CHAPTER 438: CHAPTER 438 MEMORY (2)

Outside, ghosts and witches had gathered, coughing and gasping. Masks were being handed out, one by one, by Madame Shades and her tall butler. Madame Shades smiled at the crowd, her voice ringing with false reassurance.

"Don’t worry, everyone," she declared smoothly, her elegant robe untouched by the chaos. "Mrs. Grave will go up to fix it and save us all!"

Ruby’s chest heaved as she fought against her father’s hold. "No! Don’t send her up! Please! Mom!" she wailed, struggling until her throat burned, but nobody listened.

Her eyes darted upward just in time to see her mother on the roof, climbing across the fragile metal beams that connected to the main pipe. Ruby’s stomach dropped.

Then an explosion.

The blast lit up the night like fire. Ruby’s eyes widened in horror as her mother’s body rolled off the roof, crashing through the hole she had climbed. She hit another leaking pipe, and the force caused it to explode too, a second blast sending shards of metal and a spray of blood across the factory floor and wall.

Ruby’s scream tore through the night.

Her father’s face twisted in anguish, his cry raw and broken as he tore free from the crowd and rushed back inside.

Madame Shades’ smile vanished, her eyes narrowing. Too many people were watching. Too much noise. She gave a sharp gesture to her butler.

The tall ghost moved without hesitation, expressionless as stone. He followed Ruby’s father inside. Ruby strained against the arms holding her, her heart hammering in her chest.

And then the second explosion.

The force shook the ground, smoke and fire rising high into the sky. Her father’s voice was silenced in an instant.

Ruby’s body trembled violently. "Dad! No! Dad!" she screamed, her throat raw with grief.

Before she could run, rough hands seized her. Madame Shades’ people dragged her into a side room, the chaos outside fading into muffled screams. The air was dark, the space tight. She fought, clawed, begged, but they pinned her arms down.

A sharp sting pierced her skin.

Something cold flooded her veins, and her vision blurred instantly. She could hear Madame Shades’ voice, smooth and distant, as if through water. "This will keep her alive. But she will need alcohol to endure it. Let her rot like a slave of the bottle."

The last thing Ruby saw before the world went black was a smear of red, her parents’ blood burned into her memory and Madame Shades’ face watching her with a cold smile.

Then nothing.

***

When Ruby woke, a sharp headache pulsed through her skull, making her groan softly. She blinked her eyes open and the first thing she saw was Julian slumped in an awkward position beside her bed, his head resting against the edge of the mattress. His arms were folded, and his face looked peaceful despite the discomfort of how he had been sleeping.

She shifted to sit up, and the slight rustle made him stir. His eyes fluttered open, and his husky, sleep-heavy voice whispered, "Wife..."

Ruby turned her head toward the window. Pale morning light streamed in, filling the room with its soft glow. She exhaled slowly, then glanced back at Julian. "What happened to me?" she asked, her voice quiet but steady.

Julian sat up straighter, rubbing his tired eyes. His voice was hoarse, still rough from sleep. "You fainted suddenly. We moved you to your room, and Healer William came to check you. He said your body was strained but... nothing permanent. You just need rest."

Ruby’s heart jolted as the memories crashed into her mind—the factory, the explosions, her parents’ final moments, and Madame Shades watching everything with cold detachment. Her hands curled into fists, her expression hardening. Coldness seeped into her eyes, the kind of chill that came only from clarity.

So that’s why the original owner couldn’t survive without alcohol, she thought bitterly. It was all because of Madame Shades. Her factory was a death trap, it killed my parents, it ruined lives, and she injected me with that poison so I would be chained to the bottle forever. And now she dares to approach me with marriage offers?

Her jaw clenched, and she rose from the bed with determination. She strode toward her wardrobe and pulled out a robe, tying it tightly around her waist.

"Julian," she said firmly, her tone sharper than before, "go and call Adrian and the others. We need to discuss something."

Julian blinked, confused by the sudden steel in her voice, but he nodded anyway. "Alright, Wife. I’ll bring them."

He hesitated for just a moment, his eyes lingering on her face, but when he saw the storm building in her gaze, he didn’t ask any more. Instead, he hurried out of the room, leaving Ruby standing by the wardrobe, her heart pounding with anger and resolve.

This time, she wouldn’t let Madame Shades get away with it.

The more Ruby thought about it, the more pieces of memory slipped back into her mind, like shards of glass slowly arranging into a picture she had tried to forget.

Her parents’ voices came faintly, conversations she must have overheard. Her mother’s worried whisper—"This plant is dangerous... it’s already taken too many lives." Her father’s frustrated sigh—"But we can’t leave, not with the contract she bound us to. If we break it, she’ll ruin us completely."

Ruby’s breath caught as her chest tightened. It made sense now. Her parents had been trapped, forced to keep working in that death-filled factory, not because they wanted to, but because Madame Shades had tied them with her cruel, binding contracts. They had been caught in her web, with no way out.

Her fists clenched at her sides, nails digging into her palms as her face hardened. They knew it was dangerous. They wanted to leave. But they couldn’t.

The anger in her blood burned hotter the more she remembered. Madame Shades hadn’t just been careless—she had made her parents prisoners in that company, squeezing their lives until they broke.

Ruby stood still in her room, her robe hanging heavy around her shoulders, her head pounding with both grief and rage. She could almost hear her mother’s voice, gentle but tired: "Ruby, one day, you must live free of this."

Her eyes burned, but she refused to let tears fall. Instead, her jaw tightened, her gaze sharpening with icy determination.

"This time," she whispered to herself, "I’ll finish what you couldn’t."

To be continued... 🪄