Rebirth of Shadows

CHAPTER 1 Previous existence

In the silent night, a bolt of lightning tore through the sky, breaking the tranquility of the night.

Within the dark and dilapidated mansion, the living room was deserted, with only a sofa and a grand piano standing in the corner, covered in dust cloths. An ancient grandfather clock chimed heavily with each swing of its pendulum. Paintings hung on the walls seemed eerie under the dim light, while the branches outside the windows swayed in the wind, casting eerie shadows on the floor. In the vast emptiness of the room, there lingered an unsettling atmosphere.

In a corner of the living room, a pool of dried dark red blood lay.

Next to it, a woman with a pale and haggard complexion was tied to a pillar, her once-beautiful face now marred with wounds and bruises. Her skin, once fair and smooth, was now covered in filth and festering wounds, emitting a foul odor.

A sudden, jarring sound shattered the silence as the door to the living room creaked open. A stunning woman draped in a pale blue gown entered, her figure adorned with a milky white pearl shawl. A faint smile graced her lips, exuding a seductive charm. Her features, delicate and exquisite, bore only the faintest traces of time, concealed beneath meticulous makeup. She seemed like a fragrant and noble blue tulip, enticing all who beheld her with her beauty.

She retrieved a silver candlestick from a nearby cabinet and lit the candles. The dim yellow light illuminated her surroundings as she gracefully approached the pitiful figure before her. A hint of surprise colored her expression as she said, "Aurora, you're certainly resilient. Even after all this, you're still alive."

At the sound of the enchanting woman's voice, Aurora, her appearance now horrifically disfigured, slowly opened her eyes. What was truly terrifying, however, was her once captivating eyes, leaving behind only empty sockets.

Her limbs were broken, her kneecaps shattered, and her once-beautiful face now resembled that of a ghastly demon. Numerous gashes marred her once fair and delicate complexion, while her eyes had been cruelly gouged out.

Aurora sneered, her horrifying face twisted with hatred, "Jessica Miller, you're not dead yet. How could I, I Aurora Knight, die so easily?"

Jessica, simply chuckled in response, ignoring Aurora's provocation, "Aurora, did those beggars treat you well the other day? Gabe told me you've got some “unique talents”. Well, I couldn't just kill you outright. I'll let a few beggars have a taste of you. Sharing is caring, after all."

"Well, thanks for that," Aurora laughed, her grin as wicked as her face, "Better to be humiliated by beggars than to spend ten years sharing a bed with the b***h Gabriel! And before I go, I'll make sure to make him cuckold. I'll profit from this, Aurora, that's for sure!"

With a sudden, eerie grin, Aurora spat right onto Jessica's face, the stench making Jessica recoil in horror. With a shriek, Jessica wiped the spit off her face and grabbed another candlestick, thrusting it towards Aurora while cursing, "Aurora, you b***h!"

"Compared to you Stonecrest , I, Aurora, am not thorough enough in my vileness!" Aurora, ravaged and resembling a ghost, sneered with a twisted grin. "My brother cuckolded his own brother, trampled his legitimate wife underfoot, made me serve the Stonecrest for ten years, and if that wasn't enough, deceived my sister's feelings, swallowed up the Luminance Family's legacy, and ultimately led to the demise of my entire family!"

"That's because your Luminance Family is too foolish!" Jessica quietly blossomed with a delicate smile, her gentleness tinged with a chilling coldness. Her voice suddenly raised, "You deserved it! You suffered for him for years and even helped him rise to the top... But what did you get in return? He's successful now, and you, Aurora, are just a w***e in my hands!"

Aurora snorted softly, her voice cold, "Falling in love with scum like Gabriel was my stupidity, I admit it... But, Jessica, do you really think you're any better than me? Don't think you're so much better just because you've gone from a foster daughter to a rich heiress. My fate today will be yours tomorrow! Don't forget, how many women does Gabriel have on the side?"

The last sentence ignited Jessica's already fragile nerves, and she screamed hysterically, as if she wanted to devour Aurora alive. Her sharp voice seemed to vent her pain, "No way! Gabe loves me! His affairs with other women are just meaningless! And you, why should you be so happily married to Gabriel while I'm stuck with his crippled brother for a lifetime?"

