Chapter 15
They’d known each other forever–Alicia was that childhood friend she and Jeanette had grown up with.
Truth was, Alicia and she had been at odds since they were kids.
If anything, things were even worse now
Watching Alicia stalk toward her, cheeks flushed with anger, Citrine couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Alicia demanded, her voice tight, as if she’d just landed a punch on a pillow
Citrine watched Alicia struggling to keep her temper in check and thought, not without a trace of contempt, Still as clueless as ever. What a waste of energy–getting riled up over nothing.
She didn’t bother to sugarcoat her words. “You’ve been runner–up for as long as anyone can remember, and yet you still have time to meddle in our business?
“If you really have that much free time, maybe you should hit the books and finally shake off your second–place streak.”
Alicia’s jaw clenched. Being called “runner–up” was the one thing she couldn’t stand, it made her blood boil.
But as she remembered the rumors swirling around the school forums, her expression softened, if only a little.X
(Citrine, after all those nasty things you’ve done, you’ve already been kicked out of the Iverson family.”
“It’s only a matter of time before you’re expelled from Primus Academy, too. I can’t wait to see how smug you’ll be then.”
Alicia spat out the words through gritted teeth, already savoring the thought of Citrine’s downfall.
Without the Iverson name, let’s see how arrogant you can be.
Having said her plece, Alicia finally felt a bit better!
Citrine, however, just kept on smiling–cool, unbothered.
“Without the Iverson family, I’m still me. And as for being expelled? That’s never going to happen.”
In fact, Citrine thought, losing the Iverson family would only make her stronger.
In her previous life, she’d done everything to protect the Iversons, never once thinking about herself, giving up so much along the way.!! Achievements, recognition–those things had never mattered. The only thing she’d ever longed for was the faintest trace of familial affection, so slight it barely existed.
But whether it was something she cared about or not, Jeanette only had to frown and it would fall right into her hands!
Why?
In this life, Citrine wanted averything glory, success, and love.
It was noon, and sunlight blazed outside the windows, but in the Carmichael Group’s executive office, the temperature had plunged below freezing
Raymond was in a rage, hurling everything on his desk to the floor. Documents scattered everywhere as he glowered, his eyes as cold as steel!
“How dare the Iversons?” he snarled
Raymond had always thought of himself as ruthless, but compared to Sawyer, he was nothing. That monster had sent an eleven–year–old girl to Mirage Cay
He’d always assumed the Iversons had simply sent her overseas. If he hadn’t noticed the child’s strange mood at that dinner, he might never have leamed the truth.
Mirage Cay–a lawless hellhole. Just hearing the name sent chills down his spine.
It was a cesspool of filth, violence, bloodshed, and every illegal trade imaginable. For the rich, it was a playground. For everyone else, it was a pit of despair
People went in and either died or were broken beyond repair. Hardly anyone ever made it out alive–let alone a child.
Raymond
couldn’t even imagine how she’d managed to escape from that place.
Even he, as an adult, felt a shudder of fear at the thought of it.
Adler, his assistant, had never seen the boss this furious. Interally cursing the Iversons, Adler forced himself to continue with the report. “Miss Citrine only managed to escape after she turned fourteen. We haven’t been able to uncover anything about what happened after that “X
He hesitated, then added, “It’s possible someone deliberately erased all traces of her life abroad during those years. T
Raymond nodded. ‘Makes sense if someone went to the trouble of wiping Citrine’s records overseas, there’s no way we’d be able to dig anything up.
“All right. You can go now”
Once Adler had left, Raymond stepped to the floor–to–ceiling window and lit a cigarette
He’d grown up in an unhappy home himself and had never planned on marrying or having children.X
