "Little bro, someone bullied your big sis. Didn't you notice?"

"Bullied?"

Winston's young brow furrowed, puzzled as he looked at Brianna. "Big sis, who bullied big sis?"

Brianna's face turned cold at being called 'big sis.' "Who else could it be? In the Linklater family, who wields such power? If not Sasha and her daughter Vivienne, then who?" Winston quickly figured it out.

Shaking his head, he spoke clearly, "I trust Auntie; she wouldn't bully anyone. Maybe big sis didn't apologize to Auntie? Grandpa said if you do something wrong, you have to own up to it." Brianna raised an eyebrow but didn't reply.

Alyssa's face darkened.

She knew what she had done and certainly didn't need a five-year-old lecturing her.

in his soft voice, "Then I'll apologize to Auntie for big sis. Auntie is so nice; she won't blame big

who was lying in bed,

him, puzzled. "Winston, you'd apologize to the

firmly. "I told Grandpa, I don't blame big sis. It's my fault for

could use this opportunity to get into the Linklater

"Big sis, are you out of your mind? Believing a child's words? Have you forgotten how furious Grandpa was last time? He

George found out

stayed longer, a servant began to urge

they would

left; he really wanted to see his

then suggested, "Instead of begging Sasha for forgiveness, why not seek Arthur's favor? If he's on your side,

Arthur has lost patience with me... he won't even see

fainting at the Linklater estate without Arthur showing his face was proof of Sasha's deep

way to eliminate her, that would remove a significant

you're getting it all wrong. Arthur, powerful as he may be, is still a man. No

in Rivenwood knows you two are meant for each other. The matriarch's position at the Linklater estate

Alyssa silently agreed.

appearance not only shattered her dream of

moment, Brianna threw out her idea, "Sasha cares so much about her daughter. If something happened to her, Sasha would be too distracted to bother with Arthur. That's your chance, big sis." Alyssa's gaze

course, if big sis could win Arthur over by herself, we wouldn't need to resort to this. It's all up to you now." Alyssa didn't immediately agree. Brianna's suggestion seemed to support her but was actually using her to target

Sasha gone, not

Vivienne, who was

can go now," Alyssa

For some reason, she felt there was something about her big sister she couldn't quite

in the room, Alyssa received a secretive

number, her heart sank,

to a low pitch spoke, "The boss has

"The boss usually contacts me directly. Why

grating over the phone, "With the lab

on you.

Do you really think he's going to trust

a beat, and she hurried to explain, "I haven't betrayed him,