All Chapters of After I Died, He Truly Panicked: Chapter 281 - Chapter 290

Regina’s POVI never thought I’d be sitting like this again, next to Maxwell, our children sandwiched between us, the television flickering with colors that made the shadows on the estate walls dance.The movie was Finding Nemo, one Mia had begged to watch a dozen times before. She loved the songs, Ivan loved the adventure.I’d chosen it purposefully, knowing it had the kind of lesson we needed right now, about family, about separation not equaling abandonment, about how love could stretch across oceans.For a while, the weight in the room lifted. The children laughed with their mouths full of popcorn, cheeks flushed, and Maxwell’s low chuckle rumbled beside me when Mia tried to mimic Dory’s silly whale voice.Even I caught myself smiling, letting the warmth of the moment seep in, as if things could be that simple again. As if we were just a family watching a movie, without scars, without history, without jagged edges pressing into us.But then the credits rolled. The cheerful music f

Mia’s POVI blinked my eyes open because I heard Mommy’s voice. It was soft, like when she sings me lullabies, but not happy. More like… watery.I turned my head and Ivan was already looking at me. His brown eyes were wide like mine. We always wake up at the same time. It’s kind of spooky, but I think it’s a twin thing. \Lots of things are twin things, actually. Like when I feel hungry, sometimes he says he’s hungry too, even if we didn’t say it first. Or when I get mad at someone, he crosses his arms the same way, like he’s mad too. And sometimes when we’re coloring, I’ll pick the red crayon, and at the very same moment, he reaches for the red crayon too, like our brains are connected or something..“Did you hear that?” I whispered.Ivan nodded and pulled the blanket off. “Mommy’s talking.”We both slid out of bed and padded across the floor in our socks. The door was open just a little, so we peeked through the crack like spies in a cartoon. My heart beat super fast, like it does w

Regina’s POVI dreaded walking into the Veyron estate that morning. The drive itself had been peaceful enough, the lingering warmth of the morning at the Chamberlain estate still clinging to me.Maxwell had taken Mia and Ivan to school, and for a fleeting moment, I had felt normal again, even happy. But as soon as the gates of the house closed behind me, reality pressed down like a weight I couldn’t shake off.Alexander had already left for his office. I envied him. He wouldn’t have to deal with what was coming.The moment I stepped through the door, my mother’s voice came sharp and clipped from the sitting room.“Regina.”I froze in the entryway, closing my eyes briefly before forcing myself forward. She was waiting for me, her hands folded neatly in her lap, her posture as rigid as ever. My father sat across from her, silent but watchful, like he always was when she took charge of these interrogations.“You hung up on me last night,” she said before I could even sit down. “I was in

Maxwell’s POVI sat at the long oak table in Jonathan’s downtown office, staring at the glass of water in front of me. My throat was dry, but I couldn’t bring myself to lift it. My attorney sat across from me, calm and composed as ever, while Charles leaned against the bookshelf, arms folded.“So,” Jonathan began, his tone deliberate, “tomorrow’s meeting with Frederick. We’ll need to get everything in order tonight.”I nodded, rubbing the back of my neck. “Regina thinks she’s just going to sit down and have a conversation. She does know I’ll be there but not about the recording. I hate myself for that.”Charles shifted, uncrossing his arms. “If she knew, she’d never agree to it. You’d lose the chance.”I pressed my lips together. He wasn’t wrong. Still, it didn’t sit right. Keeping things from Regina felt like feeding into everything she accused me of in the past, control, secrecy, manipulation.Jonathan leaned forward. “Let’s focus. What matters is getting Frederick on record. Words

Regina’s POVI sat stock still, my hands clutched so tightly in my lap that my nails dug half-moons into my skin. My pulse pounded in my ears.Thomas Klein sent Morgana.The words echoed like a hammer blow, again and again. My breath came short, shallow. How? How had she even found him? Had Morgana dug so deeply into my past, into my scars, that she’d reached the very man I had once sworn never to see again?Was she so obsessed with tearing me away from Maxwell’s life that she had sifted through everything I’d ever told her, everything I’d trusted her with, only to weaponize it against me?It made no sense. It made too much sense.I forced myself to look at Frederick. His face was pale, his expression pinched, like he carried a weight he could no longer bear.“Then what?” My voice cracked, and I hated how small it sounded.Frederick’s eyes filled with a desperate light. “Please, Regina,” he said softly, almost pleading. “Please believe me when I say that what I did… I did it out of yo