"I love Gabe so much, why should you dominate him for ten years? From beginning to end, Gabe only loves me, why should you openly become his wife while I can only be his sister-in-law, a pitiful creature hidden in the shadows? I, Jessica, am the pride of the heavens, how am I inferior to you? Aurora, you deserved what happened today, and I've waited ten years for my rightful reward!"

With tears of grievance streaming down Jessica's face, she wore a smug and defiant smile. Retrieving a fruit knife from her handbag, she leisurely sliced open Aurora's skin, whispering softly, "Aurora, do you know? A month ago, Gabe and I had our wedding ceremony. He's officially joined the Miller Family... Why did you bother? Married to him for ten years, slaving away for him, giving him your heart and soul, being devoted to him, and in the end, your husband personally destroyed your entire Luminance Family!"

"Oh, by the way, do you know why you didn't get pregnant for ten years? Aurora, it was your wonderful husband who gave you infertility drugs on your wedding night. The culprit himself, while hypocritically blaming you for not being able to bear children for ten years!"

"Aurora, do you know how your friend Elena died? Haha... She didn't die on the battlefield, she died by my hands. I was the one who leaked her undercover information to those people. Don't thank me too much!"

"And what about that friend Sophie? Do you know what happened to her? Her head's as big as a basketball, her body as thin as a stick, locked up in chains in my Miller Family's laboratory. That appearance... like a monster!"

"And Aurora, do you know how pitiful your sister Emily looked when she jumped off the building? Falling from a high-rise, turning into a meat patty, her eyes wide open in death, refusing to close... Haha... She couldn't believe until her dying breath that Gabriel, whom she deeply loved, was the one who killed her entire family! Your sister Emily... even more foolish than you!"

"Do you know how pathetic your father looked when he committed suicide? Trembling hands, too scared to pull the trigger, his face turned pale. But your dear husband Gabriel helped him do it himself. Look at that, Gabe's so good to you..."

Listening to Jessica's vivid descriptions of her family's tragic deaths, Aurora, with her eyes gouged out, had lost the ability to cry, only able to emit a heart-wrenching scream, "Jessica, you'll all die horrible deaths! Even if I, Aurora, become a vengeful spirit, I'll never spare you, you despicable couple!"

She hated!

Hated to the core!

The sound of the door opening was followed by a familiar set of footsteps gradually approaching. Then, the once dreamlike male voice resounded, devoid of the warmth it once held for Aurora, replaced instead by a hint of disdainful detachment, calm as if merely crushing an ant underfoot. "Jess, haven't you had enough fun? That worthless pest is no longer of any use, yet you've been playing with her for so long."

Jessica giggled lazily as she nestled into his embrace, mocking Aurora recklessly. "Aurora, did you hear that? Your husband... oh, sorry, your ex-husband, just called you a pest."

Before Aurora could say, she was kicked hard in the abdomen. A seductive yet cold male voice followed, laced with a hint of icy indifference. "Aura, your body satisfies me, but your sharp tongue... still as annoying as ever."

"Darling, if you hate her so much, why not kill her yourself?" Jessica turned to the strikingly handsome man, gazing at him with a playful smirk as she handed him a sharp knife.

His gaze gently swept over the glimmering blade before him, his elegant figure illuminated by the candlelight, yet chillingly aloof.

"Okay."

His deep, gentle voice was as cold as ever.

With a delicate grip, he raised the knife, his exquisite fingers knuckling up, and the silver blade flashed as it plunged into Aurora's heart!

Warm blood sprayed onto the handsome man's face, dripping down his forehead, adding a touch of ruthlessness and ferocity to his elegant and beautiful features...

However, the gentle depths of his eyes remained undisturbed, as indifferent and calm as ever—as if he hadn't just killed his wife of ten years, who had silently devoted herself to him.

"If you truly love me, then die for me. I'll be grateful..." he said.

In Aurora's final moments, her hollow eye sockets were filled with towering hatred and resentment!

Blind as she was, Aurora's ears remained sharp, her senses intact. She only felt Jessica lean in close, her voice whispering the last words in her ear: "Goodnight..."

Aurora opened her mouth, but only a painful hoarse cry escaped. In her mind, only one thought lingered:

If there's a next life, Gabriel, Jessica, I will become a vengeful demon, reclaiming everything you owe me in this life! I will tear off your hypocritical masks and repay all the pain and hatred of today’s life!