"Boss!" Damian shouted immediately. The man, about Alice's age, was furious and immediately aimed the tip of his gun directly at the enemy's forehead.
'Argh!' Damian shouted in uncontrollable anger, shooting the enemy's head indiscriminately until it was no longer intact.
Until his gun could no longer fire bullets, Damian lowered his hands, moving to support Alice's weak, helpless body.
"Boss, wake up. Open your eyes! Look at me, Boss!" Damian tried to wake Alice, who was almost closed.
"Don't keep shouting. You're making me deaf," Alice replied softly and choked. However, her smile remained even though her lips were bleeding profusely.
Shele still managed to smile at Damian who was devastated to see her like that. Before the last sentence she escaped with difficulty.
"Thank you for taking care of me until now, Damian. Goodbye…"
That was the last sentence that Alice uttered as her body, which had been stretched, no longer showed any movement, as her last breath left her body, bringing the story of the Queen of Red Ghost to an end.
'Boss!!!' Damian cried even harder while hugging Alice's body on his lap.
Damian's cries echoed throughout the forest, which bore silent witness to Alice Blackwell's death.
The echo of her confidant's sadness penetrated space and time, making Elena wake up when her body was feeling the calm of the hot water in the bathtub.
In the blink of an eye, everything from the past flashed before her. Both Alice Blackwell and Elena Starling.
'I should have died from being shot, but why did I wake up in this place when I opened my eyes?'
Elena clenched her fists tightly. The white, wrinkled skin on her palms gradually turned red from the pain. She did this just to confirm that what she was feeling was real.
Yes, she was alive again.
"Isn't this a joke, waking up and living another woman's life?" Elena muttered. Her eyes were blank as she remembered her dark days as a gangster woman until her death as Alice Blackwell.
"To hell with it all. What matters is… I'm alive again."
"Mrs. Elena!"
Elena was shocked, her hands reflexively crossed over her chest when someone suddenly called her.
In the doorway stood a middle-aged woman, dressed in a maid's uniform, with a surprised expression on her face,."Why aren't you finished yet? I even cleaned up the sleeping pills scattered on the floor," Emma asked grumblingly.
Emma was a maid who served the Cole family for decades. She spent her youth as a nanny to Luca Cole, Elena's husband. Even after Luca had his own son, she remained loyal to the family, but now served as Elena's maid and Nathan's nanny.
According to Elena's memories, Emma was the only person who truly cared for her in this house.
However, Elena's haughty attitude didn't mean she opened her heart to Emma. Of all the others, Emma was the only one she allowed to approach her.
"Mrs. Elena, I have a question. Have you tried to commit suicide again?"
Elena grew increasingly silent as Emma approached, as if demanding a definitive answer. The maid's expression gradually darkened, her worry for her employer clearly etched on her face.
Emma was at a loss for words. She had tried her best to care for Elena, offering positive feedback and life advice to the young lady. But sadly, Elena continued to be depressed, blaming the crazy fate that kept swirling around in her mind.
"Emma," Elena said with a faint smile.
From the memories she had left, she knew that the body's owner had attempted suicide again last night, but just like before, Elena's life was saved. She was just unconscious and foaming at the mouth.
Then, how could Elena die and her body now belong to Alice?
That's because, on the verge of consciousness, Elena was visited by an uninvited guest. A figure dressed all in black entered her room and covered Elena's face with a pillow as tightly as possible, causing the celebrity's life to surely be lost.
But how could Alice tell anyone about Elena's death? Would anyone believe her? It would surely arouse suspicion.
Elena's brow furrowed. Alice's soul was oppressed, living in the celebrity's body. Even though Elena had complete memories up until the moment she died, what could Alice do? Alice described her situation as Hell.
"Mrs. Elena, I know I've overstepped my bounds by asking this. But please, don't you have even a shred of affection for Mr. Luca and Nathan? After all, he's alive and was born from your womb, right."
"Continuing to try to commit suicide will not only destroy you, but also them. Nathan is still too young to face this cruel world."
Emma cried as she said this, causing Elena's gaze to intensify. In her lingering memory, this was the first time Emma had dared to mention or remind Elena about the child. This was because it was no secret in the family that Elena hated the baby, who had ruined her career.
"I know you're unhappy, but what's wrong with Nathan? He couldn't choose which mother he was born to," Emma added sadly, "Such a small child has to solve his own problems at school without his dad or mom. Isn't this too hard for Nathan, Mrs. Elena?"
Emma, who had been crying with her head bowed, now dared to look at her mistress, "Please, try to care about your child. It will make you feel better, and Nathan will be happy too. Try it, at least for the first and last time."
"Nathan got into a fight at school. He's not usually like that. He always apologizes for his mistakes, but today he didn't. He was furious and hit his friend. I just received a call from school, but I didn't have the courage to tell him this when he just got home, so... Please, Mrs. Elena. Try this first."
After making her plea, Emma lowered her head, as if ready to hear the judgment that would ultimately lead to punishment from Elena, a terrible wife and mother to her family.
'I can't blame the owner of the body. The happiness and dreams she was chasing were shattered in an instant when she became pregnant. So, what is the reason she doesn't hate her own husband and son?'
'But, as a woman who's become a mother, where are her motherly feelings? Tch, you're truly a pathetic and cruel woman. If you can still hear my heart, listen. Your near-perfect life is too expensive a dream for Alice.'
Unconsciously, tears streamed down Elena's face. Alice's anger at Elena's poor life choices made her furious, wondering why a woman as stupid as Elena would throw away the life Alice desired.
'Because this is a gift from God, I can't possibly waste it. Rest easy up there, Elena. Look at me, who will be the perfect wife in this second life,' Alice concluded, muttering to herself.
Now she smiled softly as she took Emma's hand, "Okay," she said briefly.
"O-okay?"
"Yes, I'll try my best for this family. Besides, my soul is too bitter for the Grim Reaper," she said lightly.
Elena waved her hand in front of Emma's face, who was still staring at her blankly, "Hello, I already said I'm ready. That means stop just standing here and hurry up and make my breakfast. I'm going to get dressed and see which crazy person hurt my son."
Emma looked at the woman who was now smiling beautifully at her. The middle-aged woman had always believed that Elena was a kind woman who kept her secrets, including her affection for Nathan, in secret. However, the problem now was…
"But, Mrs. Elena. The parents' meeting was at eight this morning and it's almost lunchtime," Emma hesitated to say this.
"Damn it. I want to break the neck of any parent who scolds my son," she muttered in annoyance, but she had to keep it to herself in front of Emma, "Then please prepare some food, I'm hungry," she said to the maid who immediately left.
Elena stepped out of the bathtub and headed for the dressing room. Her lips parted as she saw the rows of fine clothing, expensive accessories, sparkling jewels, and designer bags and shoes. She was delighted by the luxury.
Alice Blackwell isn't a money-hungry person, but she's not a poor gangster. Worldly possessions like these are nothing new to her, and seeing all this luxury in their lives makes Alice grateful again. At least she won't have to learn to live with nothing.
In Elena's memory, her husband always replaced her old clothes with the latest ones whenever he saw his wife getting dressed.
Elena knew this, but her hatred for Luca still made her indifferent to all the servants, attention, and affection she received.
"A loving and wealthy husband. It's perfect. And now, it's all mine," Elena murmured happily. But a few seconds later, her brow furrowed. "No black?"
Like the world and her life, black was a part of Alice. For almost her entire life until her death, Alice adorned herself entirely in black.
Why? Because black overshadowed all colors, including blood. The invisible blood masked her weaknesses.
"But okay, let's try to be more cheerful!"