Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Ghosts That Breathe
"Some ghosts beg to be forgotten.
Others... wait in the dark, wanting to be seen again."
---
NYRA
The clock hit 3:03 a.m. when I stepped out of the penthouse.
The city below was half-asleep, drowned in mist. My heels were off. Hair tied up. Sweatpants and a silk robe—the kind of soft that made you forget how blood felt when it dried on your skin.
Celeste was passed out on my couch, a blade tucked into her boot even in sleep. Kai was gone—tracking the mystery caller from earlier.
But me?
I was chasing a phantom.
The message on my phone kept blinking:
> "Pier 13. Come alone. Don't bring fire. You've already survived the burn once." – K
I didn't hesitate.
Not because I trusted him. But because I needed to see.
I needed to know if Kray was real. If it was him that night—if the man who helped Ravian torment me… was also the one who let me escape.
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PIER 13 – 3:44 AM
Fog clung to the dock like breath on cold glass.
I stepped off the stairs, the wooden planks groaning beneath my bare feet. I wore only the robe and Kai's oversized jacket. I didn't care.
And then—I saw him.
Kray.
Standing at the edge of the dock, cigarette in hand, smoke curling like a whisper.
He looked older. Rougher. The sharp jaw was the same. But his eyes? Those weren't eyes anymore. They were wounds.
He turned when he heard my step.
And he froze.
Not a blink. Not a word. Just—shock.
> "You really are alive," he whispered, voice hoarse.
> "You sent me chips," I said bitterly. "And my son."
He laughed under his breath, a small, broken sound.
> "Didn't think you'd actually show."
> "Didn't think you'd have the balls to ask."
We stood there. Silent. Oceans of memory between us.
Finally, I walked forward until we were inches apart.
> "You were there," I said quietly. "That night. You opened the cellar door. You let me run."
He didn't deny it.
> "You had blood on your hands," I hissed. "But you left the key."
> "Because I couldn't do it anymore," he said. "Watching you break. I—"
He looked down, shaking.
> "Ravian wanted to break you so you'd beg for love. I just wanted you to survive."
> "Bullshit."
> "It is," he snapped. "But it's the truth."
---
FLASHBACK – SIX YEARS AGO
KRAY'S POV
She was bleeding again.
Glass embedded in her feet, lips cracked from thirst. She still refused to scream. Ravian called it "noble." I called it hell.
And then one night, when he left for the gala…
I opened the door.
I didn't speak. Just… left the keys on the third step. With a water bottle. And a note:
> Run. Please.
She looked up once before vanishing into the dark.
I told Ravian she broke the door.
I lied.
And I kept lying, until the world believed she was dead.
---
BACK TO PRESENT
NYRA
I should've punched him. Screamed. Pushed him into the damn sea.
But instead, I asked the question that had haunted me for years.
> "Why didn't you come after me?"
> "Because I wasn't sure you'd want to be found."
> "You were his best friend."
> "I was his weapon."
His voice cracked.
> "But Meher—Nyra—you were the only thing I never wanted to destroy."
He looked down, breath shaking.
> "You looked at me once, like I was human. Even after all the things I let him do. You don't forget something like that."
I closed my eyes.
Because I did remember.
Once, when I was bleeding in the corner of that dark room, and Ravian left… Kray entered with a flashlight. He didn't speak. He just looked at me.
And in that moment, he looked guilty. Human.
Maybe… afraid.
---
KRAY
> "Your son is safe," I said.
She didn't flinch.
> "I know."
> "You don't want to know where he is?"
> "I want to know why you found him before I did."
> "Because he looks like you," I whispered. "And I never stopped looking."
The silence turned sharp. Tangible.
> "You know I can't forgive you."
> "I don't want your forgiveness."
> "Then what do you want, Kray?"
He stepped forward.
> "I want a chance to burn for you… like I should have before."
---
NYRA
God.
I hated how he said it.
Like pain was romance. Like guilt was a love language.
> "You're ten years too late."
> "So I'll bleed ten years to catch up."
His hand brushed mine, barely.
And I stepped back.
> "You don't get to touch me. Not yet."
He nodded. Silent.
> "But I'll see you again," I said.
> "You already did."
---
THE NEXT DAY – LEO VARMA'S OFFICE
Leo stared at the footage Celeste dropped on his desk.
Nyra. On the pier. With a man.
> "Kray Alvaro," Kai confirmed. "Confirmed ex-operative of Ravian. Former fixer."
> "What the hell is he doing with her?"
> "Maybe she trusts him."
> "She doesn't trust anyone," Leo growled.
> "That's what scares me," Kai said. "Because if she does… he'll be the one to break her again."
Leo leaned back, jaw tight.
> "Not if I get to him first."
---
AARAV – KRAY'S SAFEHOUSE
I drew her again. This time, not from memory.
This time… from the video Kray showed me.
She was older. Stronger. Her eyes sharper.
But I knew.
She was mine.
> "Mom…" I whispered, fingers trembling.
> "I remember."
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TO BE CONTINUED…