A Favour Repaid

Ghost stood in front of the wide window in his office.

The city stretched endlessly beneath him.

Cars moved through the streets like tiny insects.

People laughed.

People lived.

People died.

None of it mattered to him.

He dragged slowly on the cigarette between his fingers and blew the smoke into the air.

The office remained silent.

Dark and cold.

Exactly how he liked it.

His eyes remained fixed on the city below, but his thoughts were somewhere else entirely.

Six months ago.

A dusty street.

A stupid girl.

A girl who should have minded her own business.

Instead, she helped him.

Ghost's jaw tightened slightly.

Did he remember the incident six months ago?

He did.

And he remembered her very well.

He remembered her frightened eyes.

Her ridiculous courage and her stubbornness.

He took another drag from the cigarette.

The smoke burned his lungs.

He welcomed the feeling.

His expression darkened.

He must have been out of his mind.

Out of his fucking mind.

How else could he explain what happened that day?

He had told her his name.

His real name.

Nobody called him that anymore.

Nobody.

That name belonged to a different life.

A life he buried a long time ago.

Yet somehow a random girl he met on the side of the road knew it.

His fingers tightened around the cigarette.

How the fuck was he supposed to know he would see her again?

And how the fuck did she end up in his mansion?

A humorless laugh almost escaped him.

Life truly had a twisted sense of humor.

Maybe he should kill her.

She knew too much.

She knew what he looked like when he wasn't Ghost.

She knew things nobody else knew.

Dangerous things.

His eyes narrowed.

She fucking saw him smile.

The thought alone irritated him.

Ghost took one final drag before crushing the cigarette into the ashtray.

A knock sounded on the office door.

His gaze shifted toward it.

A slow breath left his lungs.

She did save his life though.

That fact annoyed him more than anything.

He hated owing people.

Hated debts.

Hated favors.

Yet the truth was clear.

Without her, things could have gone differently that day.

Perhaps much differently.

Should he be a little nice to her?

The idea itself sounded ridiculous.

"Come in."

The door opened.

"Sir."

He didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he turned back toward the window.

His expression remained unreadable.

"Who was that girl?"

Sam straightened immediately.

For a second, confusion flashed across his face.

Then understanding followed.

"Sir, that was Collins Peter’s adopted daughter. He got married to you today."

Ghost's expression didn't change.

Not even slightly.

A sigh escaped him as he walked back toward his desk.

He pulled out his chair and sat down.

The expensive leather creaked softly beneath his weight.

"They just send anyone here now to clear their debt?"

Sam wisely remained silent.

Ghost opened one of the files on his desk.

His eyes scanned the documents without truly reading them.

"How much is he owing me?"

Sam quickly pulled out his phone.

His fingers moved across the screen.

Ghost leaned back in his chair.

A fresh cigarette found its way between his lips.

A lighter clicked.

Smoke filled the air once more.

"About fifteen million, sir."

Ghost stared at the ceiling for a moment.

Then he laughed quietly.

Not because it was funny.

Because it was absurd.

"Fifteen million and he's sending me a weak inexperienced girl?"

"She's not going to make me even half that money in ten years."

The room fell silent again.

Ghost's gaze drifted toward the wall.

His thoughts returned to the bruises and scars he had seen on her that evening.

And the fact that a grown girl was running stupid errands like buying a condom.

She didn't even own a cellphone.

That alone told him enough.

His fingers tapped once against the desk.

"You said he sent his adopted daughter?"

"Yes, sir."

Before today, he wouldn't have cared.

Adopted…..Biological.

None of it mattered.

Not today though….

"How many children does he have?"

Sam checked his phone again.

"About four, sir. Two girls and two boys."

Ghost nods.

A long silence followed.

"Call him."

Sam immediately stood straighter.

"Tell him the daughter he sent is not enough for the money he owes me."

Ghost picked up a document and opened it.

His tone remained casual.

As if discussing the weather.

"I need another daughter."

"Yes, sir."

Sam didn't question him.

Nobody questioned Ghost.

Nobody was stupid enough.

Ghost flipped through another page.

Then another thought occurred to him.

"The girl."

Sam looked up.

"The new girl."

His voice remained indifferent.

"She shouldn't start at the strip club."

For the first time, genuine surprise appeared on Sam's face.

Ghost noticed but ignored it.

"Make her a server or something in the casino."

The silence that followed was almost amusing.

Sam clearly had questions.

But he knew better.

Ghost finally looked up from the documents.

