The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress

Chapter 549

At that moment, everyone in the Saunders family was sitting in stony silence, their faces drawn and pale. Beneath the shock and disbelief in their eyes, there was a deep well of worry and heartbreak.

Monica and Wade stared down at the floor, looking ghostly white.

Only now did Monica truly understand what Hilda had meant.

It really was too cruel-asking someone who was already drowning in their own pain to empathize with someone else's suffering.

Especially when her own sister had endured even worse.

An eleven-year-old child, sent away to a place like that... No one really knew how she'd survived.

But everyone understood, in their hearts, that Citrine must have gone through unimaginable hardship just to stay alive.

After a long, heavy silence, Hilda finally spoke, her voice thick with guilt. "If I'd just watched Citrine more closely back then, the nanny wouldn't have taken her. She wouldn't have suffered at the Iversons', and she never would have ended up at Mirage Cay. This is all my fault-I failed her."

The Saunders family looked at Hilda, wanting to comfort her, but none of them could find the words. The same bitter regret weighed on every heart in the room.

Verona Heights.

Sawyer away, Raymond rolled up his sleeves and cooked a full dinner for his daughter-four dishes and a

just as he walked into

his own, Sawyer hurried over

Sawyer said, glancing at the phone on the table. It wasn't his after

put it back down when a new message popped up

screen.

I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things the other day. I shouldn't have meddled

Hilda was Citrine's biological mother, Raymond had thoroughly investigated

moment he saw Monica's name and read the message-his expression changed

hurried into the kitchen and called over the housekeeper. "Could you go wake Citrine and tell

another word, Raymond grabbed his coat and

Verona Heights to the

the entire Saunders family was

in surprise to see him show up

the truth about her real father. Now everyone knew Raymond was Citrine's father-the man Hilda

had all been a mistake and that neither she nor Raymond had known the truth back then. As a result, Herschel and¶nez didn't blame

contrary, after hearing from Hilda how well

found themselves warming to

exchanging a glance, Herschel and Inez nodded to each other before Herschel called out, "Let's get