A Deal with the Ghost
937 Words
Sarah tapped her fingers on the desk, eyes scanning lines of code. Her laptop buzzed with overlapping programs, each one running different trace operations.
"I swear, if this woman’s digital trail was any colder, I’d need a space heater," she muttered.
Felix, sitting across from her, smirked. "Welcome to the art of hiding in plain sight. Lena Maddox is good. Scary good. But everyone leaves a footprint. Even her."
Sarah paused. "You know, she could’ve easily erased everything. Which makes me think she wanted us to find pieces. Just enough to make us paranoid."
"Or desperate," Felix added.
She looked over her shoulder. "Amelia needs something concrete. Fast. The board’s getting jumpy again, and Nathan can only keep them off her back for so long."
Felix nodded. "Then let’s give her something real."
---
Amelia met Nathan in the basement of an old Turner-owned storage unit—unused for years. Dust clung to every surface, and the air felt heavy, like it had stored too many secrets.
Nathan handed her a folder. "Financial trails, dummy accounts, offshore transactions—all linked to shell companies under Maddox oversight. Some of them were once Turner clients."
Amelia’s stomach turned. "So this isn’t new. She’s been feeding on us for years."
"And your father knew," Nathan said. "At least part of it. But he probably thought cutting ties was enough."
"Clearly, it wasn’t."
She leaned against the wall, breathing hard. "Do you think she’ll come forward now? Now that we’re digging?"
Nathan hesitated. "No. I think she’ll send someone else."
---
That night, Amelia received a call.
No caller ID. No voice.
Just a soft, electronic distortion, followed by a text.
“Meet me. 10 p.m. Parking lot, 18th and Hollow. Come alone.”
Sarah and Nathan both objected. Loudly.
"It’s a trap," Sarah hissed.
"She’s baiting you," Nathan added. "She wants to see how far you’ll go."
Amelia remained calm. "Then let her."
---
The parking lot was nearly empty. A single black SUV waited under the only working light.
Amelia stepped into the light.
The back door opened.
A woman stepped out. Late 30s, dark shades, tight bun, all-black suit.
"Ms. Turner."
"I’m guessing you’re not Lena Maddox."
The woman smiled. "No. But I speak for her."
Amelia crossed her arms. "Then speak fast."
"You’ve been digging places we’d rather you didn’t. We respect your father's legacy. We didn’t want to make this messy. But your attachment to Mr. Harper... that complicates things."
"He’s not going anywhere."
"Neither are we. Which means we need to establish some boundaries."
Amelia laughed bitterly. "You spy on me, sabotage my company, and now you want a truce?"
"No. A choice."
The woman handed over a small drive. "Proof that Nathan’s past is more complicated than he’s told you. Take it. Read it. And decide what matters more: rebuilding Turner... or trusting a man who already broke your father’s trust."
Amelia didn’t take the drive.
"You think that scares me?"
"No," the woman said, stepping back into the SUV. "I think it’ll hurt you."
The SUV drove off, leaving Amelia in the dark.
---
The next morning, she sat in her office, the drive on her desk, untouched.
Nathan walked in and saw it immediately.
"What is that?"
"A choice," she said quietly.
He sat across from her. "I guess you received it last night."
She nodded. "Yes. They told me you’re hiding more. That you weren’t honest with my father."
Nathan didn’t move and didn’t blink.
"They’re not wrong," he said finally.
Her breath caught.
"I came here because your father asked me to once. Years ago. And I failed him. I thought I could fix it now by helping you, by finishing what he started. But yes, I left things out. Because I knew what it would cost if you knew everything."
"Then tell me now."
Nathan stared at her.
"Your father wanted to sell Turner to Maddox. Quietly. But at the last minute, he backed out. Because I convinced him to. I told him we could rebuild without them. And we started planning Project Winterlight. But Lena found out. And she blamed me. Said I poisoned the deal."
Amelia’s voice was barely a whisper. "Why didn’t you tell me?"
"Because your father paid the price for saying no. And I think... I think I was the reason she came after him."
Amelia didn’t respond right away. She stood. Walked to the window. The city below moved like nothing had happened. But inside her, something had cracked. Not from anger but from clarity.
"Then we stop her," she said finally.
Nathan rose slowly.
"Even if the board turns against us?"
"Even if the world does."
He stepped closer.
"You trust me? Even now?"
She turned.
"Not completely. But I trust what we’re building. And I trust that we’re not done yet."
Nathan gave a small smile.
"Then let’s finish it. But first i still have to check the hard drive. No hard feelings."
"Sure.", Nathan said walking away
Back at her desk, Amelia opened the drive.
Sarah and Tamara stood beside her.
The contents were worse than expected.
Emails. Call logs. Photos. A wire transfer from Maddox Holdings to Nathan’s old consultancy.
Sarah’s voice trembled. "This looks bad."
"It’s meant to," Amelia said. "It’s what they want us to see."
Tamara pointed at a file.
"Wait. This call log... It shows a meeting between Lena Maddox and someone from our board. Last month."
Sarah zoomed in.
"Gerald? No... This number. It’s Marjorie."
Amelia’s eyes flared.
"We were watching the wrong board member."
Tamara whispered, "Then the real game just started."
- Writer
