Their Queen's Back - Chapter 65: Chapter 65

Skye took Emily home, changed her clothes, and went to the Moores' to find Rachel. A servant told her Rachel had gone to the cemetery to pay her respects to a friend.
She pretty much knew who she was here to mourn.
Take me to the cemetery.
"Understood, Ms. Sky." Lauren gave a brief nod.
On the other side, Rachel wiped away the tears streaming down her cheeks and tossed stacks of joss paper into the fire. The flames suddenly shot up.
Rachel said, "Skye, I've decided to get a divorce. You were right—I've always been too indecisive and dragged things out. But this time, I'm making a clean break. Watch over me from wherever you are and make sure everything goes smoothly."
Just as Rachel finished speaking, Skye's voice suddenly rang out from behind her—"No need for blessings from beyond—I'll help you in person!"
Hearing this, Rachel froze momentarily. Instead of suspecting someone was actually speaking, she thought to herself, "Am I just hearing things again?"
Rachel muttered, "Skye, you're so sweet, but you can't just go around killing people for me. Even if ghosts don't get punished for murder, I'd feel terrible if you couldn't reincarnate because of me. I can't let you make mistakes for my sake. Besides, Ethan doesn't deserve to die for what he's done."
Skye stood behind her, listening to her words, and couldn't help but think, "...What an idiot."
"Rachel, I'm not a ghost. I'm alive—I never died."
Rachel grew spooked as she glanced around. The evening light was fading, casting the cemetery in an eerie, unsettling gloom.
Rachel panicked and stammered, "Skye, don't scare me! I've always been a scaredy-cat since I was a kid. If you have any grievances, can't you just visit me in my dreams tonight? Please, not here in a creepy place like this—my heart can't take it!"
Rachel thought to herself, "Losing Skye was painful enough—even after all these years, I still miss her. But that doesn't mean I want to see her ghost!"
Skye was speechless.
"Ms. Phoenix," Lauren spoke up.
Hearing the unfamiliar voice, Rachel spun around and came face-to-face with a tall, blonde, blue-eyed woman in a sleek tailored suit—a striking presence.
"Who are you?" Rachel asked curiously, eyeing the unfamiliar beauty.
Lauren slowly stepped aside, revealing Skye before her. Rachel's eyes widened in shock—her mind went blank. The world around her faded, leaving only the woman standing there.
Rachel's heart pounded wildly. Her eyes went wide, her body jerked violently, and she pointed at Skye—then, before anyone could react, she fainted on the spot.
"Rachel!" Skye darted forward, caught the collapsing Rachel in her arms, and pinched her philtrum to revive her.
"Rachel, don't be afraid. It's me—I'm alive."
Rachel gradually came to. She opened her eyes and saw the woman leaning over her. "Skye!" she gasped, her heart pounding in disbelief.
"Skye's ghost!" Rachel thought in shock.
"Am I hallucinating?" she wondered in disbelief.
Skye said, "Rachel, let's talk somewhere else. I'm alive—I'm not dead. If you don't believe me, go ahead—touch me."
Rachel immediately sprang out of Skye's embrace at those words, stumbling back several meters. Her jaw dropped in stunned disbelief as she stared, eyes darting all over Skye, examining her from head to toe.
"Y-you... you...!" Rachel stammered incoherently. The shock was so overwhelming that her brain simply couldn't process what she was seeing.
Rachel tentatively reached out and poked Skye's cheek—it was soft and warm to the touch. She pinched it lightly, then touched her arm. "She's... alive!"
"Alive!" Rachel gasped, stunned.
Rachel wondered, "Is my longing so strong that I'm just hallucinating?"
"Smack!" Rachel slapped herself hard across the face and yelped, "Ow, ow, ow, that hurts!"
Rachel yelped in pain and spun around, rubbed her eyes, and looked again—it was her!
"Skye?" Rachel asked tentatively, her voice barely above a whisper.
"It's me, Rachel," Skye smiled faintly. "Really—no need to doubt. I'm alive, and I've come back."
Rachel gasped in shock and glanced back at the cemetery behind her. "Skye, did you... did you crawl out from the underworld?"
Skye: "..." She walked over and flicked Rachel on the forehead with her finger.
"Ow! That hurts!" Rachel yelped.
Skye took her hand and said, "That hurt, didn't it? Proof I'm alive. Let's get out of here and talk somewhere else."
This cemetery is so eerie. Skye looked at the stacks of burning joss paper, her lips twitching. "You actually burn this much for me every year?"
Rachel answered honestly, still clearly under the impression that this was all just a hallucination.
Rachel replied, "Of course not, Skye! Don't worry, I burn at least ten times this much for you every year—all top-quality stuff! I burn billions for you each time, so you'll have more than you could ever spend. If you ever run low, just say the word and I'll burn you another fortune!"
Skye was speechless.
Lauren thought to herself, "..." Was Ms. Phoenix always this much? She couldn't even finish the thought.
Skye grabbed Rachel and pulled her into the car. "Rachel, snap out of it. I'm alive—I'm really back."
Rachel gaped at her in a daze. "Skye... is there anything you need in the afterlife? I can burn offerings for you."
