Chapter 5 Bargains and Ghosts

Monique stared at the crack in the ceiling, counting how many times it forked like lightning through the dull concrete. Her body ached from the bench she had slept on, if it could be called sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Cherry's tiny face staring out from the back seat of Ruby's car as she was taken away.

Her daughter's last word echoed like a drumbeat.

"Mama."

Footsteps. Voices outside. Then the cell door clicked open.

"Monique Taylor," a guard called out. "You're being released. Your attorney's waiting."

Monique blinked. "What? Ruby got bail approved?"

"Signed and sealed," he said, stepping back.

She rose unsteadily, not knowing whether to cry, shout, or bolt. As she stepped into the hallway, she expected Ruby.

But it was Harris.

Standing in his uniform. Alone.

Monique froze.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she spat.

He didn't flinch. "I'm not here as a cop."

"You arrested me. You put me in that hellhole of a place"

"I didn't know it was you," he said quickly. "Not until I was already inside. I swear."

Monique shook her head, arms folded tight. "That doesn't change anything."

"Listen," Harris said, stepping slightly closer. "Ruby's handling your release. She arranged it through an anonymous backer. I think it's one of her PI contacts. You're free, atleast for now. But you need to know something, Ava wasn't just some random victim. She left a message."

Monique's eyes narrowed. "What kind of message?"

"In blood. On the mirror."

"I know," she said bitterly. "She wrote my name."

"She wrote Moni. Not your full name. And... she wrote something else that was wiped before the crime scene team arrived. I didn't know about it until I reviewed early bodycam footage."

Monique's pulse quickened. "What did it say?"

Harris paused. "B – L – I - and then it cuts off. I think she tried to write 'Billy.'"

Monique felt like the air had been knocked out of her. "So you think she was trying to expose him before she died?"

"I think she knew she was being targeted," Harris said. "And she tried to get help. From you."

"Which is exactly why Billy framed me. To cover his tracks."

He nodded. "And that's what I'm going to help you prove your innocence."

Monique blinked. "Why would I trust you? After everything? After you left me,"

"I didn't leave you," Harris said, his voice rough. "You disappeared. And I searched for you. Every damn day for a year."

She shook her head, backing away. "You don't get to rewrite history."

"I'm not. I'm trying to make this right."

Silence stretched between them.

"I met her at the shelter," Monique said at last, voice low. "Ava. She came in crying, covered in bruises. She didn't say much, but she kept mentioning someone rich and dangerous. Said he had people watching her. She begged for help, so I gave her my number."

"Did you tell anyone else?"

"No. I was scared. And Cherry... she was so little. I couldn't risk anything."

Harris studied her. "Is she mine?"

Monique's breath caught.

There it was.

The question that had haunted her since the second line appeared on the pregnancy test.

She looked him in the eyes. "Does it matter?"

"It does to me."

"I don't think so." She replied.

Harris looked at her with this face which shows he was pleading.

Monique exhaled. "Then yes. She's yours."

Three hours later, Monique sat in Ruby's car as it pulled up outside her old apartment building. She hadn't seen the place since she had left two years ago. The bricks were more worn, the windows a bit more shuttered, but the ghost of her former life clung to the air like perfume.

"You sure you want to stay here?" Ruby asked. "You can crash with me or....."

"I need to feel like I have a life again," Monique said. "Even if it's just four walls and silence."

Ruby handed her a new set of keys. "I had someone clean the place up. Changed the locks, too."

Monique turned to her. "Who paid my bail, Ruby?"

Ruby hesitated. "A client who owed me a favor."

"That's vague."

"And safer for everyone involved."

They both got out. Monique glanced toward the passenger seat where Cherry dozed peacefully, her tiny hands curled into fists.

"She looks like him," Ruby said softly. "Are you going to tell her one day?"

"When she's ready. When I'm ready."

They entered the apartment. The furniture was gone, but the place smelled like lemon polish and lavender. Ruby had done more than call in a favor, she had given her a second chance.

Monique set down Cherry's diaper bag and stared out the window. Somewhere beyond that glass was a man who had set her up for murder, and a system ready to believe the worst about a woman who had disappeared with a secret.

"You said Billy's people are watching," Monique said, turning to Ruby.

"They always are. But I've got a PI tracing Ava's last days. I've also reached out to Ava's roommate, name's Clara. She's shaken but willing to talk."

"Can I see her?"

"Not yet. We need to be careful. For now, stay inside. No press, no calls. And if Harris reaches out again....."

"I'll handle it," Monique said, her voice flat.

Ruby nodded. "I'm not asking you to forgive him, Mo. But he might be useful. And he's shaken. That means he's not faking this."

Monique nodded, rubbing her temples. "One nightmare at a time."

Later that night, after Cherry had gone to sleep in her crib, nestled in a corner of the sparse living room, Monique poured herself a cup of tea and sat at the small kitchen table.

The silence pressed in. But this time, she didn't run from it.

She pulled out her old journal, one she had packed and carried across two years, two countries, countless cities. Her fingers trembled as she opened to a blank page.

"Day 1. I'm home. I'm scared. But I'm not alone."

A knock came at the door.

Her heart stuttered.

She stood slowly, quietly peeking through the peephole.

Nobody.

Another knock, this time lower. Softer.

She opened the door cautiously.

On the ground, a small package. No name. No label.

She brought it inside, slicing it open with a butter knife.

Inside was a flash drive... and a single photograph.

It was a grainy still from a security camera. Ava, bruised, staring directly into the lens. Behind her, the blurred silhouette of a man in a white suit.

Billy.

Her hands trembled.

This wasn't just a setup.

This was a warning.