Hope Crawls Through Ruins by Kain Rwan Vale 263

Chapter 263 

“Come on! Shepard’s not gone!” Charles said. “He’s just seriously injured!” 

“But now, will he make it?” Briana asked. 

“Of course, he will,” Charles replied right away. “Hey, have a little faith in him. He made it through that dangerous, life–or- death surgery. Whatever comes next won’t be nearly as risky as what he’s already survived. 

“Briana, all you need to do is wait. Just be patient. I think Shepard will do everything he can to wake up. Because he knows that once he wakes up, you’ll forgive him, you’ll be together, and you’ll have a happy family.” 

“And listen, don’t even think about blaming yourself,” Charles said seriously. “The car accident involving Mom and Dad had nothing to do with you. Henry’s death wasn’t your fault either. And what’s happening to Shepard now has absolutely nothing to do with you!” 

Briana was suddenly taken aback, her face going pale as she looked up at Charles. 

No one could tell what was running through her mind at that moment. 

‘A car crash. That’s how my parents died. in a car crash. And now, more than ten years later, I almost died in a car crash myself!‘ she wondered. ‘Is there some inevitable connection here?‘ 

Suddenly, Briana thought of Edward. She opened her mouth, a million things she wanted to say, but she was so worked up that she couldn’t even figure out where to start. Her cheeks flushed with urgency. 

Olivia noticed and quickly patted her back. “Hey, slow down, Briana. Just breathe. Whatever you want to say, we’re all ears. No hurry, okay?” 

Briana bit her lip, her voice choked with emotion. “Charles, Mom and Dad passed away because of a car crash.” 

Her words stopped Shepard in his tracks. 

“And today, I got caught up in another car crash,” Briana said, her words coming out one by one, heavy with emotion. “That truck. It was off, seriously off. 

“It felt like it was targeting me. I followed the green light through the intersection, but the truck ignored all the rules and barreled straight for me. 

“I tried everything to get away, but no matter how I swerved, it kept chasing/me. In that moment, I honestly thought it was over for me, until Shepard suddenly drove in and crashed my car into the curb. 

She added, “If he hadn’t been there, my car would’ve been completely wrecked, and I probably wouldn’t even have a body left. Charles, do you think Mom and Dad’s accident all those years ago?/Could it have been the same kind of thing?” 

Charles’s face turned pale as a sheet. The hospital room was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. The only thing breaking the silence was Briana’s soft sobbing. 

After a long while, Briana finally spoke up. “Just a couple of days ago, at the Lane residence, I completely shut Edward down when he tried to make peace. 

“I didn’t give him any respect at all. And right after that, this accident happened.” 

“It was him, wasn’t it? He was behind Mom and Dad’s accident, too, right?” Briana’s voice was nearly hoarse. “Please, Charles, you have to investigate! We need to find out who’s really behind all this. 

“We can’t let them get away! It’s Edward. I know it is! No one else would go this far! He’s so ruthless. he won’t stop until our whole family is gone!” 

J.UD 

wea, rep 10 

(43) 

Chapter 263 

Charles swayed on his feet. 

“Briana, when Mom and Dad died, the police investigated, and they said it was just an accident,” Charles said. 

“But we were just kids back then. Who knows if Edward didn’t pull some strings or pay someone off?” Briana said. 

Charles stood there, mouth half–open, completely at a loss for words. Little by little, his hands at his sides curled into tight fists. 

“Fine,” Charles growled, his voice trembling with rage. “If it really was Edward and his family behind all this, I swear, I won’t let them get away with it! 

“Every last one of them will pay for what they’ve done. this vendetta, I’ll settle it, one by one!” 

His eyes turned red with fury. 

They should’ve had a loving, happy family. But everything changed because of a sudden car crash. 

And the person responsible for all of this, most likely, was their uncle, Edward! 

Edward orchestrated that accident years ago to kill Rayden and Judith. And now, he was using the same dirty tactics again. trying to kill Briana! 

‘That’s just evil!‘ Briana thought. 

“Don’t do anything rash and alert them,” Olivia warned. “Things are chaotic right now, so we have to think through every step. Otherwise, we might not find anything at all.” 

Charles gritted his teeth. “Then what should we do?” 

Olivia couldn’t come up with an answer either. 

She’d always been the pampered heiress of the Hughes family, sheltered from all this kind of scheming. She’d never dealt with anything like this before. 

“If only Shepard were here,” Briana murmured. “If he were, he’d definitely know what to do.” 

Olivia jumped in right away, “Then let’s just play it cool. Pretend nothing happened, and act like we don’t know a thing. 

“That way, Edward will let his guard down. Once we’ve got the evidence and the right moment, we’ll take them down and bring everything to light!” 

But Charles was too fired up to hold back. “I can’t wait anymore! I just want to go straight to the Lane residence and confront them face to face!” 

Briana quickly stopped him. “No, Charles, you absolutely can’t do that.” 

“Let’s get the police involved and have them investigate,” Olivia said. “Let’s see what the truck driver says in his statement” 

“That’s all we can do right now,” Briana replied. 

“What goes around comes around, so don’t worry,” Olivia said, giving Briana’s hand a gentle pat. “People who do all sorts of bad things never get away with it in the end.” 

Briana nodded, slumping back against the hospital bed. Her face was very pale, and her hands were cold as ice. 

“Just get some rest for now,” Olivia said softly. “Are you hungry? Is there anything you want to eat? I’ll grab something for you.” 

10:06 

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Chapter 263 

Wouchet 

“Anything’s fine,” Briana replied. She had no appetite whatsoever. But still, she had to eat. She was pregnant now. 

If anything happened to Shepard, the baby in her belly would be the last bloodline of the Carter family. She couldn’t let herself slip, not even a little. 

At the Lane residence, as soon as darkness fell, the lamps inside flickered on, casting a soft glow throughout the old house. The living room was eerily quiet. 

The whole family was there, but the silence felt downright creepy. 

Sophia sat close to Diana, practically glued to her side, sneaking glances at Edward every now and then. She kept avoiding his gaze, looking guilty and uneasy. 

At last, Edward looked over at her. “Did you do this?” 

“Yes,” Sophia confessed, her voice barely above a whisper. “It was me.” 

“You’ve got some nerve!” Edward said. 

“But back then,” Sophia mumbled, “Dad, didn’t you use the same trick and it worked out? I figured I could just do what you did back then.” 

Edward snapped, “Are you out of your mind? Do you even know how much I poured into this back then? I racked my brains, exhausted myself, and obsessed over every tiny detail. 

“I couldn’t afford a single slip–up. Only when I was absolutely certain of success did I dare to make a move! And you? What were you thinking?” 

Sophia instinctively recoiled. She knew she’d let her emotions get the better of her. But what was done was done. There was no way to undo it now. 

She was stuck. Chewing her out wouldn’t fix anything.