Hope Crawls Through Ruins by Kain Rwan Vale 178

Posted by Adminj, ? Views, Released on January 8, 2026

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Chapter 178

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Matilda said, “We fought countless times. I was furious, but Henry never gave up on you. Kolson and 1 argued until exhausted, finally yielding to let him seek happiness. We never imagined it would cost him his life.

“Briana, now there’s nothing left. We’ve lost our son, and you’ve lost the one who loved you more than anyone else.”

Briana’s body trembled softly.

She thought, ‘Yeah, from now on, whenever I turn around, whenever I look back, there won’t be anyone waiting for me anymore.

‘Whenever I run into trouble and instinctively think of him, he won’t be there to help me.

‘Whenever I miss him, he won’t be there anymore.‘

Matilda cried out in agony, “It’s the cruelest pain for a parent to lose their child. Briana, you can’t possibly understand.”

Briana was stunned for a moment, and after a long pause, she finally said, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Matilda sobbed even more bitterly.

Shepard stood off to the side, wanting to help Briana to her feet more than once, but always stopped short.

He understood that she needed to kneel right now.

Staying on her knees was the only way she could ease the pain, even just a little.

The ambulance raced up, then slowed and came to a gentle stop.

Kolson rushed forward.

On the stretcher lay someone, shrouded in white from head to toe.

It was Henry.

Briana turned around and stood up, her gaze locked on the stretcher, not daring to blink.

She didn’t dare go any closer. She felt like she had no right to approach.

Kolson was the first to step forward, his hands trembling as he reached for the white sheet, but he just couldn’t bring himself to pull it back.

Matilda knelt down beside the stretcher.

After what felt like forever, Kolson finally gathered the courage, his hands trembling as he gripped the corner of the white sheet and slowly peeled it away.

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Chapter 178

Everyone nearby watched Kolson’s every move, eyes wide and unblinking.

As the sheet was lifted, Henry’s face was revealed to everyone.

It couldn’t be described precisely.

It was so shocking, so heartbreaking.

Just one glance, and that scene would be burned into your memory forever.

Briana just stood there, her eyes glued to the sight, unable to tear herself away.

Until Shepard reached out and placed his hand gently over her eyes, blocking her view.

“Don’t look, Briana,” Shepard said, his voice gentle.

Briana blinked, her long lashes brushing against Shepard’s palm.

She couldn’t see a thing; everything went black.

But the image from just moments ago was still burned into her mind.

Henry was barely recognizable.

It was almost impossible to tell that it was him, the Henry who was always so warm and gentle.

Not just Briana, even someone as worldly as Shepard couldn’t bear to look any longer.

It was just too gruesome, too bloody.

Henry hadn’t just drowned; he’d been brutally beaten to death while still alive.

His whole body was covered in wounds, and his face was mangled and covered in blood.

Whoever did this to him was absolutely inhuman.

“No, let me see him,” Briana said, her voice shaking. “That’s my Henry.”

She held onto Shepard’s wrist and gently pulled his hand away.

Her sight slowly cleared, everything coming back into view.

But Kolson was already covering Henry up with the white sheet.

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Briana took a deep breath and rushed over, desperate to pull the sheet back and catch one last glimpse of Henry.

But Kolson blocked her. He asked, “What are you doing?”

“I,” Briana faltered.

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“Stay away from my son Kolson snapped. ‘Briana, the Parker family will never accept you. We’ll always be you, and I never want to see you again. You’re banned from Henry’s funeral. You don’t have the right.

He yanked Briana’s hand away, hard.

Briana staggered back.

She ended up in Shepard’s arms.

“Careful,” he said, steadying her.

Shepard always kept a low profile, only showing up and taking action when it really mattered.

He knew he was powerless to help, powerless to change anything.

So he just kept watch over Briana in silence, quietly staying by her side because that was all he could do.

Briana bit her lower lip, staring at the white sheet.

“Briana,” Olivia called out. She rushed over, threw her arms around Briana, and buried her face in Briana’s neck, sobbing into her as she cried her heart out.

Briana hugged her tightly in return.

The two girls just held each other, leaning on one another for support.

“It’s all my fault, I was too slow,” Olivia said, her voice shaking. “If I’d just acted faster, Henry could’ve been saved. Why am I so useless?

“When Henry rushed out to save you, I was the first person he called. I should’ve sent someone after him right away, should’ve chased after him myself.”

Olivia kept beating herself up, drowning in guilt.

Olivia said, her words tumbling out between sobs, “It’s my fault, I was so clueless. I should’ve reacted faster. I shouldn’t have gone to Shepard first. I should’ve chased after Henry and called for help at the same time. I wasted so much time.

“Briana, what am I supposed to do? I’ll be stuck with this regret for the rest of my life. If I could go back, I know I’d do it better. But there’s no way to turn back time, is there?”

Olivia’s tears wet Briana’s collar.

Briana could feel the cool dampness against her skin.

“No, Olivia, you did great,” Briana said softly. “None of this is your fault.”

“I could’ve done better,” Olivia said.

Olivia wiped away her tears, looked up at Briana, and asked, “Are you alright? Did anyone try to hurt you?”

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Chapter 178

“They didn’t get the chance. Henry showed up just in time, Briana replied.

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“All of this, every bit of it, is Eric’s fault, Olivia said, her voice shaking with anger. He was out to b Henry overheard his plan. Henry rushed over to stop him, and then.”

you, and

None of them ever thought it would end in such a tragedy.

Henry paid for it with his life.

None of them ever expected Eric to be so vicious, to actually kill someone.

“Eric’s just Vivian’s lapdog,” Briana said. “Or maybe Eric’s just a pawn for Vivian, too. They’re just using each other, dragging each other down.”

“Exactly. Those two should be buried with Henry,” Olivia said, her voice trembling with anger. “They deserve to be cut to pieces.”

Suddenly, Olivia remembered something. She said, “Wait, Eric’s been caught, but what about Vivian? Did she catch wind and run off? We can’t let her escape. She’s even more wicked than Eric.”

‘Yeah, Briana thought to herself. “Where’s Vivian?‘

Briana glanced over at Shepard.

“She’s with me,” Shepard said. “Both Vivian and Eric are under my control.”

Olivia glared at Shepard, clearly annoyed. She said, “Where did you run off to last night? You were taking your sweet time, and I couldn’t even reach you. If I hadn’t wasted time looking for you, things wouldn’t have dragged on like this.

“I didn’t have the energy to ask you before, but now I could. Were you out on a date with Vivian or something? Wow, your own wife gets kidnapped, and you’re out living it up. Shepard, are you even human? Do you even care?