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.

his soft voice, "Then I'll

was lying

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

my fault for

use this opportunity to get

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 let you

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

servant began

Grandpa George asked, they would

Winston left; he really wanted

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

pondered, "But Arthur has lost patience with me... he won't even

estate without Arthur showing his face was

eliminate her, that would

you're getting it all wrong. Arthur, powerful as he

are meant for each other. The matriarch's position at the Linklater estate was always meant to be yours. Sasha stole it from you. What's wrong with taking back

Alyssa silently agreed.

Sasha's sudden appearance not only shattered her dream of marrying Arthur but also turned her decade-long

idea, "Sasha cares so much about her daughter. If something happened to her, Sasha would be too distracted to bother with

intensity, 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." Alyssa didn't immediately agree. Brianna's suggestion seemed to support her but was actually using her to target

Sasha gone,

not Vivienne,

go now," Alyssa

on the bed. For some reason, she felt there was

room, Alyssa received a

heart sank, and she quickly

low pitch

usually contacts

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

on you. And

these past few days? Do you really think he's going

heart skipped a beat, and she hurried to explain, "I