Rebirth Into My Second Chance

Richard whipped out his smartphone, scrolling through a barrage of tweets to show Ronald. The trending comments painted a grim picture, and Ronald's face turned sour instantly.

"Look, I'm trying to do what's right," Ronald said, his voice laced with an uncomfortable mix of regret and duty.

Richard pocketed his phone, his voice thick with emotion. "Where the hell is Claire? Everyone's talking about her, and she ghosts us? Not a call, not a text. Half the time, I'm terrified she's dead. She's all I've got left in this world."

His usually calm demeanor shifted, a dark edge creeping in.

Head bowed, Ronald ascended the stone steps, listening to Richard's turmoil.

"What kind of person is Claire?" Ronald ventured, breaking the silence.

Richard's face softened at the mention of Claire's name. "Claire was fostered at an orphanage from a young age. Her parents had these mysterious jobs but sent a hefty check monthly, ensuring all the kids got a fair shot. We all went to school because of that. Claire was brilliant, beautiful, soft-spoken, and even aced medical school. She was supposed to study abroad, but then Claude appeared. Marrying Claude was the biggest mistake of her life. If I hadn't been so reckless, leaking that scandal about the Hart family to the press, they wouldn't have taken her back."

Ronald heard a different side of Claire and listened intently.

hearsay to me. Supposedly, Claude got kidnapped, and Claire's parents died trying to save him. Rumor had it they were Claude's bodyguards, but he never acknowledged that nor did he compensate Claire in any way. I found out that there

The revelations stunned Ronald.

death and the death of my parents

Claire's folks and said they got themselves killed trying to save him. I wanted to throttle him right there," Richard fumed, Ronald

how Claire's parents saved Claude, and he

a wry

the Hart family know what they're hiding, insisting on taking responsibility for her. thought it was the media pressure at first. Claire seemed to truly like Claude,

him, I couldn't help but suspect the Hart family had

they were still hiding something! But I was dead. I couldn't uncover the truth about my parents' deaths or

you think the Hart family has something to do with the death of Claire's parents?" Ronald zeroed

have proof," Richard

voice breaking.

With Max's connections, there was no room for error. Silently, he offered Richard a cigarette, a gesture of

his head. "I don't smoke. Claire hates