Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce Chapter 32: There were transactions

"Boss, are you okay?" Henry asked carefully, concern flickering in his tone.

Daniel leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temple for the briefest mont before dismissing it with a wave of his hand. "I’m fine. Continue."

For an instant, he could’ve sworn soone had just cursed him in their thoughts. The strange, prickling feeling clung to him, but he brushed it off, forcing his attention back on Henry.

Henry hesitated but obeyed. "Mr. Bennett seems very invested in the proposals we presented. He assured the investors the project would be a success."

Daniel listened in silence, his gaze distant. Of course Hugo Bennett would take the bait. His company was circling the drain, and Daniel was the only rope left for him to cling to. But rope or noose—it depended on how you looked at it.

"Make sure he doesn’t get so much as a whiff of what’s happening behind the curtain," Daniel warned flatly.

"Yes, boss."

The discussion should’ve ended there, but Daniel’s mind slipped elsewhere. The Bennetts—manipulative, calculating, the kind of family that would sell their own blood for survival. And yet, from that sa family ca Anna.

Anna, who should’ve been the most cunning of them all. Instead, she was reckless. Blunt. Fearless to the point of foolishness. She spoke her mind without hesitation even when it ant defying him. Especially when it ant defying him.

She wanted a divorce. She looked at him as though he were poison. She treated him like a ghost, a shadow in her life she refused to acknowledge. And still... she had no idea what such defiance could cost her family.

Henry turned to leave, but paused when he noticed his boss staring off again, uncharacteristically silent.

"Uh... boss, are you sure you’re okay?" Henry asked, scratching the back of his head.

Daniel’s eyes flicked to him, sharp and unreadable. Then, in a voice that was lower, heavier, he asked, "Henry... do you think I’m that hateable? For soone to detest even the sight of ?"

Henry froze. His jaw nearly dropped. Was this—was this a real question!

’Of course you are!’ Henry scread internally. ’You terrify half the city, boss. You barely blink when destroying lives, and you glare at people like they’re insects.’

But aloud, he forced a laugh. "Hahaha, boss, why would you say that? There’s no way anyone could hate you."

Daniel’s eyes narrowed. "Then why did you stutter?"

Henry’s face drained of color. "...I-I didn’t."

The stare lingered a beat too long, and Henry felt sweat roll down his spine. ’Why do I feel like I’m in an interrogation? Why , God, why always ?’

But Daniel had already looked away, his thoughts drifting back to her.

Anna. The way her eyes had burned when she slapped him. The way her voice dripped venom when she pushed him away.

It was hatred—pure, sharp, unfiltered hatred.

And what unsettled Daniel most wasn’t that she hated him.

It was that he hated how much it mattered.

"Get back to work," Daniel dismissed, his tone clipped.

Henry didn’t need to be told twice—he practically bolted from the office.

Daniel leaned back in his chair, checking the ti. By now, Anna should’ve been finished with Wilsmith. His jaw ticked as the thought lingered.

There was no doubt in his mind—Anna would walk straight into the trap he’d set. She might question Wilsmith’s intentions, but Daniel knew the man better than anyone.

Still... a quiet voice gnawed at him. ’Maybe she hasn’t.’

Shoving the thought aside, Daniel forced his attention back to the mountain of files before him.

***

The car rolled to a smooth stop in front of the café.

Anna exhaled and reached for her seatbelt, her eyes already scanning the street for Betty.

"Who are you eting here?"

Ethan’s voice cut through the silence, making her freeze. Her lips parted, a half-ford excuse on her tongue—

But Ethan didn’t wait. His sharp eyes flicked to the window. "I’m guessing that’s her."

Anna followed his gaze. Betty stood just outside the café, bouncing on her heels as if waiting for her.

Anna pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded. "Thank you for the ride," she said quickly, already fumbling with the door handle.

The urgency in her movents was obvious—she didn’t want to linger.

Ethan noticed, of course. He always noticed. But he said nothing. He simply watched as she rushed out of the car and crossed the street, her figure retreating until she vanished inside the café with the younger girl.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened before he finally shifted the gear.

