THE FIRST CRACK

Ashley Kade had no memory of leaving the private lounge. One moment she was watching Damian and Lyra Moretti, and the next, she sat alone in her car staring at her phone.

ARE YOU SURE ARORA VANCE IS DEAD?

Seven words only shattered the six months of peace. She hated uncertainty, hated not knowing, and most of all she hated the fear crawling beneath her skin. When she closed her eyes, she saw Lyra Moretti watching her across the ballroom, smiling and recognition without memory; she saw a shadow of someone dead.

“Ashley.”

Damian’s voice pulled her back; he was unfastening his cufflinks, calm and unaffected.

“We need to talk.”

She handed him her phone; he scanned the screen and handed it back. “Is it a prank?”

“You think this is funny?”

 “No.”

“Then why are you acting like it doesn’t matter?”

Damian poured his whiskey. “You’re overthinking it.”

“I am not.”

“You are.”

Ashley’s irritation rose. “You didn’t see that woman, the way she was smiling.”

“Lyra Moretti?”

He remembered her name instantly, which only annoyed her further.

“There’s something wrong about her.”

“What exactly?”

“I don’t know.”

The confession tasted bitter, and for the first time in years, her instincts screamed, and she couldn’t decode why. Damian hesitated. Just a fraction of a second, Ashley caught it: something about Lyra had affected him. Her stomach twisted, not for jealousy but something colder. Damian was detached by nature; he rarely noticed anyone, yet tonight, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off Lyra.

“I want a full investigation,” Ashley demanded.

A heavy silence. Then: “I already ordered one.”

She stared at him, knowing he had already acted, which made her feel worse.

Across the city, Lyra stood on a balcony; the ocean stretched endlessly, dark, powerful, and unforgiving. Her first appearance had been a success; everything went according to plan. Yet exhaustion weighed on her. The glass door slid open. Hayden stepped in with two coffees, a small smile despite the hour.

 “You did well tonight,” he said.

“Did I?”

“You walked into a room filled with the people who stole your life, and you didn’t flinch once.”

A bitter laugh escaped her. “You make it sound impressive.”

“It is.”

She lowered her eyes. “For a split second....... I wanted to tell him.”

“Damian?”

She nodded. “I wanted to look him in the eyes and tell him exactly who I am.”

Hayden waited. “And then?”

Then I remembered the ocean, the memory struck pitch-black water, cold, Damian’s voice, and the moment he pushed her. She closed her eyes and spoke. “I remember what he did to me.”

“You don’t need revenge tonight; you need patience.” He spoke.

“You always say that.”

“Because it’s true.”

Lyra looked down at her coffee. Six months ago, Damian had broken her down. But tonight, she stood, and a terrifying thought crossed her mind: was she strong because she survived the fall, or only strong because Hayden stood beside her?

The following dawn, Damian sat alone in his office. A thick file rested on his desk: LYRA MORETTI. He opened the file. Every detail about her was stated: investments, properties, and travel records. Everything appeared normal and too perfect, as if someone had erased every loose thread. 

“The investigation is complete,” his security director said.

“And?”

The man hesitated; maybe someone deliberately buried her past. There was a brief silence.  Damian leaned back, and his gaze drifted toward the photograph. Lyra stood beneath crystal chandeliers, holding a champagne glass; she was confident and elegant, and Damian recalled how she looked at him, uninterested, almost as if she knew him. It should have annoyed him instead; it intrigued him. For the first time in months, he wanted to see her again; it irritated him. Damian Kade was not ruled by curiosity, yet Lyra Moretti had become the expectation. 

Meanwhile, Lyra sat in the private conference room across from three board members. One executive slid a thick folder toward her. “The final acquisition papers are ready, Ms Moretti. Once you sign these tomorrow morning, the asset transfer is official.”

 Lyra opened the folder, scanned the pages, and smiled.  It wasn't a major acquisition yet, but it was enough to crack, move, and warn Damian Kade’s empire.

“You seem pleased,” the board member noted.

“I am,” Lyra replied, a cold smile touching her lips as she closed the file.

“Tomorrow, everything changes.”

Nobody in the room understood the weight of her words, but they would very soon.

That evening, Ashley’s phone vibrated; it was an unknown number. Her stomach tightened instantly, and her hands shook as she opened the message and four words appeared. GHOST DON’T STAY BURIED FOREVER. The air left her lungs, and colour drained from her face. Her hands were trembling as she opened her laptop. For months she had avoided this name, but tonight, she couldn’t stop herself. She typed: ARORA VANCE.

The screen loaded, and for the first time in six months, Ashley was afraid of ghosts, and she believed in ghosts.