Chapter 133: Omen
[Welcome Back, Ghost.]
For a moment, Ashley just stared at the screen and at the familiar greeting she used to see. It stirred a mix of emotions in her heart, especially since she thought she would never go back to this.
"Welcome back, huh?" she muttered as she dragged the chair and sat down.
"I guess... I am back."
After her last mission for the Di Carpios — the time she was arrested and released, lived by herself for a while, thinking Marshal had finally lost interest in her, only for Scott to appear out of nowhere, telling her she was getting married — she told herself she would put everything behind her.
Not just the life she was forced to live, the hate, the bitterness, the sins she committed for her own survival — but everything. That included this persona, Ghost, whom she created for many reasons. One of which was so her father wouldn’t have another reason to keep her.
If Marshal knew she was more than capable, instead of being just a lucky, persistent daughter of a whore, there was no way he would let her go. If anything, he would squeeze her dry and would only let her go if she were dead.
But it had been a while.
Two lifetimes.
Ashley had almost forgotten the identity she created in her previous life because she was stubborn. Also, because Lucian cut her off from any online access.
Even in this life, she was reluctant to become the ghost of herself again. However, it was necessary.
Why?
Because... Lucian and Primo were in danger.
"In my previous life, Lucian was ambushed, and around this time, he was still recovering," she whispered as she rubbed her chin, thinking about the original timeline. "Although a lot of things have changed... I still have to be sure."
Compared to the original timeline,
some things had changed. The things that didn’t happen, happened. Like that ball Shyaan hosted — that didn’t happen in the original timeline. Well, that was because in her previous life, she didn’t meet Liza, Tommy, Shyaan, Ramirez, and the others.
Silvestre never appeared in her life as well. If anything, she lived and died not knowing what happened to that boy.
Not to mention, Lucian should be critically injured around this time.
It worried her.
Because in her previous life, since Lucian was down, his enemies would try to "finish" the job one after another.
Even if she managed to avoid that, she could not lower her guard. Not when White Serpent — somehow — was eyeing Dominion.
She could not recall White Serpent crossing paths with Dominion in the past. It was always the other organizations and mafia families.
So why?
Was it really because Silvestre found out that Ashley was the young girl from his past? Was that really all it was?
"I wanted to believe that’s all of it," she whispered. "But after thinking about it, my gut tells me not to lower my guard."
The attacks on Lucian after he was injured might change; they could happen or not. After all, back then, it was to "finish" the job. But even so, the underground world was an unpredictable current. The tides could change in the blink of an eye, and she could not afford to be complacent.
With that, Ashley drew a deep breath and nodded to herself.
"Ghost is necessary," she whispered as she reached out for the monitor. "Just until I’m sure... I don’t need this name anymore."
With that, her fingers tapped on the keys until she was redirected to this private server. Ashley worked on the laptop for minutes, her fingers moving nonstop as she did final checks to keep her location untraceable. Once she was certain no one could track her, she delved deep into the dark web, private servers, and underground sites.
DING!
As she was checking the current affairs in the underground market and what interested the crime world at the moment, a sudden notification popped up on her screen.
[Ghost! Ghost! Ghost! Woooo! It’s a ghost!]
Her lips curved down as she saw a nameless chat suddenly appear on her screen.
"This guy... that’s quick." She clicked her tongue and opened the chat box.
The message came from a blank sender. However, Ashley knew exactly who it was. There was only one person in the underground who could trace her — not her location — but know if Ghost was around.
Omen — the greatest underground hacker of his time.
This guy was so talented that even though he was a criminal, international government agencies would contract him for assistance. He was also highly sought after by cybersecurity companies for quality testing.
It was just that... despite his achievements, this guy wouldn’t leave her (Ghost) alone. All because of one game she used to play — the game where he used to be number one, and somehow, Ashley managed to beat him. Omen couldn’t accept it, and since then, he had kept bothering her.
It was also the reason she was confident she could thrash Primo, but she never won against him.
"I’m getting rusty, I guess." Her face twisted at the thought. "That stupid game. How could Lucian even beat me with that??"
Or rather, she was simply playing a game that required less of her usual play style — the same play style that made Omen her... disciple.
[Ghost! Ghost! Don’t ignore me! If you can hear me, move the glass.]
Again, Ashley clicked her tongue and finally responded.
[Ghost: Sup]
[Ah! A ghost noticed me! I need an exorcist!]
She deadpanned, and instead of replying, she opened a new tab to block him. The chat box disappeared after a few seconds, but Ashley wasn’t relieved. She knew the guy had his ways, and just as expected, a minute later, another chat box appeared right in the middle of her screen.
[Ghost! How could you block me like that?!]
[Ghost: Busy.]
[Aw, man. What the heck? When did you get busy?]
"Does he think I don’t have a life like him?" Her frown deepened, and she chose to ignore him as she scrolled through the underground market.
She found a few assassination requests and even a request to find Ghost with a large reward. However, it wasn’t a bounty — rather, a request to locate her so they could hire her for whatever they needed.
"You know... he’d get rich if he just took these requests," she whispered, thinking Omen was the only person who could find her online. But these listings had been sitting untouched for over a year.
DING!
[Master — waaa! Don’t ignore me!]
Again, Omen’s chat appeared, this time filled with crying emoticons.
She stared at it, knowing this guy wouldn’t stop no matter what. If anything, he would just spam her until she responded or went offline.
She huffed.
[Ghost: Do something for me.]
[... no...?]
[Ghost: There’s an incident not long ago that involved Dominion and their partner, Patrick. Find out who else is involved and the master puppeteer.]
[I said I don’t want to! Also, Dominion?! You’re eyeing a very big fish — ah, no, not a fish. It’s the shark you want... no, a WHALE! No way in hell I’d mess with those guys!]
[Ghost: I’ll give you the SSS+ headgear I have.]
[SAY LESS.]
With that, the chat box went completely silent. Ashley continued browsing through different pieces of information, including any mention of Dominion, Lucian, and classified intel on who else might be targeting them.
Her expression sharpened as she whispered, "Don’t forget... how you got back in here."
Five years later, Lucian would be dead — assassinated.
And then, hours after that, she would be stabbed to death.
She had to figure out who was behind it, because her gut told her that all the attacks — from the first ambush to everything that followed — were all connected.