Chapter 328: Kira’s Murderer

[Evening]

For the past few days, Collin had been watching Kathrine discreetly.

The day she showed up at his doorstep, he had been certain she was there to meet him. But her sudden retreat, the way she had looked startled and left without a word, had unsettled him far more than her arrival ever could. That single moment was enough to put him on edge, sharp enough that he began keeping an eye on her movements.

The search for Kira’s murderer was still ongoing. Despite how clean the execution had been, Collin could not shake the unease crawling beneath his skin. He had been careful. Meticulous. And yet, caution had become his constant companion.

More than fear, curiosity gnawed at him.

How close were Kathrine and Ethan really? And more importantly, had Ethan told her what he had seen that day?

Collin exhaled slowly and closed his eyes, memories flooding back. He recalled visiting the set a few days after Ethan had caught him lurking outside Anna’s changing room. Since that moment, Ethan had not stopped looking for him. Not openly, but enough for Collin to notice.

That had been the first real sign that things were escalating.

Ethan was suspicious and to divert their attention, Collin had orchestrated the attack on Roseline. A calculated move. A distraction meant to shift focus and buy him time.

But now Kira was gone, and he was on his own. And things still did not feel right. Not when he kept catching eyes.

First Ethan. Then Kathrine.

“They’re getting suspicious of me,” Collin muttered, snapping his eyes open as tension surged through him once again.

He could no longer brush off Kathrine showing up at his door. Nor could he ignore the way Ethan had been actively searching for him ever since that day.

Every piece fell into place far too neatly.

And it all pointed to one thing.

He was in trouble.

“I need to leave this place as soon as possible,” he said under his breath as he pushed himself to his feet.

Collin had enough money to disappear for a while. Enough to stay hidden until things cooled down. And if that ran out… he still had Roseline.

She could be useful.

As he moved quickly through his apartment, shoving a few essentials into a bag, his mind raced through escape routes and safe locations. His pulse quickened, every sound making his nerves tighten.

Just as he reached for the door handle, a sharp knock echoed through the room.

Collin froze.

The sound came again, firm and deliberate.

His breath hitched as he glanced toward the door, dread pooling in his stomach. No one was supposed to be here. Not tonight.

Slowly, cautiously, he stepped closer.

“Collin?” a familiar voice called from the other side.

His blood ran cold.

Anna.

For the first time that evening, true panic flickered across his face. Whatever plans he had made, whatever escape he had been preparing for, shattered in that instant.

Because this visit was the one thing he had not seen coming.

[Flashback]

After everything Anna heard from Dorothy, her blood ran cold.

Her mind spiraled, conjuring images she did not want to see, imagining what must have happened after Kira was abducted by the man who had hired her to attack her mother. The thought alone made her stomach churn.

But what truly shook Anna was the realization that the man who had killed Kira was living in the same neighborhood. Not hiding. Not running. Roaming freely, blending in, with no suspicion cast on him at all.

The injustice of it made her hands curl into fists.

“Can you help me catch him?” Anna asked quietly.

Dorothy hesitated.

She had only caught a brief glimpse of what that man was capable of, but it had been enough to terrify her to her bones. The fear had stayed with her, settling deep in her chest, growing stronger with every passing day.

“He’s dangerous, Anna,” Dorothy said, her voice shaking. “My children are too young. They need their mother. I can’t risk him coming after them. I can’t let him hurt my kids.”

The words came out heavy with fear and guilt. Dorothy had replayed that night in her head countless times, wondering if speaking up would destroy the fragile life she was holding together.

Anna saw it all. The fear. The conflict. The weight of responsibility pressing down on a mother who had already lost too much.

She understood Dorothy’s hesitation.

But letting that man walk free meant allowing a threat to linger around them, waiting, festering, and ready to turn into something even more horrific.

“Alright,” Anna said after a moment, her voice calm but resolute. “I won’t force you to do anything you’re not ready for.”

Dorothy looked at her, surprised.

“But can you tell me what he looks like?” Anna continued. “I have someone who can help me with that. I’ll handle the rest.”

Dorothy swallowed hard, then nodded slowly.

