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.

Alyssa was about to send him away, Winston said in his soft voice, "Then I'll apologize

who was lying in

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

It's my fault for being too weak, it

of how she could use this opportunity to get

you forgotten how furious Grandpa was last time? He won't let you take Winston out again."

if Grandpa George found out she'd taken Winston there, it would

stayed longer, a servant began to urge

George asked, they would be

left; he really wanted to see

suggested, "Instead of begging Sasha for forgiveness, why not seek Arthur's favor? If

patience with me... he

Arthur showing his face was proof

there was a way to eliminate her, that would remove a significant thorn

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

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

Alyssa silently agreed.

half. Sasha's sudden appearance not only shattered her dream of

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

to resort to this. It's

gone, not

not Vivienne, who was

You can go now," Alyssa said, turning

the bed. For some reason,

room, Alyssa received a

heart sank, and

a voice altered to a low pitch spoke, "The boss

boss usually contacts me directly.

scoff, his mockery particularly grating over the phone, "With the lab trashed, the

soured on you.

these past few days? Do you

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