Soon after, Citrine was led into an office.
The island's boss glanced at her coldly and warned, "If you can't prove your worth, I promise you'll die a miserable death."
Citrine nodded, forcing herself to swallow her fear. "Don't worry. I can prove it," she said, and took a seat in front of the computer.
She spent the entire day glued to the screen, barely daring to take a breath, let alone a break.
It wasn't until midday the following day that she finally finished the game she'd been tasked to create.
Raymond had been watching her every move, his eyes never leaving the monitor. He waited until she was done.
When the final test run passed and the game loaded perfectly, disbelief swept over Raymond's face.
But it wasn't just Citrine's age or her talent that shocked him. It was the name credited as the game's creator: not Citrine, but someone else entirely.
He recognized the game immediately—it was the very same one Citrine had played in Raymond's own office before. The one called *Ultimate Showdown*.
Since its release back home, *Ultimate Showdown* had become a sensation, dominating headlines and causing a national stir. It stood out as the only homegrown game of its kind—one that matched, even surpassed, anything produced by the industry giant, Magnolia. For months, it had trended on social media, a point of pride for the country.
People everywhere were thrilled, proud that their nation had produced such talent, proving they could outshine even the likes of Magnolia.
Yet the game's developer was officially listed as the Glenwood Group, a major Crestwood tech company, and the credited creator was a Glenwood employee.
How could this be? The game was clearly Citrine's work. So how had it become a Glenwood Group product?
Had someone on Mirage Cay sold the game to the Glenwood family? Or was there something else at play?
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress