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

who was lying

"Winston, you'd apologize to the Linklaters

It's my fault for being too

use this opportunity to get into the

Have you forgotten how furious Grandpa was last time?

family was one thing; if Grandpa George

stayed longer, a servant

asked, they would

left; he really wanted to see

begging Sasha for forgiveness, why not seek Arthur's favor? If he's on your

pondered, "But Arthur has lost patience

estate without Arthur showing his face was proof

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

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

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

Alyssa silently agreed.

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

daughter. If something happened to her, Sasha would be too distracted to

we wouldn't need to resort

Sasha gone,

Vivienne,

can go now,"

at Alyssa on the bed. For some reason, she felt there was something about her

in the room, Alyssa received a

number, her heart

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

contacts me directly. Why

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

on

past few days? Do you really think he's

she hurried to