The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress

Chapter 457

When Sawyer returned home, he fell gravely ill. His fever soared to 103 degrees, and he slipped into a deep, unresponsive sleep.

By the time Norton Iverson got home from work, Sawyer was already unconscious. He didn't dare waste a second-he rushed him straight to the hospital.

Sawyer tumbled into a nightmare, trapped in a feverish haze, desperately fighting to claw his way back to reality.

Suddenly, the dream sharpened into focus.

A girl, hair tangled and wild, was tied to a hospital bed. Her helpless sobs clawed

at the air, raw and jagged. Her eyes, red and swollen, streamed with tears-and even flecks of blood.

She stared at him, pleading. "Daddy, help me. Please don't let them take my kidney."

Her frail, sickly face-so pale it was almost translucent-slowly overlapped with the real-life image of that cool, proud girl he knew.

Citrine.

Sawyer froze. Who would want to hurt Citrine? Just as he braced himself to rescue her from the operating table, he heard his own voice echo through the dream:

"Be good, Citrine. If you save Jeanette, I promise I'll treat you well from now on."

numb, watching Citrine on the hospital bed. Then he turned to the man beside him, speaking with a heavy, deliberate tone. "Theo, let the doctors begin. Once Citrine's kidney is transplanted to Jeanette, Jeanette will be healthy again.

those callous words had

even know Theo? How was Theo involved

of it, a

girl's voice was

can you do this to me? If Jeanette is your daughter, then what am I? You promised you'd always protect me—so

of my life was ever

his heart twisted in agony, as if it

wheeled away into the operating

before the

a look, then hurried over to the

pulled off his mask, smiling. "The operation was

added, "But the other

could finish, Dream-Sawyer interrupted, "She's

not dead," the doctor replied.

talk later. I need

Sawyer and Theo rushed off

stared after

and muttered, "Unbelievable. Their other daughter is barely hanging on, and they don't even ask

watched his dream-self with growing fury-he was shaking, wanting nothing more than to punch himself in the face, but he was powerless to touch

them