The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress

After Jeanette was taken away, Herschel's birthday banquet carried on as if nothing had happened.

Despite the unpleasant scene Jeanette caused earlier, Citrine couldn't help but feel a flicker of satisfaction at the thought that Jeanette would probably be stuck in a holding cell for quite a while.

Just then, Citrine's phone buzzed.

She glanced at the screen. The caller ID showed it was from the Federated States of Magnolia.

With a calm expression, she pressed the answer button.

A low, gruff voice came through. "Boss, Aline's a coward. The minute she got in, she managed to piss off the warden. Now those people are torturing her—she's barely hanging on."

Citrine watched the guests in the banquet hall, laughing and clinking glasses, her tone casual as she replied, "Barely hanging on is good enough. As long as she's not dead, I don't care."

As she spoke, an idea occurred to her. Lowering her voice, she added, "Tell Aline her precious daughter's been arrested."

Without waiting for a response, Citrine hung up.

For Aline, her only hope now was that Jeanette would charm some powerful, wealthy man into getting her out. By letting Aline know her daughter was behind bars, Citrine had just crushed the last sliver of hope she had left.

But that wasn't Citrine's problem.noveldrama

She took a glass of wine from a passing waiter and slipped out to the balcony to savor it alone.

The stars were especially bright that night, and a gentle breeze made her feel more at ease than she had in a long time.

Inside the hall, the Saunders family was berating Gorman, with Herschel's voice rising above all the others.

"You idiot! I thought some jerk overseas was the one giving Citrine's company trouble, but it was you all along! What were you thinking, you blockhead?"

Herschel looked about ready to throw a punch, so Inez quickly stepped in to hold him back.

Gorman hung his head, guilt twisting in his gut. "I honestly thought you'd just found another imposter. How was I supposed to know you'd actually found Citrine?"

If he'd known she was really back, he would've come home right away. He never would've let things get so bad between him and Citrine. Now, regret gnawed at him.

"Imposter? Say that again and I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!" Herschel shot him a fierce glare.

"Come on, Grandpa. I'm nearly thirty. Can you stop threatening to beat me up every time you're mad?" Gorman grumbled, but he gently pushed Herschel down into a chair.

Herschel only huffed in annoyance, muttering, "Citrine's been through more than

enough. She's had a tough life, and you just made it worse."

"We've already agreed with the

Carmichaels that Citrine will split her time between both families. I'm warning you-if this mess makes her real father hold it against us, you'd better pack your bags and get out of the country."

This time, Herschel's anger was real and deep.

Gorman didn't dare protest further; he nodded and promised to do whatever was needed.

After the party ended that night, Citrine headed out for a late-night bite with her roommates, while Herschel gathered the family to go back to the Saunders' estate.

Gorman saw them getting into the car and followed.

Herschel frowned. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Going home," Gorman replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"No way," Herschel shot back. "Citrine probably can't stand the sight of you right now. If you come home, you'll just upset her. Stay somewhere else."

"Grandpa, are you kicking me out?" Gorman sounded almost incredulous.

"That's right. You're a liability at the moment. Citrine finally started to acceptus-if you come back now, you'Djust throw the whole family out of