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."

speaking with a heavy, deliberate tone. "Theo, let the doctors begin. Once Citrine's kidney is transplanted to Jeanette,

recoiled-he couldn't believe those callous words had

he even

make sense of it, a raw, anguished scream tore

voice was hoarse with

what am I? You promised you'd always protect me—so why

of my life was ever meeting

watched himself in the dream-cold and unfeeling—and his heart twisted in agony, as if it had been ripped

he saw Citrine wheeled away into

the

hurried over to the doctor. "Did

mask, smiling. "The operation was a complete

"But the other girl-the

he could finish, Dream-Sawyer

the doctor replied. "But

again, impatient. "We'll talk later. I need to see

Theo rushed

stared after

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

wanting nothing more than to punch

followed them to