THE GHOST IN THE MIRROR
1022 Words
Ayana stared at the message, her phone trembling in her grip.
“You think Ethan can save you?
Wait until the world knows what you did at the salon.
It’s not over.”
Her breath caught in her throat.
Not this. Not that.
Her fingers hovered above her phone, debating whether to delete the message or run inside and show Ethan. But how could she explain something she had buried so deep? Something even Zara didn’t know?
Her past had always been a ghost but now it had a name. A purpose. And it was coming for her.
Footsteps approached behind her. Ayana quickly locked her phone and stood, schooling her face.
Ethan stepped onto the balcony, phone still pressed to his ear. “Yes, make it airtight. I want a cease and desist issued tonight. No leaks, no mistakes. I don’t care if we have to freeze her accounts do it.”
He ended the call, his eyes finding Ayana. “It’s handled.”
She nodded, but the heaviness in her chest remained.
“Are you okay?” he asked, stepping closer.
Ayana hesitated. Her silence stretched until Ethan’s expression darkened with worry.
“Ayana”
“There’s something I haven’t told you,” she blurted. “About the salon. About why I really left Mombasa.”
His brows knit together, but he didn’t speak just waited.
Ayana looked down, her voice barely a whisper. “There was an accident… and a scandal. Someone got hurt. Someone powerful. And I was blamed.”
Ethan’s body tensed. “Who?”
She met his gaze. “Her name was Claudia.”
The air shifted.
Ethan’s jaw clenched. “Claudia Santos?”
Ayana blinked. “You know her?”
He turned away, rubbing the back of his neck. “I more than know her. She’s my ex-fiancée.”
The words hit like a punch.
“What?”
“She was the woman I was supposed to marry before we made our deal,” he said, voice tight. “My parents adored her. Investors respected her. But she wasn’t who she pretended to be.”
Ayana’s knees felt weak. She leaned against the balcony railing for support. “She… she was the one who came to the salon. She had an appointment with one of the stylists. But when she recognized me”
“You’d met before?”
Ayana nodded. “In university. We had mutual friends. I didn’t know she was that Claudia. Not until she started making threats. She accused me of trying to seduce her boyfriend at the time. Then… something happened. She slipped on wet hair product and hit her head. There were no witnesses.”
Ethan’s eyes widened. “Wait you’re saying that was you? The salon incident in Mombasa that made headlines?”
Ayana’s voice cracked. “They said I pushed her. That I staged it to sabotage her career. But I didn’t. I swear to God, Ethan I didn’t.”
He reached for her hand. “I believe you.”
Tears stung her eyes. “Even after all this?”
“Yes.” His grip tightened. “Because I know Claudia. And if she’s the one behind these messages… we’re in bigger trouble than I thought.”
Ayana’s heart sank. “She’s not going to stop.”
“No,” Ethan said, eyes blazing. “She won’t. But neither will I.”
---
Scene: Claudia’s Private Estate – Runda
A sleek, black Jaguar pulled up the gravel driveway of an opulent mansion shrouded in vines and secrets. The gate had a security scanner, but the cameras did more than watch they recorded every visitor's soul.
Inside, Claudia Santos stood in front of a gilded mirror, her sharp cheekbones highlighted by golden hour light. She wore an ivory silk robe, a glass of red wine in her hand, and an unsettling calmness in her eyes.
Behind her, on a massive corkboard, were photos.
Ethan. Ayana. Zara. The penthouse. Even the salon Ayana once worked in.
And in the center circled in red was Ayana’s face.
A man entered the room, holding a tablet. “Your message was delivered. She read it.”
Claudia’s lips curled into a smile. “Perfect.”
He hesitated. “Do you still want us to leak the footage?”
“Not yet,” Claudia said, swirling her wine. “Let her squirm. Let Ethan get comfortable. When the time is right… we’ll burn everything down.”
She turned to face the mirror again, her eyes hard.
“She took everything from me. Now I’ll take everything from her.”
---
Scene: Ethan’s Office The Next Morning
Ayana sat beside Ethan as his security team laid out reports. Nina had been traced. Her devices tracked and infiltrated. But none of the messages came from her.
“They’re clean,” the head of security said. “But we found something else.”
He slid a photo onto the table.
Claudia, leaving the same apartment building Nina lived in.
Ayana gasped. “She’s been using Nina as a pawn.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “Of course she has.”
“She’s more dangerous than I thought,” Ayana whispered.
Ethan stood, pacing. “We need to prepare. She’s going public. We get ahead of the story, or we lose everything.”
Ayana clenched her fists. “Let her come. I’m done running.”
---
Scene: Zara’s Apartment Later That Night
Zara locked her door three times before collapsing onto the couch. Her head was still spinning from the confrontation with Nina and now Claudia? This was real-life drama, not a telenovela.
Her phone buzzed.
A new message from an unknown number.
This time, it wasn’t a threat.
It was a video.
She pressed play and gasped.
It was Ayana.
In the salon.
Fighting with Claudia.
And then the fall.
“Oh my God,” Zara whispered, watching as the camera zoomed in on Ayana’s horrified face.
This was the footage.
The footage that could destroy her sister.
Zara hit download and then immediately called Ayana.
“You need to see this. Now.”
---
To Be Continued...
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