Skye reached out and flicked Rachel on the forehead.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! That hurts!" Rachel yelped.
The sharp pain finally jolted her back to reality. As her vision cleared, she stared at the undeniably real person before her, her eyes snapping into focus.
"Skye," Rachel pleaded, her voice trembling, "tell me this isn't just my imagination, is it? Or did you really crawl out of your grave? Please don't scare me—I'm such a scaredy-cat."
"Rachel," Skye said, "I'm alive—I didn't crawl out of a grave or anything."
With wide-eyed innocence, Rachel asked, "But why are you at the cemetery?"
Skye rolled her eyes and said, "...I came here to find you, okay?"
Rachel patted her on the shoulder and said in an exaggeratedly serious tone, "Well, thanks for making this special trip to visit me. So, are you heading back now, or do you need me to perform an exorcism to send you off?"
Lauren couldn't hold back a sudden laugh. Skye closed her eyes, pressed her fingers to her forehead, and shook her head in exasperation.
"Rachel, you're really..." Skye facepalmed, her usual composure completely shattered by Rachel's antics.
Even Skye's icy composure was shattered.
"Where are we going? Is this your car? Wait—do you drive a Maybach in the afterlife too?" Rachel blurted out.
Skye thought to herself, "I really should take her to the hospital to get her head examined."
"Miss Rachel, Ms. Sky never died. She survived the plane crash years ago. In fact, it was Ms. Sky who personally took you home last night."
Lauren's words hit Rachel like a bolt of lightning. She blinked rapidly, studying the woman before her with searching eyes, then reached out and gently cupped Skye's face in her hands.
Skye didn't resist, letting Rachel turn her face this way and that in examination.
Rachel's eyes welled up, blurring her vision as they turned red. She could barely hold herself together, her body trembling uncontrollably.
As Skye reached out to wipe away her tears, Rachel suddenly cried out, her voice trembling, "Don't move! Don't you dare touch me!"
Skye silently withdrew her hand. The car fell into a hushed silence as Rachel kept checking, trying to convince herself Skye was real.
Rachel examined every inch of Skye—feeling for her pulse, checking the warmth of her skin, making sure her blood was really flowing—desperately trying to convince herself, "This can't be a dream... I'm not imagining this, am I?"
Rachel suddenly threw herself into Skye's arms, clinging to her desperately as she burst into loud sobs.
Rachel burst out, tears streaming down her face as she shouted, "Skye, you damn woman! Are you messing with me?! Damn it, holy shit! You're alive! You're really alive! Still alive—you didn't die!"
Skye gently stroked her back. "Yeah, I'm not dead," she murmured softly.
But what difference did it make from being dead? For ten years, I'd been living without my memories—a walking corpse.
For ten years, I lived as Raven Cross—a stranger to myself.
Half an hour later, Rachel finally calmed down. Fixing Skye with exaggerated seriousness, she demanded, "Spill everything—not a single detail left out! Tell me everything that's happened to you these past ten years. Did you get married? Is he a foreigner? Do you have kids? When did you tie the knot—did he chase you, or did you chase him?"
Skye cut her off. "Alright, listen. For the past ten years, I lost my memory. I survived that accident, but I couldn't remember anything until recently when I finally got my memory back. But don't go imagining some tragic soap opera scenario—I was adopted by a wealthy couple and lived quite comfortably."
Hearing that, Rachel finally choked back her tears, sniffled, and murmured with relief, "That's good to hear."
Rachel stared at her eagerly and asked, "So, are you married?"
Skye replied, "Nope."
Rachel asked, "Got a boyfriend? Where's he from?"
Skye was speechless.
"Alright, alright, let's switch topics," Rachel said, deliberately changing the subject. "Did you know your dad... well, he's remarried? Her name is Linda." Rachel was eager to fill her in on everything that had happened over the past decade.
Skye said, "I know. They're nothing. The Hughes are mine now—they won't be making any waves."
Rachel rubbed her hands together excitedly and grinned at Skye. "You're incredible, Skye! Should we grab dinner first or go have some fun?"
Skye said, "Rachel, I'm swamped with some unfinished matters right now, so I might not have time immediately. But I know everything about your situation. If you run into any trouble, here's my contact—just call, and I'll be there."
Rachel lowered her eyes and said dejectedly, "Did I let you down, Skye? I'm almost thirty now, and they say that because I'm divorced, no one would want to marry someone like me—just 'used goods.'"
Skye held Rachel's shoulders firmly, looking her straight in the eye. "Those are just labels others put on you. If you accept them, how are you any different from a puppet? Rachel, do you remember what I told you? Never lose sight of who you truly are."
Rachel stared at her dazedly and nodded emphatically. "Yes," she thought, "that was just their label."
I'm no "used goods"—I'm the Phoenix family heiress.
Rachel said warmly, "Skye, I got it. Thank you. When I have time, I'll bring my godson to meet you—he's adorable, you'll love him."
Rachel reluctantly said goodbye, her heart heavy with longing. She knew Skye had her own plans and responsibilities—she couldn't selfishly keep her all to herself, no matter how much she wanted to.
