The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress novel Chapter 152

"She struggled with severe depression. There was a time she almost ended her own life—if I hadn't intervened, I don't know what would have happened. She's been coming to me for hypnotherapy these past few years. I thought I'd helped her recover. But only a year ago did I realize she was pretending all along. Not only did she never get better—she'd gotten worse. She's clever, Raymond. My hypnosis never worked on her, but she faked being under so convincingly that none of us suspected a thing."

Raymond's pupils contracted sharply. A stabbing pain shot through his chest. When he finally spoke, his voice was rough and hollow. "Do you… know why she's depressed?"

Yates shook his head. "I have no idea. Maybe something happened abroad, or maybe she just lost hope in life. She's the kind of girl who bottles everything up inside. She's guarded, never lets anyone in. I could never get her to talk."

He paused, then looked at Raymond with a hint of encouragement. "But you're her father. Maybe you'll have better luck."

Raymond's hands trembled uncontrollably. No one knew better than him that Citrine didn't trust him at all.

Yates added gently, "Listen, you Carmichaels better treat her like royalty—don't make the same mistakes the Iversons did." His tone turned cold at the end.

Raymond's throat felt raw. "That won't happen. As long as I'm here, no one in the Carmichael family will hurt her."

Yates could see that Raymond genuinely cared about Citrine. With renewed patience, he said, "If you can, try to show her how much you all love her. She's always been alone. I doubt she's ever really experienced what it means to have a family. I get the sense she craves that, deep down—otherwise, she wouldn't have sought you out."

To Yates, Citrine was more than a patient—she was like a sister to him, someone he genuinely cared about. He hadn't planned to share any of this with Raymond, but after seeing the man's attitude that day, he took the risk, hoping Raymond could help Citrine find her way out of the darkness.

"Thank you," Raymond said sincerely. No matter what, he was grateful Yates had told him the truth.

Raymond left Yates's office in a daze and didn't make it home until dusk.