Chapter One: The Ghost Returns

Lucia's heart raced at the thought of doing surrogacy.

'I can't believe I am doing this.'

She clenched her fist tight and exhaled to release the nervous air hanging in her throat.

Fifty million euros to carry some rich man's baby. For a year.

She would be able to marry Alex without debts hanging over their heads and they would never have to worry about any threats again. This was freedom.

Lucia fixed her hair in the bathroom mirror. She was wearing the blue dress Maria had picked out, trying to look like someone worth fifty million euros.

Then her phone buzzed.

Alex: [Good luck with your interview today. Love you.]

Her heart sank. She reluctantly tossed the phone away, unreplying. She’d told Alex that she had a job interview, she couldn't bring herself to tell him the truth. 

Some things are better buried.

The doorbell rang.

"Lucia!" Maria's voice called from downstairs. "He's here!"

Lucia took a breath. Fixed her face before heading down.

She could hear voices from the entryway, alongside Maria's fake laugh. The one she used with men. Wealthy men.

Then another voice came. It was deep. Male.Yet....Familiar?

Wait.

It can't be.

Before her thoughts could register, Lucia's legs were already moving. Down the hallway and towards the sound.

Once she turned the corner, her breath stopped. She blinked into reality, but not a single word was uttered in the room.

Right there was Diego, standing in her stepmother's entryway.

Ten years older. Taller. Broader. And a shorter brown hair which was styled perfectly. Everything about him defined opulence.

But those eyes.

Those same blue eyes were the only valuable things she saw truly.

"Lucia." His voice was different. Deeper. But still his.

She couldn't speak. Couldn't move.

Maria looked between them. "You two know each other?"

"We went to high school together," Diego spoke, but his face gave nothing away. "Small world."

Small world?

Something inside Lucia snapped.

"Get out." Her voice came out shaky, but determined. "Get the fuck out of my house."

"Lucia!" Maria's voice cracked like a whip.

But Lucia was already moving. Past Maria and straight to Diego.

"You disappear for ten years. TEN GOOD YEARS!” She shoved his chest. But he didn't move. "Not a single word or text. Not even a fucking explanation. And now you show up, and supposed to believe it’s a ‘small world’."

"Lucia, I can explain-"

"Explain?" She laughed. High, but broken. "You want to explain? Fine. Explain why you left. Explain why you never came back. Explain why the first time I see you in a decade, is to rent my fucking womb!"

"That's not-"

"This was your plan wasn't it? You contacted Maria for this instead because you know that I'll be left as an option."

Diego's jaw tightened. "Yes."

Her hand came across his face with a tight slap but he didn't move.

"Yes," she repeated. "Yes. You knew."

"I knew."

Lucia's vision blurred, and she felt dizzy but couldn’t faint in front of him. Tears and rage clouded her.

"I loved you." Her words came out broken. "I waited for you. I waited thinking maybe you would come back and give an explanation. Maybe there was a reason and I was actually so worried about you."

Diego's expression cracked, but it was just for a second. "Lucia-"

"Don't." She stepped back. "Don't you dare say my name like that. Like it means something. You lost that right when you vanished."

Maria cleared her throat. "Perhaps we should all sit down and discuss this calmly-"

"There's nothing to discuss." Lucia turned and headed for the door. "I'm not doing this. Find someone else. I don't care if it's a hundred million euros. I won't do it with you."

She grabbed her bag and keys.

Diego said nothing, didn't try to stop her as she walked out, slamming the door so hard the frame shook.

Maria stared at the door, then at Diego. "You knew her."

"Yes."

"And you didn't think to mention that before making this offer?"

Diego's jaw clenched. "I thought she'd be professional about it."

"Professional?" Maria laughed sharply. "That girl loved you. You broke her heart. And now you want her to carry your child?"

"That's exactly what I want."

"Well, she said no. So it is off." Maria moved toward the door. "I appreciate the offer, Mr. Castillo, but I can't do this. If I had known about your history together, I never would have agreed in the first place."

Diego pulled out his phone, tapped something then turned it toward her.

"Seventy million euros."

Maria stopped. "What?"

"I am increasing the offer to seventy million."

"Mr. Castillo-"

"Fine, eighty million."

"Why?" Maria's voice came out strangled. "Why her? You could have anyone. Any woman in Spain. In the world. Why are you willing to pay this much for Lucia?"

"One year," he said quietly. "She carries my child. Lives under my roof in my care, then she's free. Free to do whatever she wants. And am willing to offer eighty million euros for that"

"This isn't about money-"

"Then one hundred."

The words hung in the air.

Maria's jaw actually dropped.

"You're insane."

"I'm determined." Diego pocketed his phone. "One hundred million. Fifty right here and now. Then the other fifty when she delivers my child."

"That still doesn't answer my question. Why?"

"Because to me, no one else can do it better than her." He paused. "And because I can afford to pay whatever it takes to get what I want."

"She won't agree. Not for any amount."

"Then convince her." Diego pulled out a checkbook and then started writing. "Fifty million. Right now. All you have to do is get her to sign the contract."

He tore off the check and then set it on the table.

Maria stared at it. At all those zeros.

Her hands shook as she picked it up.

"One year," Diego said. "She carries my child. Lives in my house. Then she's free. Fifty million now. Fifty million after delivery." He repeated 

Maria's throat was tight. The check felt heavy in her hands.

One hundred million total.

The debts. The creditors. The sleepless nights. The threats. All of it is gone. Just like that.

She thought about Lucia's face. The hurt. The anger.

Then she thought about the bills piling up. The interest was eating them alive. The phone calls that wouldn't stop.

She looked up at Diego, his cold blue eyes. The man who'd broken her stepdaughter's heart.

But yet offering them salvation. Then she found her voice.

"You've got yourself a deal."