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

was lying in bed, were

"Winston, you'd

"I told Grandpa, I don't blame big sis. It's my fault for

how 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

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 him to

George asked, they would be held

he really wanted to see his

Arthur's favor? If he's on your side, who

pondered, "But Arthur has lost patience with me... he

Arthur showing his face was proof

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

getting it all wrong. Arthur, powerful as he may be,

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

Alyssa silently agreed.

she had seen 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 into a

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, big sis." Alyssa's gaze darkened, "You mean to

big sis could win Arthur over by herself, we wouldn't need to resort to this. It's all up to you now."

Sasha gone,

not Vivienne, who

Brianna. You can go now," Alyssa said,

cast a covert glance at Alyssa on the bed. For some reason, she felt

room, Alyssa received a secretive

her heart sank, and

altered to a low pitch spoke, "The boss has

furrowed, "The boss usually contacts me directly. Why go

grating over the phone, "With

on

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

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