Chapter 109

Amanda sat in the quiet of the abandoned safe house, staring at the chipped paint on the wall across from her. The air was heavy with the scent of dust and old wood, and despite the peace outside, her mind was still racing from the events of the past few weeks. She could hardly believe it was over. Nathan was dead, his betrayal still fresh in her memory, and the list—whatever it contained—had been lost in the chaos. Now, there was nothing left to fight for. Nothing but silence.

The sound of a car pulling up outside jolted her from her thoughts. She stood, her hand instinctively reaching for the gun at her side, but she quickly forced herself to relax. It was just **Ghost**—her brother.

Moments later, the door creaked open, and Ghost stepped inside, his tall figure framed by the fading afternoon light. His sharp blue eyes immediately sought her out, and despite the years of estrangement and their complicated past, Amanda felt a rush of relief seeing him.

He closed the door behind him, his movements as calm and deliberate as always. "Amanda," he said, his voice low and steady, "you okay?"

Amanda nodded but said nothing. She wasn’t okay—not entirely. She was alive, but the emotional weight of everything she'd gone through was starting to catch up. She had come to Ghost because he was the only one left who could understand. He had always been the one to see through her, to strip away the layers of armor she had built around herself.

"Sit down," he said gently, pulling out a chair and sitting across from her.

For a moment, they just looked at each other. Amanda knew Ghost had already heard pieces of what had happened—he had his ways—but she owed him the full story.

"It was Nathan," Amanda began, her voice quiet but steady. "He wasn't who we thought he was. He used me, used Ron. Everything we went through was because of him. He was trying to protect himself. He’d been hiding a list—names of powerful people who used your network for their own purposes. He was on it."

Ghost listened, his face unreadable, but Amanda could see the flicker of recognition in his eyes. He knew about the list, about the kinds of people who wanted to stay hidden. But he didn't interrupt.

"I didn’t see it coming," she continued. "I thought we were helping him, but all along, he was using us to keep himself safe. And when he had no other options left, he turned on us."

She swallowed, the words still bitter on her tongue. "I killed him, Ghost. He left me no choice."

Ghost leaned back in his chair, letting out a slow breath. "I warned you that the world you're stepping into is dangerous, Amanda. It’s not black and white. There are no clean breaks, no easy answers. People like Nathan… they’ll always find a way to make things messy."

Amanda stared at him, her anger flaring for a moment. "I didn’t choose this, Ghost. It came to me. I was dragged into it—into your world. And now, I don't know how to get out."

Ghost looked at her, his eyes softening just a fraction. "You don’t have to carry this, Amanda. What happened with Nathan is done. The people behind that list? They'll move on. You don’t need to keep looking over your shoulder."

Amanda felt the weight of his words settling over her, but the truth was harder to accept. "I don’t know if I can go back to the way things were. I can’t just pretend none of this happened."

Ghost leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "You can. You can forget about this—forget about Nathan, forget about all of it. Go back to your life before all this mess. You’re not like me, Amanda. You don’t need to live in the shadows."

She shook her head, the idea of going back to her old life feeling impossible. "I was a student. I was just trying to get by. And then Ron and I—everything was so simple before."

"Exactly," Ghost said. "You had a normal life. No guns, no lies, no running. You don’t want to live like this. Trust me. You’ll lose yourself if you keep going down this road."

Amanda clenched her fists in her lap. "And what about you? You think I can just walk away and leave you behind?"

Ghost smiled faintly, though it didn’t reach his eyes. "I’ve been in this too long. It’s different for me. But you? You still have a chance. You can still walk away."

The silence that followed was heavy. Amanda didn’t know what to say. Ghost was right—she wasn’t like him. She hadn’t chosen this life. But could she really go back? Could she return to being the person she was before all of this?

"You don’t need to carry a gun around anymore," Ghost said softly. "You don’t need to look over your shoulder. Let me handle the rest. I’ll clean up whatever loose ends are left, and you can go back to your life. Ron will understand."

At the mention of Ron, Amanda’s chest tightened. He had been through just as much as she had—more, even. And now, they were supposed to just… move on? Pretend like everything could go back to the way it was?

"I miss how things were," Amanda admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "Before all this. When Ron was just an executive director and I was just a student. Everything was… good."

Ghost reached across the table, his hand resting on hers. "You can have that again, Amanda. You can go back to school. You can have a future without all of this weighing you down. I’ll make sure of it."

Amanda felt tears prickling the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them away. It wasn’t that simple. The scars of what had happened wouldn’t just disappear. But maybe… maybe Ghost was right. Maybe it was time to step back. To let go of the gun and the constant fear. Maybe she could find herself again.

She looked up at Ghost, her brother—the man who had once been a stranger, but who now felt like the only person who truly understood.

"Okay," she said quietly. "I’ll try. I’ll try to go back."

Ghost nodded, his expression unreadable. "Good. I’ll handle the rest. You don’t need to worry anymore."

As he stood to leave, Amanda felt a strange sense of relief wash over her. For the first time in weeks, she allowed herself to believe that maybe—just maybe—there was a way out of this darkness.

And maybe, she could finally find peace.