Chapter 3 Ghost

The morning air bit into my skin like judgment as I stood barefoot in the backyard garden. Dew clung to the tips of grass, and a single robin perched on the fence let out a melody too bright for the thoughts clouding my head. My fingers were still trembling from the night before, from the man in the shadows, from the file in my hand that screamed one thing louder than anything else:

My mother had been silenced.

And someone-maybe everyone-had a hand in it.

I sat on the cold stone bench beneath the twisted rosebush. The spot used to be my mother's favorite. She'd read poetry to me here. I remembered how her voice used to tremble at the sad parts, how she'd squeeze my hand and say, "Remember, Skye. No matter how cruel the world is, don't let it kill the softness in you."

I was all jagged edges now.

No softness left.

---

By the time I got to school, my chest felt like a war zone. Whispers trailed me in the hallways-some about my family, others about Zaria. The video had leaked. The one of my stepfather meeting a stranger, plotting something.

It was on an anonymous Reddit thread titled "Sins of Power".

People had started piecing things together.

And they were looking at me differently.

My chemistry teacher stopped me after class. "Skye, if you ever need to talk, my office is open."

Translation: We saw it. Everyone did.

I gave a tight smile. "Thank you."

Then I walked out and didn't stop until I was alone behind the gym, breathing like someone had run marathons with my lungs.

---

Zaria met me at lunch. She wore her confidence like perfume-intoxicating and just out of reach. But even she looked shaken.

"You okay?"

I shrugged. "You saw it too?"

"Everyone has. Skye... this is bigger than you thought."

"No shit."

She reached for my hand across the table. "You don't have to do this alone."

And for a moment, I believed her.

Until I noticed Luna at the corner of the room. Watching us.

I dropped her hand.

"He's got his claws in everything. Even in here."

Zaria glanced at Luna and bit her lip. "He won't hurt you."

I wasn't sure anymore.

---

That evening, I confronted my stepfather.

"Why are you everywhere I go?"

He looked up from his whiskey. "It's called parenting. You wouldn't understand."

"Parenting? You mean surveillance?"

He smirked. "You're sounding more like your mother. She had a habit of digging too deep too."

I stepped closer. "She didn't die in an accident, did she?"

His eyes flashed, but only for a second. Then he was calm again. Cold. Controlled.

"Be careful, Skye. This world doesn't take kindly to girls who ask too many questions."

I wanted to scream, but instead, I backed away. Into my room. Into silence.

And rage.

---

Zaria snuck in through the window that night. Like always.

We barely spoke. Just kissed until words blurred. Her lips trailed down my spine like absolution.

"You scare me when you shut down like this," she whispered against my neck.

I turned to her, naked and aching. "It's the only way I can breathe."

Her fingers found mine beneath the sheets. We held each other. Tighter this time.

Like we were both afraid of what came next.

---

The following day, Luna sent a text:

I found the tapes.

That night, we met in an abandoned lot near the old train station. Luna handed me a flash drive.

"You'll want to watch this alone."

"Why?"

"Because it changes everything."

I took it and left.

---

The video showed my mother in her studio. Crying. Talking to someone offscreen.

"He said if I ever leave, he'll hurt Skye. I can't run. I can't stay. What do I do?"

Then-

A shadow. A man's voice. Muffled. Threatening.

It wasn't Luna.

It was my stepfather.

"No one will believe you," he snarled. "And if you speak up, I'll make sure she joins you in the dirt."

The screen went black.

---

My breath left me.

I sat frozen for what felt like hours. Then I picked up my phone and texted Zaria:

He threatened her. Before she died. I have proof.

Her reply came instantly:

Where are you? I'm coming.

I met her outside, trembling.

She took one look at me and hugged me so tight my bones creaked.

"You're not alone in this," she said.

But as I looked over her shoulder, I saw a figure watching us from across the street.

The detective.

Luna.

Still watching.

Always watching.

---

The paranoia grew like mold in my chest. By the next morning, I was certain someone had been in my room. The drawer I kept the journal in was slightly ajar. The hidden copy of the file under the tile? Gone.

I confronted Luna at school.

"Did you take it?"

"No. But he's closing in. Whoever sent that video-they're being watched too."

"I need more answers."

Luna nodded. "Then we need to talk about your real father."

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

He pulled out a photo. Same man from the video. Standing beside my mother. Same eyes as mine.

"He's not who you think he is. And he's alive."

---

I didn't sleep that night.

I stayed up, staring at the ceiling, Zaria curled up beside me. Her breath soft. Her skin warmer than fire.

But I felt nothing.

Only the burn of betrayal.

The truth was out there.

And I was done waiting for it to come to me.