Can’t Win Me Back by Ginger Sue

Days of worry had driven Tatiana to the brink of insanity. Shedding tears, she said, "Mom and I tried to come up with a solution.
The Lynch family tried to get help, but we all failed to get him out."
"What? Why did you only tell me now?" Alyssa gasped, her heart leaping into her mouth.
"Lyse, keep calm. You don't want to scare Taty," reminded Jasper.
He held his hand and gently calmed her down. "Tell Taty not to panic and share everything with you."
Taking a deep breath, Alyssa apologized with guilt. "Sorry, Taty. I was too harsh on you earlier. Don't cry. Tell me everything. I'm
eager to know which idiot laid a finger on my staff. I'll make them pay for it!"
Although they were panicking, Jasper had to stifle a laugh when he heard Alyssa's adorable threat.
"It's. It's the Schmidts." Tatiana sobbed. "I think his family was upset that he got beaten up after what happened to me. They're
now giving Sean trouble.
"Sean was arrested for aggravated assault. David Schmidt even underwent a health assessment and blamed all his injuries on
Sean. The police concluded that Sean had severely injured David."
Naturally, David seized the opportunity to blame his impotence on Sean's attack. With the Schmidts' influence, manipulating the
assessment results was a breeze.
"That son of a bitch! I've shown him mercy by sparing his life. How dare the Schmidts hit back at us?" Anger rolled through her.
Tatiana added, "The Schmidts do not plan to settle in private..."

"Yeah, there's no way they'll do that. They want Sean dead!" Alyssa rubbed her temples. Hatred pulsed through her, causing her
heart to race. "Only Josh Schmidt could do something like this. Maybe Simon's involved too!"
"Simon? Simon is Sean's brother. He couldn't possibly do that!" Tatiana was in disbelief.
"It's very plausible." Jasper caressed Alyssa on the back. His eyes were as deep as an abyss. "Simon Lynch is a top attorney in
Solana City, but he hasn't done anything since his brother was arrested. Doesn't that sound odd to you?
"Besides, after hearing you and Alyssa out, it seems that Simon and Sean have a strained relationship. He might take advantage
of David's situation to get Sean into trouble, and you know why."
"But Sean is his brother! How could he?" Tatiana growled in resentment.
"Simon only cares about fame and power. To him, family isn't important. That's how heartless he is." Alyssa punched the car
window, startling Xavier and Jasper. They were concerned about whether she had injured herself.
She seethed, "I was the one who taught David a lesson, but they went for Sean. They were clearly bullying the weak!"
"Lyse, I'm here for you," Jasper whispered, gently caressing her swollen hand.
"Knowing Sean, he'll keep everything to himself because he doesn't want to burden me," Alyssa said, choking on tears. "I've
been careless. All I cared about was revenge. I never thought that I might endanger the people around me. Why am I so
useless?"
Once meticulous, she had become desensitized to the world's dangers since falling in love.
"Lyse, don't blame yourself for what happened to Sean," Tatiana comforted her.

Jasper held Alyssa's shaking hand and took her phone. He replied, "Taty, don't worry. Leave the matter to me. I'll make sure he
comes home before tomorrow evening."