Chapter 79: The First Steps
Lily's house was small but warm. The walls were covered in photographs, the shelves lined with books. Maya saw a younger version of Ghost in one of the pictures—a man with dark hair and a smile that hadn't yet faded into the shadows. She felt a pang of sorrow for all the years he'd missed, all the memories he'd never been part of. But she also felt a flicker of hope. There was still time. There was still a chance. There was still a future. The photographs told a story of a life lived without him—birthdays, graduations, everyday moments that he'd never seen. She wondered how many times Ghost had imagined these images, how many nights he'd lain awake wondering what his daughter looked like, how many times he'd pictured this moment and told himself it could never
