The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress

It had been several months since Raymond Carmichael left the country for work. For the first couple of months, Citrine would still hear from him now and then-an occasional message, sometimes a video call. But over the past month, he seemed to have vanished. None of her messages got a reply; with each one she sent, only silence answered back.

That night, Citrine tossed and turned, her sleep restless and uneasy.

She dreamed of the days back on Mirage Cay-old memories she hadn't revisited in a long time. But she also dreamed of Raymond.

In her dream, Raymond was there on Mirage Cay too, only he wasn't safe. He was being dragged along by a group of strangers, blood soaking through his shirt.

Citrine's face paled. She tried to run to him, but before she could reach him, a gunshot rang out. Raymond collapsed instantly, and everything was swallowed up by a blinding wash of red.

She jolted upright in bed, her breath ragged, every nerve in her body on edge. Sleep was now impossible.

Reaching for a tissue, she wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. It was three in the morning.

That meant it was midday in the Federated States of Magnolia-where Raymond was supposed to be.noveldrama

Citrine opened her phone's messaging app and, seeing her last unanswered message, typed out another.

"Dad, when are you coming home?"

She waited ten, maybe fifteen minutes, but there was still no response. Citrine frowned, worry prickling at her.

After hesitating a moment, she tried calling him with a video chat. The ringtone echoed in the quiet room, but no one picked up.

Her anxiety only deepened.

Early the next morning, Citrine called in favors-reaching out to a private investigator in Magnolia and pulling every string she had overseas, asking them to look into Raymond's whereabouts.

She spent the morning pacing, waiting for news. It wasn't until noon that she finally got an answer.

Both the detective agency and her own contacts came back with the same conclusion: Raymond was missing. And it might be connected to Mirage Cay.

Citrine was still at the table with the Saunders family when she got the message. Her face drained of color, and she shot to her feet so abruptly that her chair nearly toppled.

Everyone at the table turned to stare at her, startled.

Hilda Saunders noticed immediately that something was wrong. "Citrine, you've

seemed out of sorts all morning. Is something the matter?"

Citrine pressed her lips together, her eyes clouded with pain.

"Mom, I think something's happened to Dad.” Her voice trembled as she spoke.

No one knew better than Citrine

what kind of place Mirage Cay was. It was hell on earth. If Raymond had truly been taken by people from Mirage Cay, she couldn't bear to

imagine what might happen to him.

Hilda's expression grew grave. "Raymond? Isn't he just away on business?"

Citrine shook her head, her face

tense. “He hasn't sent me a single message in nearly a month. I tried reaching out-nothing. I've had. people look into it. Mom, it's

possible he was taken by someone from Mirage Cay."

"What? Mirage Cay?" Herschel Saunders's face went pale.

The rest of the Saunders family fell silent, the mood around the table growing heavy.

Citrine's nails dug into her palms. Even as worry threatened to overwhelm her, she knew she had to keep her composure.

Since returning to the Carmichael family, Citrine had, for the first time, experienced what it felt like to be cherished and protected-something Raymond had given her.

After a long moment, Citrine spoke. "Mom, I have to go to Magnolia."

"No." Hilda's reaction was

immediate, her tone sharp with fear. There was no hesitation. She

couldn't help her own selfishness Citrine was her only daughter, and she couldn't bear the thought of losing her-not even for the sake of her biological father.

After all these years, she'd only just gotten her daughter back. If anything happened to Citrine, Hilda wasn't sure she could survive it.

Citrine understood. She turned and took her mother's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry, Mom. I promise I'll be back. I'll be careful."