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.

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

Alyssa, who was

you'd apologize to the Linklaters

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

she could use this opportunity

suddenly spoke up, "Big sis, are you out of your mind? Believing a child's words? Have you forgotten how furious Grandpa was last time? He won't

Linklater family was one thing; if Grandpa George found out she'd

stayed longer, a servant began

Grandpa George asked, they would

Winston left; he really wanted to see

why not seek Arthur's favor? If he's on your

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

his face was proof of Sasha's deep influence on

eliminate her, that would remove a significant thorn

it all wrong. Arthur, powerful as he may be, is still

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

Alyssa silently agreed.

as Arthur's other half. Sasha's sudden appearance not only shattered her dream of marrying

her, Sasha would be too distracted to bother with Arthur. That's

quickly covering 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."

gone, not

not Vivienne, who

Brianna. You can go now," Alyssa said,

the bed. For some reason, she felt there

the room, Alyssa received a

the number, her heart sank, and she quickly

to a low pitch spoke, "The boss has a job for

"The boss usually contacts me

grating over the phone, "With the lab trashed, the

soured on

Do you really think he's going

and she hurried to explain, "I haven't