Chapter 2I Can See His Dead Wife

I have a secret.

I've been able to see ghosts since I was a child.

After a long and exhausting journey through terror, fear, breakdowns, and despair, I finally came to terms with it. I learned to just ignore them, to look right through them as if they weren't there.

That is, until a month ago, when the ghost named Eleanor found me and wouldn't leave me alone.

"Honey, you can see me? Oh, thank God! Can you do me a favor?"

"Why aren't you answering me? Hello? Helloooo?"

"Please, you're the only one who can help me. I'll give you ten million dollars if you help me."

That’s when I stopped pretending.

I turned to face her. "How much!?"

"Ten million dollars!" Seeing my resolve crumble, Eleanor floated closer, her voice a seductive whisper. "It's a small favor, really. I just need you to check on my husband and my son. Since I died, their relationship has completely fallen apart. They're like enemies. You just have to go to my house and do a few little things for me."

I was hesitant.

She pressed on. "My husband is a good man. He looks cold, but he’s kind and gentle, and he’s a total pushover once you get to know him."

"Don't be scared, sweetie. I'll be right there with you."

"Before I died, I stashed away a debit card. It was my secret little slush fund. If you agree to help me, the card is yours!"

"It has ten million, seven hundred twenty-two thousand, four hundred and eleven dollars on it!"

Damn. She had it down to the dollar. It had to be real.

I was tempted. Insanely tempted.

I'm the "other" daughter of the wealthy Peterson family. And while I have the name, I'm treated worse than the maids. I'm the product of an affair, a stain on the family's reputation that everyone wishes would just disappear. I was desperate to get away from them, to leave the country and go to college, but that required money. Lots of it.

After weighing my options, I gritted my teeth and agreed.