This is a fictional story that has no connection to reality.

That red color that is engraved in my memory, those fires that devour my body, and my screams that, despite knowing that they will not change what is happening, I still ask for mercy, even though I have not given it to anyone.

Or was it because the picture was completed before my eyes when my body turned that black? I was a monster who deserved this end... Would anything have changed if I had listened to his words? It was already too late for regret a long time ago.

Thus, she closed her eyes amidst the scorching tongues of flame, and her suffering ended at the age of 47. However, she did not know that this was not the end of her life, but merely the beginning of what was to come.

Let the hands of time move and take you back to what has passed and not passed...

15 years ago

This despair and pain—she opened her eyes to find herself outside that nightmare. She was sweating profusely, trembling and looking around, not realizing her situation until she forced the doors open and rushed inside.

A little girl is neatly dressed in her school clothes, her hair swaying gently with her.

The moment I saw her, I felt as if everything around me stopped; everything dissipated: past and present.

The maid ran after the girl.

"My little lady, don't disturb the lady, come on."

The maid tried to take the girl, but the girl pushed her away and moved closer to Eleanor, looking with pleading eyes that held a gleam of innocence.

"Mom, you promised me you'd take me to school today, but she says you won't."

She pointed at the maid with her small hands in a grumbling tone.

But Eleanor didn't hear any of this; she was watching what was happening in front of her and thinking about only one thing: how much she wanted to touch those little hands, kiss that cute face, and hold that baby...her daughter.

The maid intervened to push the little girl away again.

"Sorry ma'am, I'll take the little lady now."

But Eleanor didn't care what she said. She did what she wanted to do: She hugged her baby tightly in her arms. Although she was afraid that everything would turn into a mirage as soon as she got closer, it all faded away in the wind when she felt that warmth.

How much I missed this feeling...

"My mom..."

The girl whispered in surprise in the midst of this situation,

Which made Eleanor look at her while wiping her emotional tears, then she smiled and answered those questioning eyes, while gently wiping her daughter's cheeks:

"Yes, my dear."

The little girl looked and frowned sadly:

"Are you crying because of me? Because I bothered you and you were tired?"

Eleanor shook her head.

"No, I can't be upset with you, dear. Who told you I'm upset with you?"

"Misa told me."

She pointed to the maid who was still standing in the background.

Then Eleanor moved her gaze, which was filled, in an instant, with cruelty and coldness:

"Are you still here?"

The maid trembled at that look, then left the room with a small bow.

As Eleanor turned to look at her baby again, she took her in her arms and sat down on the bed.

"My dear, no matter what happens, I can never be upset with you, and if anyone tells you otherwise, they are lying. Do you understand?"

Iris nodded her small head:

"So, Mom... are you taking me to school today?"

Eleanor pretended to frown:

"I really don't know, Iris is sitting on her mother's lap, which will make her late getting dressed for school."

The little girl quickly got up and spoke sternly as she headed out of the room:

"No, we won't be late! I'll wait for my mom downstairs, and my mom needs to get dressed quickly so we don't be late."

Eleanor smiled as she looked at the door her daughter had closed.

Then I went to take a shower and get ready.....

Eleanor stood in front of the mirror in the dressing room after putting on her clothes, carefully examining her reflection.

It was her, but it wasn't her; she no longer saw that haughty, conceited reflection, the woman who had it all, but scars and wounds and the fires that ravaged her body to death.

Suddenly, that moment came back to her as a vivid scene...

Eleanor stood at the edge of hell watching those souls scream in pain and torment that they deserved.

When it was her turn, she stood in front of the creature in front of her.

"Why do I have to be like them? Haven't I paid enough? Haven't I been punished? I've already lost everything, haven't I been tortured enough? Why do I have to suffer more?"

She screamed out what was seeping into her shattered soul.

He didn't even blink, but replied calmly:

"You made more than one soul scream the screams you did, you trampled underfoot, and made many lose what they owned without even blinking. How dare you ask for mercy?"

She fell to her knees as she looked down at her mangled hands, seeing nothing but blood—which hadn't existed—drip from them. Her hands were already stained with the sins of so many.

"I know... just for a moment I thought this nightmare would end."

She hummed as she stood on the edge of hell.

"That is the wish of every oppressor."

That black entity grabbed her neck from behind, to throw her into her own hell with her oppressive soul... while she closed her eyes, accepting her fate or surrendering to what she had created with her own hands.

The voice of that cold entity whispered in her ear:

"But I can change that ending if you want."

Her body hit the ground as he threw her off the edge, smiling as he slowly approached, a seductive smile plastered across his dark face that would make people of sound mind tremble in front of such a terrifying dark entity.

"I will send you back to the past to set things right, but not for your own good, but for the good of a soul better than your rotten soul, and in return your soul will never see hell."

Eleanor raised her head; her heart was trembling at what stood before her and what this agreement might do to her, but the screams of the souls burning in hell drowned out the voice of her heart and made her accept this unknown agreement.

