All Chapters of After I Died, He Truly Panicked: Chapter 321 - Chapter 330

Maxwell’s POVIf I had the choice, Regina would never shed another tear again.Not today, not tomorrow, not for the rest of her days. If the world were fair, she’d smile through it all, sunlight and laughter, untouched by the kind of pain I’d helped stitch into her bones.But the world wasn’t fair, and I wasn’t lucky.So I did the only thing left. I kept my emotions in check. Her tears were like knives, but I swallowed down every one of mine and gave her what she needed instead, quiet, steady support.I didn’t speak, didn’t reach for more than she could take, just left my hand over hers for the rest of the ride. My palm grew warm against her skin, and every second of contact felt like it might burn straight through me. But I didn’t pull away.By the time we reached the municipal morgue, her tears had slowed. Her breathing had steadied into something calmer, though her eyes still carried the sheen of grief. I killed the engine and slipped out of the car quickly, circling around before

Regina’s POVOld Ernie hadn’t been lying.For once, he hadn’t tried to weasel his way out of the truth. He had the address.Beatrice Rodriguez. I rolled the name around in my head like a stone against my tongue, sharp and heavy.I couldn’t believe Morgana had made this misstep, but then again, why would she have worried? Back then, she must have thought she’d tied up every loose end, burned every trail clean.Maybe she’d even been smug about it, watching everyone else eat up her lies while the truth went up in smoke with the Serenity Wellness Center.But she hadn’t thought of Beatrice Rodriguez.Maxwell drove, his hands gripping the steering wheel tighter than necessary, knuckles white against the leather.The address was out of state, which meant we were in for a long drive down the highway. The afternoon sun beat down on the asphalt, the road shimmering in the distance as if daring us to keep going.I sat in the passenger seat, phone in my hand. My heart tugged in a different direct

Regina’s POVWe must have thanked Beatrice a dozen times before leaving.I clutched her hand at the doorway, promising we’d stay in touch, while Maxwell carefully wrote down her phone number and confirmed her address twice over.Before we left, he assured her, “I’ll send the car myself on the day of the trial, early morning. You won’t have to worry about a thing.”Beatrice’s watery smile lingered in my mind even after we pulled out of her driveway.Relief rode with us in the car.The kind of relief that made me lightheaded, giddy almost, though exhaustion was beginning to creep into my bones.As the last of the daylight faded, painting the horizon a deep bruised purple, I leaned back against the seat, releasing a long sigh.“We should have done this before,” I murmured, gazing out at the streaks of color giving way to night. “Teamed up, I mean. Instead of pulling in different directions. We might have been further along by now.”Maxwell glanced at me from behind the wheel, his express

Maxwell’s POVI lost myself the moment her lips touched mine.It wasn’t just the kiss, it was everything that came with it.The years of silence, the bitterness, the aching pull I’d tried to bury.Regina wasn’t just a woman to me. She was the woman. My wife. The mother of my children. The only person who had ever managed to make me believe in forever.And here she was, in my arms again, trembling but not pulling away.This was not the first time we found ourselves in this position after Regina came back into my life, but for some reason, it felt like the first time every single time it happened.My hands framed her face as her lips parted beneath mine.Her breath hitched, and I swallowed the sound greedily, deepening the kiss. She tasted the same. Sweet, soft, maddeningly familiar.Every broken piece inside me ached to put itself back together in her presence.I kissed her harder, and she let me.The years fell away. The distance, the wounds, the trial, the danger, it all blurred.My

Regina’s POVThe first thought that entered my mind was the warning letter at the motel. Curiosity kills.My heart thundered so hard it made my ears ring.The empty estate around me felt suffocating.For one awful second, I pictured faceless men dragging my entire family away in the dead of night, leaving nothing but silence in their wake.But then I forced myself to breathe. Rationally, it had only been a few hours since the note. No one could’ve made my entire family vanish just like that… right?“Think, Regina,” I whispered to myself, pressing a trembling hand to my temple.The first thing I did was rush to the side table, where I’d left my phone. Dead. I plugged it into the charger, staring at the black screen like it might flicker on if I willed it hard enough.I couldn’t wait. I needed answers now.I hurried through the house, the silence making my footsteps sound far too loud. Then I thought of the back of the estate. The servants’ quarters. If anyone knew where my family was,