The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress

Chapter 173

Each day on Mirage Cay was a monotonous grind, a kind of suffering that gnawed at the soul. When Citrine arrived, she brought a flicker of light to the dull, joyless lives of the others. She wasn't just a distraction, though her extraordinary gift for medicine quickly caught the attention of Sellers, Una, and Farris. Before long, all three had taken her under their wing as an apprentice.

They poured everything they knew into teaching Citrine, and she proved more than worthy-soon, she surpassed her mentors, her talent shining even brighter than theirs ever had.

But after a year, the first rift split open between Citrine and her teachers, Sellers and Farris.

The reason? In order to stay alive, the two had agreed to help the island's owner develop new drugs.

When Citrine found out, she confronted them head-on. "How could you agree to this? You're doctors-you're supposed to save people, not betray your principles!" Sellers didn't see it her way. "What choice do we have?" he shot back, his voice cold. "If we refuse, they'll kill us." He clung to the desperate hope that if he just did as he was told, maybe, someday, they'd let him go free.

"We were forced into it," Farris echoed, aligning himself with Sellers' logic.

Citrine laughed bitterly. "And you really believe that doing what they ask will keep you alive? These people are monsters. No one who comes here gets out alive."

Farris refused

laboratory for the two of them, and it wasn't long before they managed to create

Una, and Hanson, on the other hand, refused to compromise-even if it meant death. As punishment, the island's owner locked them in a kennel with vicious dogs for three days and

doors finally opened, the three of

Sellers and Farris abandoned the last shreds of their conscience

Citrine turned fourteen, a new group of medical workers was brought to the island. At the same time, a client's order for hearts was still ten short. To fill the quota, the island's owner locked Citrine and her four companions, along with all the newcomers, into a single room

whoever didn't make it out alive would supply the

person was handed a

slammed shut, everyone drew their blades. In an instant, the room descended into savagery-people

tiny space became a slaughterhouse, blood pooling

died down, only the five of them were left standing. The room, thick

more had

on Citrine behind Una, eyes sharp as a