Rebirth: The New Bride Wants A Divorce-Chapter 393: You made a mistake thinking you can hide

Anna exhaled slowly, fingers tightening around her glass.

Kathrine’s mind raced. Was it because she found something? Something important about his intentions?

"You are right in what you are thinking."

Anna’s calm voice snapped Kathrine out of her spiral.

She blinked. "What?"

Anna looked at her then—not as a sister teasing or deflecting, but with a gravity that made Kathrine’s spine straighten.

"Collin wasn’t done," Anna said quietly. "Not with us. Not with this family."

Kathrine frowned. "He was arrested. Under surveillance. What else could he possibly—"

"He wanted to be seen," Anna interrupted. "He wanted them to know."

Kathrine’s brows knitted together. "That doesn’t make sense."

"It does," Anna replied softly. "If his goal was only revenge, he would have stayed hidden longer. But Collin thrives on control. On fear. On knowing we’re watching our backs."

She leaned closer, lowering her voice as if the walls themselves might be listening. "By letting our parents know, I gave them access," Anna said calmly. "Now all we need to do is wait for someone to make a move."

Kathrine frowned, confusion flickering across her face. Anna’s expression, however, was unsettlingly composed—too composed. There was something calculated brewing behind her eyes, something Kathrine had seen only a few times before, usually right before everything went wrong for someone else.

"Access?" Kathrine repeated slowly. "Anna, what exactly are you implying?"

Anna straightened, swirling the remaining drink in her glass without looking at it. "Collin is dangerous, but he’s not reckless. If he escaped, it wouldn’t be without help. And if help came so easily, it means the door was already half open."

Kathrine’s breath hitched. "You mean—"

"Yes," Anna cut in softly. "One of them."

Kathrine stared at her, disbelief washing over her face. "So you’re saying one of our parents would actually help him escape," she whispered, horrified, "just to stop the truth from coming out?"

The pieces clicked together with sickening clarity.

The rushed decisions. The odd silences. The way certain questions were always redirected.

Kathrine gaped. "Oh my God."

Anna met her gaze, eyes steady, unflinching. "Collin knows too much. About the past. About what really happened. Someone is terrified of that truth seeing the light."

"And by informing them," Kathrine murmured slowly, "you baited the trap." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Anna nodded once. "Fear makes people careless. Loyalty makes them reckless."

Kathrine’s stomach twisted. "And when Collin escapes..."

"We follow the trail," Anna finished. "Because whoever helps him won’t be able to hide anymore."

The weight of it settled heavily between them.

Kathrine swallowed hard. "That’s insane."

Anna’s lips curved into a faint, grim smile. "No," she said quietly. "That’s the only way we find the real culprit."

Kathrine knew they were risking everything by playing this game. One wrong assumption, one misplaced trust, and the fallout would be catastrophic. But as she stood there she made a choice she had never made before.

She chose to trust her sister’s instinct. Because Anna had never been wrong when it truly mattered.

[Present]

"Who was the last one to visit Collin?" Daniel asked into the phone, his tone clipped, professional, stripped of all emotion.

Anna stood beside him, arms crossed, her body rigid. She already knew the answer. Somewhere deep inside, she had known it the moment Collin escaped.

There was a brief pause on the other end. Then—

"It was Mrs. Roseline Bennett."

The words landed heavily but neither Anna nor Daniel reacted immediately. No gasp. No curse. Just a shared look that carried too much understanding, too much confirmation.

"Thank you, officer," Daniel said calmly, ending the call.

The room fell silent.

Daniel turned slowly toward Anna, expecting anger, shock, maybe even vindication. Instead, he found her unnervingly quiet. Too quiet.

She was staring at nothing, her jaw clenched, eyes darkened with something far more dangerous than rage.

"Anna," Daniel called softly.

She didn’t respond.

He stepped closer. "Say something."

Anna finally blinked, as if coming back to herself. "I knew it," she said quietly. There was no triumph in her voice. Only exhaustion. "I just didn’t want to be right."

Daniel purse his lips. After all they had already seen this coming. However there was another thing that kept him on check.

"She didn’t do it to save him," Anna said flatly. "She did it to save herself."

Daniel’s eyes narrowed the moment she laughed.

It wasn’t the kind of laughter born from relief or humor. He knew that sound too well now. It was brittle, forced—used to keep the cracks from showing. Anna was hurting, deeply, because betrayal from her own mother was a wound she had never prepared herself for. And instead of breaking, she was swallowing it whole.

Daniel hated that she felt the need to be strong even here. Even with him.

"He might have escaped," Daniel said steadily, breaking the fragile moment, "but he won’t be away from our sight for too long."

Anna looked up at him, her laugh dying on her lips.

Daniel’s jaw tightened. He hadn’t told her everything—not about Norma, not about the subtle strings that had been pulled behind the scenes. But he knew this much with certainty: Roseline hadn’t acted alone. Collin’s escape was too clean, too calculated. Someone else had greased the wheels.

And that thought sat heavy in his chest.

"I have my people watching him," Daniel continued, his voice calm but edged with quiet authority. "He may have slipped out, but he hasn’t disappeared. Not even close."

Anna let out a long breath, some of the tension finally draining from her shoulders. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face against his chest.

"I just..." her voice came out muffled, softer than she intended. "I didn’t expect this. Not from her."

Daniel’s arms came around her instantly, firm and protective. He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head. "I know."

She stayed there for a moment, allowing herself the rare luxury of not holding everything together. Daniel didn’t rush her. He simply held her, grounding her, silently promising that whatever truth lay ahead, she wouldn’t face it alone.

Inside, though, his mind was already moving.

Roseline was one piece of the puzzle. Norma was another. And Collin—Collin was the thread connecting them all.

You ran, Daniel thought darkly. But you made a mistake thinking you could hide.

Because escape didn’t mean freedom.