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.

away, Winston said in his soft voice, "Then I'll apologize to Auntie for big sis. Auntie

Alyssa, who was lying in

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

Grandpa, I don't blame big sis. It's my fault for being

of how she could use this opportunity

Believing a child's words? Have you forgotten how furious Grandpa was last time? He won't let you take

thing; if Grandpa George found out she'd taken Winston there, it would be another storm

longer, a servant

Grandpa George asked, they

he really wanted to see

begging Sasha for forgiveness, why not seek Arthur's favor? If he's on your side, who cares about Sasha and her

patience with me... he

showing his face was proof of Sasha's deep

eliminate her, that would remove a significant thorn from Alyssa's

getting it all wrong. Arthur, powerful as he may be, is still a man. No man dislikes a woman's

each other. The matriarch's position at the Linklater estate was always meant to

Alyssa silently agreed.

years, she had seen herself as Arthur's other half. Sasha's sudden appearance not only shattered her dream of marrying Arthur but also turned her decade-long wait

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

for herself, "Of 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

wanted Sasha gone, not

Vivienne,

Brianna. You can go now," Alyssa said, turning

Alyssa on the bed. For some

Alyssa

the number, her heart sank, and

to a low pitch spoke, "The boss has a

contacts me directly. Why go through

particularly grating over the phone, "With the

soured on

past few days? Do you really

hurried to explain, "I haven't betrayed him, I