The news continued to play across the television screen, the headline flashing in bold letters:
Hugo Bennett Confirms Anna Bennett as His Daughter — Denies All Rumors.
The footage showed Hugo standing before a cluster of reporters, answering only the questions he deed necessary. When the press grew too invasive, prying into personal matters, he ended the conference and walked away, his expression unreadable.
"Everything seems to have settled for now," Henry said, glancing from the screen to his boss.
But the smile that had crept onto his face faltered almost instantly.
Daniel wasn’t paying attention.
He sat behind his desk, posture straight but mind clearly elsewhere, his gaze distant — lost in a place far from the room they were in.
Henry frowned. Ever since Daniel had arrived that morning, sothing about him felt off. Yesterday, he had been uncharacteristically cheerful — practically glowing after his wife had finally agreed to be his "friend." But today, that warmth had vanished.
Now, there was only silence.
"Boss?" Henry called carefully.
No response.
When Daniel finally looked up, his eyes appeared unfocused, shadowed with sothing heavy. It was enough to make Henry’s stomach twist in unease.
"Boss, are you alright?" he asked, stepping closer. His voice carried genuine concern now. "You don’t look well."
Daniel didn’t answer right away. His fingers tapped absently on the armrest before he finally spoke — his tone quiet, distant.
"Henry," he began slowly, "do you believe in rebirth?"
The question caught Henry completely off guard. For a mont, he could only stare at his boss, unsure if he’d heard him right.
"Rebirth...?" he echoed, blinking.
Daniel’s gaze lifted to et his. It wasn’t curiosity in his eyes — it was sothing else. Sothing deeper, haunted.
"Yes," Daniel continued. "Do you believe that soone can... live again? Have a second chance?"
The seriousness in his voice made Henry swallow hard.
"Well... my wife," Henry began cautiously, "she reads a lot of novels — the kind that talk about souls, rebirth, second chances. She tells about them sotis, says it’s fate or unfinished business that brings people back..." He trailed off, unsure where this conversation was heading.
Daniel pressed his lips together, nodding faintly as if weighing those words.
Second chances.
The phrase lingered in his mind, heavy with aning.
He wasn’t sure if what he saw this morning had been a dream, a mory, or sothing in between — but the pain, the loss, the feeling of dying... it had been too vivid to dismiss.
"Is it possible," Daniel murmured, almost to himself now, "for soone to co back... after dying once?"
Henry’s eyes widened slightly. His boss’s tone wasn’t casual; it carried an unsettling sincerity that made him realize this wasn’t just a philosophical question.
Sothing had happened — sothing that had shaken Daniel to his core.
’This isn’t normal,’ Henry thought anxiously. ’He’s not himself.’
And there was only one person who might be able to help.
Without wasting another second, Henry reached for his phone.
’Doctor Jaden needs to see him imdiately.’ he thought darting his worried eyes at Daniel.
***
Inside the car, the news continued to play on Betty’s phone as she sat beside Anna, her attention split between the screen and her sister’s unreadable expression.
In the front seat, Kevin kept glancing at the rearview mirror, watching Anna quietly through the reflection. Her face was calm — too calm — even as the news anchors praised Hugo Bennett for finally admitting to the world that Anna was his daughter.
Betty, on the other hand, looked almost relieved.
Now that the truth was out, Anna could finally work without hiding, without constantly fearing exposure.
But when she turned and saw her sister’s vacant stare, her smile faded.
"Big Sis," Betty asked softly, "aren’t you happy? Your father finally cleared all those rumors about your identity."
Anna blinked, pulled from her thoughts, and managed a small smile. But it didn’t reach her eyes.
"He’s just being careful, Betty," she said quietly.
Both Kevin and Betty exchanged a look — one of quiet confusion.
They didn’t know Hugo Bennett personally, but from the way Anna said it, from the way her voice held both calm and detachnt, they realized sothing deeper. This wasn’t relief. It wasn’t joy.
It was resignation.
Whatever Hugo had done today wasn’t for her. It was for himself. And Anna knew it too well.
The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the soft hum of the car engine.
Anna’s gaze dropped to her phone. Kathrine’s na flashed on the screen again — yet another missed call.
Her chest tightened.
Kathrine had been calling since morning, but Anna hadn’t found the courage to answer.
What was she afraid of? she wondered, biting her lip.
The truth was, she didn’t know. Maybe it was the guilt of facing her sister. Or maybe it was because the thought of Kathrine — Daniel’s first wife — still stirred a discomfort she couldn’t quite na.
Her fingers hovered over the phone screen, but she didn’t move.
’Does he know she’s back?’
The question echoed in her mind, quiet but sharp.
She thought back to that morning — the warmth that had lingered beside her when she woke, the faint trace of Daniel’s cologne on the pillow. But when she’d opened her eyes, he was gone.
For a fleeting mont, she had wondered if the night before — his smile, his touch, the way he had looked at her — had all been nothing but a dream.
And as she sat in that car now, the thought returned with a familiar ache.
’Was he really there... or was she imagining the one thing she wanted most to believe?’
As Anna’s thoughts began to drift, her phone vibrated again.
Another call.
She didn’t need to look at the screen to know who it was — she already recognized the number by heart.
This ti, she didn’t ignore it. With a quiet breath, she swiped to answer.
"Are you avoiding now, little sister?"
Kathrine’s voice slid through the speaker — smooth, cold, and laced with a hint of mockery.
The shift in Anna’s expression was imdiate. The faint softness that had lingered monts ago vanished, replaced by sothing sharp and unreadable.
Kevin, who was watching her through the mirror, felt the change like a sudden drop in temperature.
The air inside the car turned heavy, thick with unease.
Betty sensed it too — her pulse quickening as she turned toward Anna, only to freeze at the icy look in her sister’s eyes.
That look alone was enough to make her shiver.
Kevin cleared his throat awkwardly, desperate to break the tension. "I, uh... I should probably check my phone," he muttered, pretending to scroll through his screen.
Behind him, Betty jumped when the volu on her phone suddenly blared, amplifying the voice from the news still running in the background.
"Ha—" She yelped softly, quickly fumbling to turn it off. "Sorry! My phone just... yeah, it’s off now."
Her nervous laugh filled the silence as she shoved the phone deep into her pocket and turned toward the window, staring out like the city lights suddenly fascinated her.
anwhile, Anna remained perfectly still, the phone pressed against her ear. Her voice, when she finally spoke, was quiet — calm enough to be dangerous.
"Fine," she said. "Let’s et."
The line went dead a mont later, but the tension didn’t fade.
Kevin’s grip on the phone tightened slightly. He didn’t dare ask who it was, not did Betty who still had her eyes glued outside the window. They already knew whoever was on the other end of that call, it wasn’t good news.
And by the way Anna’s eyes darkened as she stared out the window, it was clear, this eting wasn’t going to be a reunion.
It was going to be a reckoning.
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