She described what little she remembered: the sharp edges of his presence and the way fear had crept into her spine the moment she saw him. And when she finally mentioned where he lived, Anna felt the last piece fall into place.

CrossRoad Street. That detail alone was enough.

Enough to connect the dots, enough to turn suspicion into certainty, and enough for Anna to know that this was far from over.

After talking with Dorothy, Anna reassured her one last time and then walked back to her car. She slid into the driver’s seat and closed the door, the familiar silence wrapping around her. But she did not start the engine. Her fingers tightened around her phone as she stared ahead for a moment, gathering herself.

Then she called Shawn.

He answered almost immediately. “Anna, I’m in the middle of some—”

“Shawn, we found Kira’s murderer,” Anna said, cutting him off.

The line went dead silent.

Anna frowned. “Shawn? Are you listening?” she asked, her voice sharp enough to snap him out of whatever trance he had fallen into.

“Y-Yes,” he replied, stunned. “What did you just say? You found Kira’s murderer?”

“Yes,” Anna confirmed, a low hum of certainty in her voice.

“How?” Shawn asked quickly. “I mean… all of a sudden?”

The confusion in his tone was justified. The police had been working the case relentlessly, yet they had not found a single solid lead. Whoever had done this had erased himself completely, leaving no trail, no witnesses, no evidence. So hearing Anna say she had found the man felt unreal.

Anna inhaled slowly before speaking again. She told him everything Dorothy had revealed. How Dorothy had seen Kira that night. How Kira had confessed the truth to the man who had hired her. And how, after hearing it all, he had betrayed her and abducted her instead of protecting her.

When Anna finished, silence fell between them once more.

Seconds passed.

“Anna,” Shawn finally said, his voice careful, strained. “What did you call the man earlier? Say that name again.”

The hesitation in his tone sent a warning signal straight through her.

She stiffened. “C-Collin,” Anna said, the name catching in her throat.

What came next knocked the air out of her lungs.

“The same Collin your parents put in prison,” Shawn blurted out, before realization hit him too late.

Anna’s grip tightened around her phone. “Shawn,” she said slowly, dangerously calm, “what does that mean?”

“I—I…” he stammered.

“Shawn,” she snapped this time, her voice rising. Even though he could not see her, the weight of her fury was unmistakable. “Speak. Now.”

On the other end of the call, Shawn swallowed hard. He had been warned by Daniel not to tell Anna anything about Collin yet, not until they had everything lined up. But in that moment, with the truth already unraveling, he could not bring himself to lie anymore.

“The thing is, Anna,” he said quietly, finally disclosing everything to her.

[Present]

Collin Fort.

Anna repeated the name in her mind as she watched the man standing before her.

What did you do for my parents to put you behind bars?And why, after all these years, are you back now… seeking revenge?

Her gaze never wavered as she studied him closely, taking in every minor detail of his features. The sharp line of his jaw. The calculating stillness in his eyes.

The unsettling familiarity that made her chest tighten. Piece by piece, he matched the image she had been given of Rupert Maxwell, the man who had been secretly monitoring her, the man whose presence alone had been deemed a threat to her life.

So they were the same. Or connected closely enough to be one and the same shadow.

Anna had no memory of him from her past life. No face, no name, no warning etched into her mind. Yet standing here now, with the truth slowly unraveling before her, she realized how little she had truly known back then.

So many pieces had been hidden from her.

Watching Collin now, hearing everything that no longer made sense yet somehow fit together too well, a quiet understanding settled within her.

Her second chance had not been given to her merely to change her fate.

It was also to uncover truths she had never been meant to see. To face dangers that had existed long before her death, lurking in the shadows, waiting patiently for the right moment to resurface.

And Collin Fort was one of them.

Whatever history he shared with her parents, whatever crime had put him behind bars, it was far from over. The past had not stayed buried. It had returned, wearing a familiar face and carrying unfinished business.

Anna lifted her chin, resolve hardening in her eyes.

This time, she would not be unaware. This time, she would not be a step behind.

If her rebirth had brought her face to face with monsters she never knew existed, then she would confront them head-on.

Because this life, she intended to survive.

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