"But how I wish I could," Rachel thought.
"Still, it's only temporary," she thought. "Once I'm divorced, I'll move in with her."
"Alright, just call me anytime if you need anything," Skye said.
Okay, I will.
Skye got into the car, watching as Rachel stood alone at the street corner, her white cheongsam fluttering in the breeze, her hair flowing freely.
Lauren reported, "Mr. Yi, Linda and Jessica are currently residing in Villa 28, which was purchased by your father. All properties under their names will be repossessed tonight."
Skye sat in the car, her slender pale fingers resting on the window frame. "Let the show begin," she said coolly.
"Understood, Ms. Sky." Lauren gave a brief nod.
Lauren felt nervous, worried that the people she'd hired might botch the job and displease Ms. Sky.
But only when she heard the commotion inside did her heart finally begin to settle, little by little.
Linda and Jessica were sprawled on the couch cursing Skye, when suddenly the door was kicked open. A dozen thugs barged in, their faces twisted with menace as they sized up the mother-daughter pair with lecherous gazes.
"Who the hell are you? What are you doing here? This is my house! Get out right now or I'm calling 911!" she shouted, her voice trembling with anger.
"Go ahead, call the cops! Take a good look at where you're living—this place isn't yours, got it? Now get the hell out!"
Jessica stood up and spoke to them in a calm voice. "Gentlemen, there must be some mistake. This house belongs to my mother."
Linda yelled, "Yes, it's ours! My husband gave me this house!"
The leading man brandished the property deed. "See this? It's under Richard Hughes' name. The money he used to buy this place came from Hughes Corporation—that's Ms. Sky's money. So this house belongs to her now. You've got three minutes. Get the hell out."
At these words, Linda threw a tantrum and went into hysterics.
Linda shrieked, "BULLSHIT! I'm Richard's WIFE! He bought this house for ME! How dare you tell me I can't stay here? By what right?! Who the hell do you think you are? If anyone should get out, it's YOU—not US!"
Jessica's brows knitted tightly, her eyes gradually revealing a smoldering hatred.
Skye. Always Skye.
"Richard's wife? Ha!" he sneered. "Show me your marriage certificate—let's see it!"
"You people!" Linda glared daggers at them. "Marriage certificate, marriage certificate! That's all they ever talk about!" she fumed, her anger barely contained.
But Richard refused to make it official with her.
"So what if you're Richard's wife? This place belongs to Ms. Sky. Stop stalling—pack your shit and get the hell out, now! Got it?"
He narrowed his eyes and gave the two women a chilling once-over.
Linda threw herself on the ground in a dramatic tantrum, kicking and screaming, "I won't leave! I won't leave! Why should I? I'm Richard's wife and Skye's stepmother—you have no right to throw me out!"
Jessica quickly added, "You caught us off guard—at least give us some time. Three days, just three days, and we'll leave on our own."
Without warning, the man slapped Jessica hard across the face with a resounding smack.
"Don't push your luck when we're being nice! Squatting in someone else's house and you still dare to bargain with us? If you won't leave, then just stand there. Boys, show these bitches what happens to squatters!"
Linda screamed, her eyes blazing with fury, "You damn bastards! How dare you hit my daughter?! You're dead! You're all dead meat!"
Linda lunged at them wildly, but one of the men kicked her hard, sending her sprawling a full meter away.
"You're pretty good-looking, and my big brother was really rough on you. How about you two stay with us for a few nights? We'll make sure you're well taken care of—sound good?"
A scrawny thug stepped forward, grabbed Jessica by the hair, and yanked her head back roughly.
Jessica was seething with hatred, her fists clenched so tightly that her manicured nails nearly dug into her palms.
"Let's get out of here!"
"Skye, I'll never forget this humiliation!" Jessica vowed through gritted teeth.
One day, I'll make you pay—a hundredfold.
After being kicked, Linda didn't dare voice another word of complaint. She gathered her things and left, seething with hatred and thinking, "Skye, I wish I could tear you limb from limb!"
Linda seethed inwardly, cursing, "Skye, you bitch!"
Mark my words, Skye!
Lauren looked at the two, disheveled and embarrassed, and asked in confusion, "Skye, I don't get it—why didn't you just kick them out from the start?"
"Wouldn't that have saved us a whole lot of trouble?"
Skye's eyes darkened with thought. "Lauren, sometimes appearances can be deceiving. Let me ask you—if I had kicked those two out right from the start, do you really think Emily would have stayed with the Hughes?"
She wouldn't have.
Would Sophia ever step out from under their shadow?
No, she wouldn't either.
Lauren nodded respectfully. "I understand now, Ms. Sky."
Life at the Hughes had been pure hell for these two—going hungry, getting beaten, and being locked in dark rooms day in, day out.
At first, Miss Sophia was somewhat intimidated by the two, likely because she'd been bullied by them before. But lately, the tables have turned—now it's Miss Sophia who's been giving them a hard time.
Skye said coolly, "They love kicking people out of their homes, don't they? Well, starting today, let them see how it feels. What's the situation with Linda's relatives?"