The Billionaire's True Heiress From Fake Jewel to Real Crown novel Chapter 180

She’d been to so many places, seen the world in all its chaos and color, but in the end, she chose to settle somewhere quiet, almost untouched.

“Not really old friends, but your parents had their own house in Cabinda. That’s actually where they met,” Pandora said.

She paused, then added, “Your parents disappeared in Cabinda.”

The words hit Claire like a rock dropped into still water, sending shockwaves through her mind.

“Wait… So my parents are missing? Not… dead?” Claire stared at Pandora, trying to process it.

She’d never really asked about her biological parents. Somewhere along the way, she just accepted they were gone.

Now, hearing that they might only be missing, Claire felt like her whole world was tilting.

“No,” Pandora said, her gaze steady. “Do you know why I’ve kept such a low profile in James Village?”

“Why?” Claire felt a strange suspicion spark in her mind. “Were you hiding from someone? Like… enemies?”

If the James family had enemies strong enough to make her parents vanish, those people must have been seriously dangerous.

Pandora’s lips pressed together. “I’ve stayed out of sight so I wouldn’t bring trouble to your parents.”

When she talked about Claire’s parents, her pride was almost impossible to hide.

Claire felt her curiosity growing. What kind of trouble could be so big that her grandmother would hide herself away?

“In the beginning, your parents were working on some very dangerous research. Later, your father sent me a letter. He told me to cut off all contact with them, to act like he and your mother had died by accident.”

The word “accident” made Claire’s heart thump. People who had to fake their own deaths? That sounded like something only the highest-level government agents would do.

“I hid most of the James family’s business, kept to myself, and handed everything else over to people who had no obvious connection to your parents,” Pandora went on.

“To outsiders, we said your parents died in an accident, that their bodies were never found.”

She played the role of the grieving, devastated mother so well that, at first, people were suspicious. But over time, they stopped asking questions.

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