The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress

The next day, Gorman took Jeanette shopping at the mall and treated her to a new wardrobe along with a collection of sparkling jewelry.

Life lately had felt almost too good to be true. Gorman's unwavering indulgence had swept her off her feet, and Jeanette found herself rediscovering a sense of pride and self-worth she thought she'd lost.noveldrama

Perhaps sensing how much Gorman doted on her, Jeanette grew bolder. She started asking for things—a car, a designer bag, another necklace—and without fail, Gorman granted every wish.

Jeanette was practically beaming, her happiness radiating as she suddenly remembered Aline. She turned to Gorman and said, "Mr. Gorman, there's one more thing I'd like your help with."

Gorman's brow creased, suspecting she had her eye on yet another handbag or piece of jewelry.

"If there's something you want, just let the house manager know. He'll take care of it. No need to come to me about these things," he replied, his gaze clouding over for a moment. Though he kept his expression neutral, there was a flicker of discomfort-Jeanette's requests for gifts had begun to feel transactional. Still, he agreed. After all, to him, her wishes were nothing more than a matter of money.

And money was something he had in abundance.

Was this man starting to see her as a gold-digger?

The thought struck Jeanette like a slap. Color drained from her face and she rushed to explain, terrified of falling from his favor. "No, Mr. Gorman, that's not what I meant. It's not about that, really."

Desperate to salvage her image in his eyes, she repeated, "It's not about the gifts."

Gorman's expression didn't change. "Then what is it? Tell me."

Jeanette pressed her lips together, gathering her courage. "It's about my mother. Ever since she went abroad, we've lost touch. I just want to know where she is. I'm worried about her. Could you help me find her?"

At the mention of her mother, Gorman's eyes grew darker.

"All right. I'll look into it as soon as possible," he promised without hesitation.

That evening, Gorman's investigators came back with news.

"Mr. Gorman, I've sent everything to your email. Just a heads up-Jeanette's reputation online isn't exactly flattering."

"Understood," he replied, ending the call.

He opened his inbox and saw the latest email waiting for him.

Inside was a full dossier on Jeanette-and, to his surprise, on Citrine Carmichael as well.

Gorman read through the information, his expression growing stormy.

The email revealed that Citrine Carmichael was the daughter of Hilda, matriarch of the Saunders family.

The revelation nearly made Gorman laugh out loud in disbelief.

The Saunders family had been searching for Hilda's daughter for years. Time and again, girls who'd seen the missing person notices showed up at the Saunders estate, but every single one had turned out to be a fraud.

Gorman was certain-this Citrine Carmichael was just another imposter.

After all these years of fruitless searching, it was simply too convenient for the real daughter to suddenly materialize. Something was off.

With someone as calculating as Citrine, deceiving the Saunders family wouldn't be difficult for her.

Jeanette's whole family, meanwhile, was infamous on the internet, but none of them had ended up

well-some were in prison, other et

had fled overseas. Jeanette was the only one left, and even then, she'd been tricked into joining Neon Hive, where she became an easy target for abuse.

When Gorman first saw Jeanette, she'd been beaten within an inch of her life. She looked nothing like a villain-more like a victim.

But Citrine Carmichael? She fit the perpetrator's mold far more closely-not to mention, she was clearly a fraud.

The next day, overseas, The G Group terminated its partnership with Citrine.

The G Group wasn't just closely tied to CICI Group; it was also one of CICI's biggest clients.

As soon as she heard the news, Citrine hired a private investigation firm to dig into the matter. The investigation quickly turned up the truth: the order had come from the president of The G Group himself-Gorman. He'd recently returned to the country, and not long ago, he'd rescued a woman named Jeanette from Neon Hive.