With one cold glance Sam immediately lowered his head.

Ghost waved him away.

The conversation was over.

He looked back at the paperwork scattered across his desk.

He had already given her money after the sex.

Now he was giving her a better start.

That was more than enough.

More than she deserved.

More than anyone deserved.

This was the kindest he had been in years.

Maybe ever.

Whatever happened from here with her was not his concern.

Not his responsibility.

Not his problem.

____

Meanwhile….

The Collins household was a mess.

The moment the call ended and the reality of Ghost's demand settled over them, the entire house erupted into chaos.

"You must be crazy if you think I will let you sell my child to that monster!"

Mary's scream echoed through the living room.

Her face was red with rage as she stood in front of Collins, looking as if she wanted to tear him apart with her bare hands.

Collins looked equally furious.

"Do you have the money?" he shouted back.

Mary froze for a second.

The answer was obvious.

No.

Neither of them had fifteen million.

Not even close.

"When you were gambling, didn't you know you could lose?" she snapped.

Collins laughed bitterly.

"And who was encouraging me?"

Mary's eyes widened.

"You dare blame me?"

"Who else should I blame?" Collins barked. "Every time I won, you wanted more. Every time I lost, you told me I would win it back."

"Don't blame your incompetence on me, Collins!" Mary screamed. "I have done more than enough for you."

The argument exploded even more.

Neither of them cared about the real problem.

Neither of them cared that an innocent girl had already been sacrificed.

All they cared about was themselves.

Fear had turned them against each other.

The mention of Ghost alone was enough to make grown adults panic.

Everyone in the city knew what happened to people who crossed him.

People disappeared.

Families vanished.

Businesses burned overnight.

And those were the lucky ones.

Ghost wasn't known for mercy.

He wasn't known for second chances.

The fact that he had given Collins one week was already more generosity than most people ever received.

Mary paced back and forth across the room.

Several suitcases sat near the entrance.

She had already tried leaving with Elena and Joy.

They barely made it to the gate before Collins stopped them.

Running was pointless.

Everyone knew that.

Ghost's reach extended far beyond the city.

There was nowhere they could hide.

Nowhere they could run.

Not if Ghost decided to hunt them.

Elena sat on the couch crying.

Her expensive makeup had been ruined by tears.

Joy wasn't any better.

She had cried so much her eyes were swollen.

"If we don't send someone, we'll all be dead!" Collins shouted, throwing his hands into the air.

"I don't care!" Mary yelled back immediately.

Her voice cracked from stress.

"Ghost gave you a week. You better come up with something. I'm not letting you send any of my daughters to die."

The room fell silent.

Everyone knew what she meant.

Her daughters.

Just her daughters.

Emily had never been included in that category.

"This is all Emily's fault," Elena suddenly spat.

Her face twisted with anger.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"She probably couldn't do what they wanted and that made Ghost dissatisfied."

Joy nodded immediately.

"Exactly."

The idea was ridiculous.

None of them actually knew why Ghost rejected the arrangement.

But blaming Emily was easier.

Emily had always been their scapegoat.

The person they blamed whenever things went wrong.

The person they punished whenever they were angry.

The person they hated simply because she existed.

"We should have just killed her instead," Henry said coldly.

The room grew quiet again.

Nobody looked shocked.

Nobody called him cruel.

Nobody told him he was wrong.

Because every single person in that room had thought the same thing at one point or another.

"She's probably dead now," Joy muttered.

A strange silence followed.

A few days ago they would have been happy about that.

After all, they had placed bets on how long she would survive.

None of them believed Emily would live for long in Ghost's mansion.

Yet now her fate barely mattered.

Whether she was alive or dead changed nothing.

The real problem was standing right in front of them.

A deadline.

If they failed to send another daughter, they would all die.

If they tried to run, they would die.

If they tried to hide, they would die.

Ghost didn't make empty threats.

Everyone knew that.

The clock had already started ticking.

Seven days.

That was all they had.

Collins slowly sat down in his chair.

For the first time since the call ended, he stopped arguing.

Stopped shouting and panicking.

Instead, he simply stared.

His gaze moved toward Elena.

Then Joy.

Both girls immediately noticed.

Fear flashed across their faces.

A father's love should have protected them.

A father should have fought for them.

But Collins wasn't thinking like a father anymore.

He was thinking like a desperate man trying to save his life and his sons life.

His mind was already working.

Already calculating.

Already searching for a solution.

Losing one daughter will not be the end of the world.