Reborn Heiress: Taking Back What Is Rightfully Hers!
Chapter 553: A Heart in Shadows

Chapter 553: A Heart in Shadows

Eric stormed in frantically, shoving through the crowd with reckless force, drawing a chorus of disapproving stares.

"Ella, Elias... Dorian!" he cried out, his voice raw with anguish. The onlookers gazed at him with sympathy as he struggled against those barring his way.

"Let me through! I need to find my wife and children!" Eric panted, throwing a punch at the man blocking him.

The man dodged, his voice grave. "The plane was on fire when it crashed. Inside... the bodies are unidentifiable. Two survivors have been taken to the hospital."

Eric’s heart shattered in an instant.

Two survivors—only two made it out alive.

The man released his grip, and as Eric’s view cleared, the devastating scene unfolded before him. The massive aircraft lay in ruins, shattered debris scattered across the ground. A strange, acrid smell filled the air.

The fuselage was almost completely reduced to ash. Everywhere he looked, there were charred remains, unrecognizable bodies—the sight was nothing short of horrifying.

Eric swallowed back the bile rising in his throat and searched frantically, desperately. But Ella and their sons were nowhere to be found. The victims were beyond recognition.

The wails of grieving families echoed through the wreckage.

Police officers began securing the scene, confirming there were no additional survivors.

When Eric finally made it back to his car, he realized his undershirt was drenched in cold sweat.

Breathing heavily, his chest tight with unbearable pain, he borrowed a phone from a passerby. The young girl blushed as she handed it to him.

Eric dialed Ella’s number.

No answer.

His heart clenched. He hurriedly returned the phone to the girl and rushed to his car. She stood frozen, watching until his vehicle disappeared from sight.

Without wasting a second, Eric sped to the nearby hospital.

But when he arrived, he discovered that the two survivors in critical condition were not Ella, Elias, or Dorian.

His limbs turned to ice.

Leaning against the cold hospital wall, he slid down until he sat on the floor, utterly drained.

"Ella... Elias... Dorian..."

He whispered their names, his eyes brimming with tears. As he lowered his head, silent drops fell onto the stark white tiles.

The pain was unbearable. Regret and guilt clawed at him, suffocating him.

If only he hadn’t insisted on carrying everything alone, he wouldn’t have left Ella behind.

If he had stayed, they would’ve already left Country S for Country W.

Only now did Eric realize—depression wasn’t the real horror. The real horror was losing his wife and children forever.

He once thought he was trapped in the past, but in this moment, he saw his former self for what he was—self-indulgent and blind.

His body trembled violently as he clutched his head, tears streaming unchecked down his face.

His world was gone.

His depression no longer needed treatment—because it had been replaced by utter despair.

People passing by cast strange glances at the man crouched on the ground, silently weeping.

None of them knew the unbearable agony crushing his soul.

None of them knew that his most beloved Ella, his precious Elias and Dorian, had been reduced to nothing but charred remains...

he wanted one last look at the woman he loved and the sons he cherished most.

but... they had all become unrecognizable corpses.

heartbreak beyond measure, a world reduced to nothingness.

a soft patter of footsteps approached from a short distance away.

the people stopped in front of him. eric held his head in his hands, no longer caring that his dignity and pride had shattered completely—he just wanted to cry, to let it all out.

"mommy, this uncle is wearing the same clothes as daddy!"

"mommy, is this uncle crying?"

the innocent voices of two children made eric jolt upright. he lifted his head in shock, only to meet the equally surprised gaze of a woman standing before him.

"ella!" he sprang to his feet and rushed forward, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

hot, overwhelming tears streamed down his face, dampening ella’s silky hair. in that instant, eric felt his heart come back to life, pounding violently in his chest. it was as if the suffocating darkness had been lifted, as if the world had been painted in color once more.

"daddy! is it really you?"

"of course, it’s daddy! didn’t you see daddy kissing mommy?"

the two little ones chirped in their soft, childlike voices.

ella, still stunned, instinctively pushed eric away. "be careful! what if you squish our daughter? and why are you even here?"

wasn’t eric supposed to be in l city? how had he ended up here?

as she looked into his tear-filled eyes, they were like a crystal-clear spring, washing away all the resentment she had been holding onto.

he had cried?

eric gently pulled ella back into his arms. "i thought... i thought you were on that flight."

ella shook her head. "dorian might have eaten something bad. he was vomiting and had diarrhea at the airport, so i had the bodyguards change our tickets. i brought him here to see a doctor. he’s doing a bit better now."

eric sucked in a sharp breath.

if not for his little foodie... ella and the kids would have been...

a plane crash, the highest fatality rate of all. the moment eric had heard the news, it had felt like his heart had been ripped apart.

secretly, he wiped the lingering tears from the corners of his eyes. a grown man crying in front of his wife and kids—it was a bit embarrassing.

after drying his tears, eric finally released ella and turned toward dorian, who was now seated on a bench. "dorian, how are you feeling? are you alright now?"

he walked over and scooped his son into his arms, the overwhelming relief of having him back causing his eyes to sting again.

the heavy weight in his heart seemed to lift instantly, sweeping away the suffocating darkness he had carried for so long.

in that moment, he understood—true fear was not depression. it was having a heart so blinded that he couldn’t see the beauty of what he had, the perfection of his family.

how could he have ever thought of giving up? on himself? on them?

dorian, still weak and wobbly, nodded obediently. "the nurse gave me a shot in my butt... it really hurt, but i’m not throwing up anymore."

elias toddled over and clung to eric’s arm. "daddy, i want a hug too."

"elias, be good. your brother isn’t feeling well. let him talk to daddy for a bit." ella stepped forward, gently pulling elias into her arms and pressing a tender kiss to his forehead.

eric’s body trembled slightly as he held dorian, the warmth and reality of the moment sinking in. it had all been a false alarm.

"madam, your phone ran out of battery," the bodyguard suddenly stepped forward and informed ella in a low voice.

"also... oh, mr. nelson, you’re here?" the bodyguard seemed surprised. just earlier, john had called to check on ella, confirming that she hadn’t boarded the plane. after hearing the news, john had chuckled to himself for a while before asking the bodyguard to pass a message along—that the flight had crashed.

"yeah, i’m here," eric murmured.

holding dorian close, he turned back to ella. "the flight you were supposed to take... it crashed. just over an hour ago. the plane went down."

ella’s eyes widened in shock. she stared at eric, realization dawning on her. she and the boys had escaped death by mere chance.

no wonder eric had come all the way here, crying in secret...