Chapter 171
Chapter 171:
Alden had always held the development area close to his heart—not for profit, but because the soil itself carried echoes of his shared childhood with Helena. A soft breeze drifted through, and before he even realized it, Alden felt the urge to lay everything bare to Helena. Then—
“All you ever do is sit around like dead weight—sometimes I think the world would be better off if you just disappeared! If my house had been included in that development area, I’d be swimming in compensation money by now! But look at this—nothing! Not a single cent! And you’ve still got the nerve to leech off me? Get out! I said get out p>
A woman’s voice pierced the air, sharp and furious, as she hurled her rage alongside a storm of insults. A man with an uneven gait stumbled out the door, shoved hard, his appearance battered and worn.
Helena’s gaze followed him, and her breath caught when she saw the jagged scar slashing across his face.
The scar twisted across his skin in a hideous pattern, curling like a massive centipede stretched over his face.
The sight of it froze Helena in place. The longer she looked, the more her mind unraveled. That face—that scar—it wasn’t unfamiliar. She had seen it before, in the flickers of memory that had haunted her for years.
This man had been there. He and some others had dragged her into the endless darkness.
Panic seized her. Helena’s breathing turned shallow, her chest clamped tight, and every muscle locked in place.
Completely unaware of who she was, the scarred man muttered something under his breath and brushed past her without a second glance. But as he passed, the chill of his presence clung to Helena’s skin. Her vision blurred. She couldn’t pull air into her lungs. Then her knees buckled.
“Helena p>
Without a second thought, Alden lunged forward and caught her just in time. He scooped her up, carrying her straight to the car. Inside the vehicle, Helena remained completely still—out cold. Though her eyes were shut, they trembled beneath the lids. Her face twisted, lips parted in silent cries. She was trapped in something far worse than sleep.
In the dream, she was running, hand in hand with a boy. Then suddenly, the world lost all its color—even the roses faded into lifeless gray.
Without warning, she fell. Something unseen latched onto her ankles and began pulling her backward.
𝕸𝖔𝖗𝖊 𝖚𝖕𝖉𝖆𝖙𝖊𝖘 𝖎𝖓
Helena let out a scream and spun around, only to see a cluster of dark figures pouncing on her.
As one of them moved closer, his face snapped into clarity—it was the same scarred man she had spotted just moments earlier.
Laughter echoed all around her, twisted and cruel, as the figures closed in and pulled her into the darkness.
Terror held Helena in place like chains, locking her inside the nightmare with no escape. Her hand stretched out desperately, reaching for the boy who had once meant safety, silently pleading for him to pull her back.
Instead of helping, he drifted further, shrinking into the distance like a fading echo. The closer the shadows pulled Helena into the darkness, the smaller he became, never turning back, never offering his hand.
A crushing pressure bore down on her chest, as if the darkness itself had weight. Helena’s lungs refused to work. Color drained from her lips, leaving them an eerie, bluish hue.
“Helena! Wake up p>
Alden knew how dangerous it could be to force someone out of trauma-induced sleep. He hesitated for a heartbeat.
But Helena was in real danger now. That hesitation vanished. He gripped her shoulders and shook gently, trying to snap her out of it.
A faint tremble passed through her lashes as her eyes cracked open, unfocused and wild. She gasped for air.
“You’re okay now. You’re with me,” Alden said quickly, his tone low but firm.
Finally, Helena’s gaze locked onto his. A few silent seconds passed before she pushed herself upright and collapsed against him, her sobs spilling freely into his chest.
“I saw him again… the boy from the dream… He left me. He ran. He didn’t save me… Nobody did p>
The words snapped mid-sentence, drowned in sorrow.
Alden’s arms tightened around her. Something inside him twisted—an ache deep and unrelenting. His hand moved in soft, steady strokes along her back, and when he finally spoke, the strain in his voice revealed everything he was feeling.
“It’s over now. Try to keep your thoughts from circling back to it p>
Guilt clawed its way to the surface as he closed his eyes. “Maybe the boy had his reasons. Maybe… he wasn’t strong enough to stay p>
With his steady presence grounding her, Helena’s breathing began to slow, and her body finally relaxed.
It wasn’t until that moment that Alden finally started the engine and began the drive to Valeria’s place.
As the car rolled past the scarred man with the limp, Alden’s brow furrowed, a trace of unease flickering across his face.
The man turned to watch the vehicle vanish down the road, his thoughts snagging on the woman’s odd reaction. The memory of her expression clung to him, growing more unsettling with every passing second.
There was something about her—something that stirred a buried familiarity he couldn’t quite place.