Chapter 3: The Ghost and the Will

It was late when Elijah left the hotel.

The driver opened the door without a word. Elijah sat in the back, eyes blank, hands cold. He didn’t ask where they were going. Gabe had told him earlier.

The Rowe family estate.

The place he used to call home.

He didn’t remember it.

Not really.

Just flashes  a hallway with white floors. A gold-framed mirror. A piano. The smell of lemon polish.

Now, all he felt was a strange kind of buzzing in his bones. Like his body remembered things he couldn’t name.

The car stopped.

The house was big, cold, and perfect. No lights in the windows. No warmth in the walls. The kind of place where secrets hid behind doors no one opened.

Amelia was waiting at the top of the stairs.

“Elijah,” she said.

Her voice was sharp. Clean. Like glass.

“Amelia,” he replied, trying not to show anything in his face.

“You don’t remember me, do you?”

“No,” he said. “But I can tell you don’t like me.”

She smiled without her eyes. “At least you’re honest.”

He followed her into the study. Gabe was already there, arms crossed, sitting on the edge of a desk like he owned the place.

Donovan Vale, the family lawyer, stood up and nodded politely.

“Elijah,” Donovan said. “Good to see you again. Or… back, I should say.”

Elijah gave him a small nod. “Let’s get to it.”

They all sat.

Donovan pulled out a thick folder. “We’ve reviewed the legal situation. Since you were declared dead, all your assets were frozen and placed in a trust. Gabe, as your legal spouse, was made executor.”

Elijah glanced at Gabe. He was quiet, unreadable.

“However,” Donovan continued, “now that you’re legally alive again, your status overrides that of your executor. You can reclaim full access  if you meet the conditions.”

“Which are?” Elijah asked, though he already knew.

Donovan looked him in the eye. “You must remain married to Gabriel Thorn until the ten-year clause is fulfilled. Which gives you... two years and four months remaining.”

Elijah nodded. “Fine.”

Amelia made a soft sound with her mouth. Like a laugh, but colder.

“You think it’ll be that easy?” she said. “You walk back in, play husband again, and we all just clap?”

Elijah looked at her. “What exactly do you want from me?”

“Nothing,” she said. “I want you gone. Like you were supposed to be.”

Donovan cleared his throat. “There’s something else.”

He pulled out a sheet of paper. Gabe leaned in to read it.

“This is a court motion,” Donovan said. “Filed exactly six months after the crash. It was an attempt to declare Elijah legally dead... without waiting the full one-year legal period.”

Elijah froze. “That’s not standard, right?”

“No,” Donovan said. “It was rushed. Almost like someone wanted you out of the picture fast.”

Gabe took the paper. His eyes scanned it quickly, then stopped.

He looked up. “This was signed by Amelia.”

Amelia didn’t deny it.

“I did what needed to be done,” she said calmly. “You were dead. Everyone knew it.”

“You didn’t wait,” Gabe said, voice rising. “You didn’t even try.”

She shrugged. “I don’t wait for ghosts. Especially ones who leave their mess behind.”

Elijah leaned forward. “Why the rush?”

“Because,” she said, “your name on those documents meant the whole company was in limbo. Every decision stalled. The board was frozen. We were bleeding money.”

“Money,” Elijah said flatly.

She didn’t flinch. “Yes. Money. Power. Control. Welcome back to the Rowe family.”

Donovan looked uncomfortable. “There’s more. We received a private tip. Anonymous. About the crash.”

Gabe sat up straighter.

Donovan handed Elijah a flash drive. “There’s footage. From an airfield. Shows a man who looks like you. But it was taken two weeks after the crash.”

Elijah blinked. “What?”

“You were spotted in South Africa,” Donovan said. “With a different name. ‘E. Vale.’ Cash-only hotels. No ID. Then you disappeared again.”

Gabe looked like he’d been punched.

“So what?” Amelia said. “You think he faked it?”

Donovan shook his head. “I don’t know. But someone went through a lot of trouble to make sure no one could find you.”

Elijah sat back, silent. The walls felt like they were tilting.

He felt something rise in his chest. Something like fear, but older. Deeper.

Not fear of death.

Fear of remembering.

Later, Gabe followed him outside. The night was cold. Windy.

Elijah didn’t speak.

“You think it’s true?” Gabe asked quietly. “That you were alive… walking around… before all this?”

“I don’t know,” Elijah said.

Gabe watched him for a second. Then said, “Do you feel like him?”

Elijah turned. “Like who?”

“The man I loved.”

Elijah looked into his eyes. And said nothing.

Because he didn’t know the answer.