Chapter 5

Helen was just as distraught.

"Logan, what exactly are you trying to accomplish?"

"What do you think? Yvonne is still waiting for your son and daughter to apologize to her."

"Why should either of my children apologize to a murderer?"

A cold smile spread across Logan's face.

"Don't blame me for being heartless, Mrs. Shaw. You know Yvonne is still struggling with bipolar disorder. She could have been the best ballerina in the country, but Xena ruined her chance to compete with her ridiculous behavior."

Listening to him go on about Yvonne's ruined career, I almost laughed at the absurdity of it all.

Wasn't Yvonne eliminated in the very first round because she simply wasn't good enough?

"The best ballerina in the country?" Helen gave a bitter laugh before turning her gaze toward the window. Her lips trembled as she murmured, "If Xena hadn't..."

Logan waited for her to finish, but she merely bowed her head, covered her face with both hands, and began to sob.

The bodyguards holding her down released their grip and looked to Logan for instructions.

After a long silence, he finally spoke.

"If Xena is willing to back down, I'll leave Mr. Shaw alone."

Logan was as arrogant and self-righteous as ever.

And poor Helen was still being made to suffer because of me.

I wanted desperately to tell her to stop pleading with him. Nothing she said would ever get through to Logan.

But I was dead. How was I supposed to make the living hear me?

Logan kept insisting I'd done something terrible, but what exactly had I done wrong?

"Logan, Xena isn't going to see you. She never will again."

He smiled with the confidence of a man certain he could force me out of hiding.

"If you and Mr. Shaw can't get her to show herself, what about Ethan? Doesn't she care whether her own brother lives or dies?"

Hadn't those two already made him suffer enough?

How could you be so cruel, Logan?

I was already dead, yet I could have sworn there were tears gathering in the corners of my eyes.

Then I watched Helen drop to her knees and repeatedly slam her forehead against the floor.

"Logan, parents should pay for their children's mistakes. I'll apologize to Ms. Stone on Xena's behalf..."

She clutched his pant leg, begging him with what little dignity she had left.

"Please, let Robert and Ethan go. Spare our family... I'll go right now. I'll beg Yvonne for forgiveness!"

Trembling, Helen struggled to her feet and hurried outside, looking almost dazed.

I was about to follow her when Logan's phone rang.

An unfamiliar number appeared on the screen. He hesitated for a few seconds before answering.

"Logan, it's Xena. If you want to see me, I'll be waiting outside Store 66 in the shopping district this weekend."

It was my voice.

Logan opened his mouth to respond, but the caller had already hung up. When he tried calling back, the number was no longer in service.

"I was wondering how much longer you'd be able to hold out," he muttered.

Except I hadn't given in.

What the hell was going on? Was there another ghost involved?

Who was that person pretending to be me?

As baffled as I was, the call did accomplish something. Logan withdrew the men he'd assigned to keep Robert under guard.

Stranger still, a new account sent Logan a friend request shortly afterward.

He accepted it without bothering to say a word.

The account was using an old photograph of me as its profile picture, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't figure out who was behind it.

During the days leading up to the weekend, I stayed by Helen's side.

For my sake, she swallowed every insult and humiliation, doing everything she could to please Yvonne. Naturally, Yvonne took full advantage of the situation, going out of her way to make Helen's life miserable.

"Oh, Mrs. Shaw, I almost forgot. I heard Xena loves braised fish, but she's never been very good at picking out the bones. Would you mind removing them for me?"

Helen agreed mechanically. After a long silence, she finally asked, "If I do everything you ask, will you ask Logan to spare our family?"

"Well, that depends on how well you behave."

Helen looked up, her expression suddenly resolute.

"I can promise you that Xena will never show up again. I swear it."

Yvonne's lips curled into a smile.

"Of course she won't. She's dead."