"What soul do I have to save? And what do I get in return?"

The black-robed man's smile widened at her arrogance and then he said:

"I will give you two good endings, and each one will depend on your actions..."

continued.....

She was descending the stairs of the villa with anticipation, slowly observing the scene around her. When she reached the bottom, the head maid stood in front of her, bowing her head slightly:

"Madam, breakfast is ready and everyone is waiting for you."

Eleanor looked in the direction Amanda the butler had pointed, but before she went there she turned to Amanda and spoke sternly:

"Misa, I don't want to hear that name again on my property."

The head maid bowed respectfully and said with understanding:

"I'll make sure that disobedient maid's leg is broken and she's fired."

She paused for a moment in doubt, then said:

"Just kick her out, no need to break her leg..."

Eleanor motioned for the maid to leave, then went into the dining room.

The old man stood up and slammed his hand on the table, shouting:

"Wait until my daughter comes and puts an end to your arrogance!"

"What is there?"

Eleanor interrupted the event by entering the dining hall.

"My mom!"

Iris ran into her mother's arms when she saw her, and Eleanor hugged her back tenderly.

The old man stood up and smiled arrogantly as he looked at his son-in-law who was finishing his food indifferently, then he muttered:

"Let's see how long your arrogance will last."

Eleanor looked between her husband and her father, but before she could speak, her father spoke up, saying:

"My daughter, look at your husband! He wants to oust me from the group's board of directors!"

At that moment, Eleanor remembered that she had made a fuss with her husband in her past life, and all she could think about was how disgusted she was to relive all of that.

She didn't even realize that her gaze, as it drifted into the past, had turned cold, surrounded by a frightening aura that made the old man fall silent in fear.

"My mom?!"

Her daughter's voice brought her back to reality. She smiled gently at her, then looked up at her father. But her smile wasn't as affectionate as her daughter's; it was cold.

"Sorry, Dad, but I think you guys are old enough to handle company matters without me."

She said that, then dropped her fake smile, and returned to her affectionate smile again as she looked at her husband:

"Dear, I'll drop Iris off today... Have a nice day."

She said this and then kissed his cheek before taking her baby girl to the car.

Despite his frozen face, he couldn't stop the corner of his eyes from twitching when her lips touched his. It wasn't because he was affected, but because of her unusual behavior.

"That useless bitch!"

The father roared angrily as he looked in the direction his daughter had just come out from.

But at the very moment those words left his mouth, the knife sliced ​​its way into the side of his face, leaving a deep gash. The old man recoiled and slumped back onto the chair.

"I seem to have been too lenient with you."

He said that while wiping the corner of his mouth with a tissue.

"So much so that you forget who Charles Ashford is... but that's okay."

Charles stood up, then gestured to his assistant who was standing silently in the corner of the room:

"He stopped all forms of support and issued orders barring him from entering the company."

The old man pointed at him angrily.

"You can't do that; the board won't let you."

Charles smiled sarcastically as he approached the old man, then placed his hands on the sides of the chair he was sitting on and leaned over him with his terrifying, spine-chilling aura.

"You should be thankful you're my wife's father and my daughter's grandfather, or I would have buried you where you are."

The old man walked away, looking into that man's eyes, which made you feel like a whirlpool capable of swallowing the whole world.

Charles withdrew and left the dining room with his aide following behind him.

"Investigate what my wife is doing."

The assistant ordered in his majestic voice as he entered the car, followed by a fleet of guards.

"Okay, sir."

The assistant bowed and then went to carry out the task.

Eleanor was sitting in the car next to her daughter, who was telling her mother about her school schedule for the day. But Eleanor wasn't hearing anything her daughter was saying, as she was lost in her own world, immersed in fragments of memories.

"Dad, you'll help me get out of here, right?"

She was wearing prison clothes as she sat behind the dividing glass, holding the black phone in her hands and looking at her father sitting on the other side of the glass.

"Can I help you?... Yes, I will certainly help you, but first you have to tell me where your husband is."

Eleanor was surprised by the question and replied automatically:

"Where will he be? At home or at work."

He hit the glass with his hand angrily:

"Are you going to pretend you don't know that he took his daughter, seized the company's money, and left the country?!"

Eleanor was shocked and then muttered in a trembling voice:

"My daughter?... No, no, impossible!"

"If you don't tell me now where he went..."

His angry voice interrupted her, so she woke up from her reverie and said:

"Dad, really, I don't know!"

He hit the glass again, anger filling him:

"the curse!"

"Dad, please, help me get out of here!"

He looked up at her and said coldly:

"The company is already going bankrupt, do you think I have time for this trivial matter?"

He stood up, puffing in exasperation, and left, leaving her staring at his retreating back.

"Yes... how could I forget that?"

She muttered in a low voice.

"My mom?!"

She woke up to the sound of her daughter's voice, that spectral voice that was always like the melodies of spring.

❇ ❇ ❇ ❇ ❇

continued.........