Lahat ng Kabanata ng After I Died, He Truly Panicked: Kabanata 181 - Kabanata 190

Regina’s POVThe drive back home was filled with a contemplative silence.All I could feel was the icy shock spreading through my veins, a new kind of cold that had nothing to do with the outside temperature.Frederick gave Morgana money. The words replayed in my head, a horrifying, impossible loop. Maxwell had said it so casually, so offhandedly, as if it was a minor detail. But it wasn’t.It was the linchpin that held everything together.Back at the Veyron estate, I walked straight to the balcony doors in my room and slid them open, stepping out into the brisk night. The wind whipped my hair around my face, but I barely felt it. I was a tempest of emotions, a cyclone of confusion and betrayal.Why? Why would Frederick do that?He was the most fiercely protective person I knew. He had always been the one I turned to, the steady, constant presence in my life. The one who found me and helped me get away from Maxwell from Morgana.The one who had helped me get the death certificate. An

Regina’s POVThe sun was a warm weight on my face, a gentle hand urging me to get up.But I didn’t want to.I pulled the comforter over my head, retreating into the cool, dark sanctuary of my bed.After getting Mia ready for her homeschooling tutor, the world outside my window seemed like a cruel, overwhelming place.I didn’t want to face it. I didn’t want to think about Lindsay, or Sandra, or Frederick, or Maxwell.I didn’t want to think about the lies, the betrayals, the twisted web of secrets that had consumed my life. I just wanted to be still, to exist in this quiet, peaceful space for a little while longer.But things don’t always go my way. Actually, they never go my way.The door to my bedroom burst open, and a moment later, the comforter was ripped from my body. “What in the world are you doing?” Alexander’s voice, a mix of exasperation and amusement, filled the room. “It’s a beautiful day, and you’re moping around like a teenager with a broken heart.”I just groaned and buri

Regina’s POVThis was supposed to be my day off. A day to decompress, to just exist without the weight of the world on my shoulders.Instead, I was sitting in the passenger seat of Alexander’s car, the silence between us heavy with all the things we didn’t want to say.I refused to look out the window. I didn't want to see it, didn't want to acknowledge that we were here.“I told you you wouldn’t like this,” Alexander said, his voice a low, somber murmur.He was right. I didn’t.We had been driving for the better part of an hour, the city skyline giving way to rolling hills and dense woods.We were on the outskirts, a place I had actively avoided for five years. And now, here we were, parked on the side of a quiet country road, staring at the manicured lawns and the imposing brick building that was the Serenity Wellness Center.I had never been back here. Not once.After getting rescued from the fire, the last thing I wanted to do was return to the place that had held me captive. It w

Regina’s POVI came back to myself slowly, the taste of bile still sharp in my throat. My hands clutched at the door frame of the car, my chest heaving, when I felt – warmth. A hand, steady, rubbing circles against my back. Not hurried, not demanding. Just… gentle.Alexander.His voice was low, careful, as though he was afraid even sound might shatter me. “Regina… hey, what happened? What’s going on?”I closed my eyes, willed my lungs to slow their frantic pace. My throat burned, my stomach twisted, but what truly unsettled me was not the sickness. It was the image that had slammed into me so violently that it ripped me right out of myself.A face. A familiar tilt of the head, the shadow of a jawline I had once known all too well. Thomas Klein. My adoptive father.But it couldn’t have been.I shook my head quickly, forcing myself to stay grounded, to stay with Alexander in the here and now. “I thought… I thought I saw someone I used to know,” I whispered, my voice hoarse. “But it must

Regina’s POVThe living room was silent save for the low hum of the television. Alexander and I walked in to find our parents, their faces grim, watching a news report.The screen was a chaotic collage of images: the Kingsman Group’s logo, a stern-faced reporter standing outside Maxwell’s office, and a headline that screamed, FRAUD ALLEGATIONS ROCK THE KINGSMAN GROUP.My stomach twisted into a tight, sickening knot. What the hell had happened while I was away?“Regina, look at this,” my mother said, her voice filled with a terrible sadness. “Do you think it’s true? Do you think Maxwell…?”“No,” I said, the word a fierce, guttural truth. “No, he wouldn’t. He built that company from the ground up after his father’s accident. He’s not a fraud.”My father, who had been quiet until now, spoke up. “Someone is trying to destroy him. This isn’t just a simple investigation. Someone leaked this information to the prosecutors. Someone with a grudge.”Alexander and I exchanged a look. We both kne