The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress novel Chapter 53

Study abroad?

Citrine lay sprawled on her bed, grinning at the glaring comment on her screen.

Without hesitation, she logged into her own Twitter account and tagged The Iverson Group's official handle right under that comment.

@The Iverson Group: There's a world of difference between being sent away and studying abroad.

Within seconds, the reply went viral, shooting straight to the top of the thread.

The Iverson Group's social media team broke out in a cold sweat when they saw it. Not one of them dared to issue a reply.

After some frantic discussion, they agreed this was above their pay grade—it'd have to be the CEO's call.

At that moment, Sawyer was at the Iverson family estate.

The moment he saw the news online, he rushed home.

All these years, he'd believed he'd done right by Citrine, yet those few photos on Twitter hit him like a slap in the face.

Iverson family living room.

Sawyer sat on the sofa, his entire face carved from ice.

No one else on the couch dared utter a word.

Jeanette finally forced herself to stand, wringing her hands and casting Sawyer a pleading look. Her voice trembled. "Dad, those videos online are all edited. They're not real. You can't believe them."

Sawyer stared at his own daughter, unable to shake the memory of that video—her conversation with Citrine. Anyone with half a brain could see who truly cared about him as a father.

Citrine was just his adopted daughter, yet she'd always shielded him, fiercely loyal behind the scenes. Warmth crept into Sawyer's heart as he thought back to the year he first took her in.

Once, Sawyer and his own father had gotten into a huge argument. The old man had lost his temper and nearly hurled a chair at him. Young Citrine, barely more than a scrap of a girl, had charged in like a firecracker, planting herself right in front of Sawyer.

She'd pointed at old Mr. Holbrook and shouted, "Don't you dare hurt my dad!" She was so small and fragile, but she stood her ground, trembling with fear but refusing to budge.

Remembering all this, Sawyer's eyes grew cold as he looked at Jeanette. "You think I'm blind? You don't think I can tell when a video's been doctored?"

"Or do you take me for a fool?"

He'd always spoiled this daughter, rarely raising his voice. This was the first time he'd ever spoken to her so harshly.