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.

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

Brianna and Alyssa, who was

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

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

mind raced, thinking of how she could use this opportunity

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 take Winston

Winston could even get into the Linklater family was one thing; if Grandpa George found out she'd taken Winston there, it would be another storm of blood and

a servant began to urge

they would be

left; he really wanted to see

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

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

estate without Arthur showing his face

that would remove

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

for each other. The matriarch's position at the Linklater estate was

Alyssa silently agreed.

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

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,

Alyssa's sudden 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

wanted Sasha gone, not

Vivienne, who was

tired, Brianna. You can go now," Alyssa

to leave, she cast a covert glance at Alyssa on the bed. For some reason, she felt there was something about her big sister she couldn't quite

room, Alyssa received

the number, her heart sank, and she quickly

a low pitch spoke, "The boss has

usually contacts me

particularly grating over the

soured on you.

days? Do you really think he's going to

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