"Say what?" Alyssa eximed.


    Her face turned pale with shock as she leaped to her feet. Worry surged through


    her, and her voice began to tremble. "Jonah, why didn''t you tell me earlier? This is serious!"


    "You''ve been really busytely..."


    "So what? Even if I copsed from exhaustion, I''d still crawl home. He''s my father!"


    Ovee with anxiety, Alyssa grabbed her coat from the back of her chair and headed for the door. "Has Dad''s condition stabilized? I''m on my way now!"


    "Lyse, hold on. Listen to me."


    Jonah exhaled. His voice grew heavy. "This time, Dad''s emergency hospitalization has a little something to do with you."


    Alyssa froze in her tracks. "What do you mean?"


    "Dad''s wives and I have been trying to distract him- spending time with him, watching shows together-because we were afraid he''d see the news about you joining Beckett Group''s board and pulling out of Project A5."


    With a hint of helplessness, Jonah continued, "But even after all that, we didn''t expect one of his business partners to bring it up. When Dad found out, he was furious. He said that you... betrayed the family."


    Alyssa pressed a hand to her forehead in frustration. Her chest felt tight, and she struggled to breathe.


    "He just took his medication and fell asleep. Lyse, when you get here, talk to him really talk to him."


    Alyssa forced herself to stayposed. Her voice was dull but steady. "I understand. Thank you, Jonah."


    Alyssa drove alone, speeding toward the hospital where Winston had been admitted.


    When she arrived, Winston had just woken up. Jonah, Ss, and Mandy were by his side in the hospital ward. The rest of the family had gone home to rest. "Hi, Dad."


    Alyssa walked into the hospital ward with a bouquet of flowers in her arms. She had brought herte mother''s favorite flowers-white lilies.


    Winston was about to snap at her when he noticed the lilies. While the look in his eyes softened somewhat, he still spoke furiously, "You brat. You''re a turncoat.


    "Project A5 is crucial for KS Group for the next five to ten years. Yet you... You gave it up to Beckett Group!


    "Not only that... you joined their board of directors and partnered with Justin! Don''t you realize how cunning that brat is? He''s been scheming for their heir position and plotting against Jasper!"


    "I know," Alyssa answered calmly.


    "Then why did you do it?"


    "I..."


    Winston''s misunderstanding prompted Alyssa to almost disclose her n, though she managed to hold back her words.


    She couldn''t tell more people about the n between her, Newton, and Jasper.


    No matter how much she trusted her family, she couldn''t be sure the information would stay secure.


    And if Justin, skeptical and calcting as he was, caught even a whiff of suspicion, everything she''d done would be for nothing.


    Jonah quickly stepped in. "Dad, don''t me Lyse. I believe she had her own reasons."


    Ss spoke up too. "That''s right, Dad. How could you call Lyse a traitor? That''s too harsh a word..."


    Winston grew agitated again. "We finally managed to put out Justin''s fire. And now, you''ve helped him secure his position and handed him Project A5 on a silver tter. Are you trying to make him king of


    everything?


    "You might have your reasons and your ns. But guess what? You think you''re


    in control, but that''s only because he''s not powerful enough yet!


    "Wait until the day he does gain full control of Beckett Group. Things will spiral out of your hands, Alyssa. Trying to be clever could cost you everything! Jasper might even be thrown out of Beckett Group He''ll never inherit a thing!"


    Alyssa''s chest tightened. She struggled to breathe. Just as she opened her mouth


    to respond, Winston''s expression twisted in pain, and he began to convulse violently.


    "Dad!"