"You’re still the sa, Anna," he murmured under his breath, a ghost of sothing unspoken flickering in his eyes.

And then, without another glance back, Ethan drove off.

***

anwhile, Anna and Betty arrived at Shawn’s cluttered apartnt, the air thick with stale coffee and the hum of his laptop. Both pairs of eyes fixed on him as he spoke.

"Your sister seems to still be in this city," Shawn disclosed, pushing his glasses up as he stared back at Anna.

Silence crashed down. Anna’s mind reeled, clinging to his words. It was possible—no, it was logical. Kathrine had gone to the airport, yes, but she hadn’t boarded a flight. And her phone... it had gone dark.

Anna’s breath hitched. "Then it makes sense. She didn’t leave. She has to be here."

Shawn shook his head slowly, his tone cutting through her fragile hope. "That’s one possibility. But there’s more."

Anna and Betty leaned forward at once.

"The number you gave ..." Shawn exhaled. "...it was turned on. But only for a second."

Anna’s eyes widened, her voice stumbling with urgency. "W-what? Then you must have—then you should’ve located her!"

Shawn’s lips pressed into a thin line, and his shoulders slumped. "No. Not with a signal that brief. It was there—and then it was gone. No trace left behind."

The words slamd into Anna like a blow. Her nails dug into her palm as her throat burned with disappointnt. She had co here clinging to hope, but now it felt like sand slipping through her fingers.

Betty glanced between them, worry etched across her face, while Anna’s voice cracked into a whisper.

"Then... how will we find her?"

Her question lingered in the air, heavier than any answer Shawn could give.

"As I said, she might still be in this city. So maybe it wouldn’t be too hard to find her..." Shawn leaned back, his fingers tapping against the desk before his voice dropped, firr. "...unless soone is helping her."

Anna’s brows furrowed. "Helping her? No. Kathrine ran away on her own."

Shawn clicked his tongue, shaking his head with certainty. "I doubt that." His gaze sharpened, locking onto her. "Because while tracing her number, I stumbled onto sothing else—sothing that doesn’t line up with the story of her running off empty-handed."

Anna’s stomach tightened. "What do you an?"

"There were transactions," Shawn said flatly, the glow of his laptop screen reflecting in his glasses. "Done from her account right before she hailed the cab. And not just pocket change. The amount was... significant."

The words slamd into Anna, her body stiffening as unease crawled up her spine.

Shawn continued, his tone deliberate. "If Kathrine is surviving in this city, she’s not doing it alone. Soone provided her with funds. Soone who doesn’t want her to be found."

The room went quiet. Betty’s eyes widened, darting nervously between Shawn and Anna, while Anna sat frozen, her breath shallow, her mind reeling with questions that only deepened the mystery.

Anna couldn’t bring herself to doubt anyone—not yet. But she also couldn’t ignore Shawn’s claim. The evidence sat plainly before her, and yet everything about it was a tangled ss that refused to make sense.

"Do you have anyone in mind who might do that?" Shawn asked, his tone sharp, probing.

Her lips parted, but only silence ca out before she shook her head. "No... I don’t." The words were quiet, almost reluctant, as if speaking them out loud made her doubt heavier.

She had tried once already—when she asked her mother about Kathrine. And the way Rosiline had reacted, snapping with anger instead of concern, had only left Anna more unsettled.

It was obvious—her mother didn’t want to hear about Kathrine. Neither did her father. If they truly cared, they would have turned the world upside down to find her.

’Then who?’ The question gnawed at her, a shadow she couldn’t shake. Who was giving Kathrine the ans to stay hidden?

Shawn studied her in silence before noticing the way her shoulders hunched, weighed down by invisible burdens. His tone softened, losing so of its edge. "You don’t have to drive yourself crazy over it. If she’s still in the city, chances are she’ll turn that phone on again. And when she does..." he tapped his laptop with quiet confidence, "...I’ll be faster this ti. I’ll find her."

Sothing in his conviction steadied her frayed nerves. Anna drew a slow breath and nodded, the faintest thread of relief seeping into her restless heart.