Chapter 280: Be happy... forever!!
The silence after her question did not break.
It deepened.
It grew heavier with every second that passed.
"Why...?"
Chloe Moreau’s voice trembled, her entire body shaking as if the world beneath her feet had shattered and she was still trying to stand on the broken pieces.
Louis Moreau opened his mouth, his voice struggling to form.
"It is a..."
But before the truth could escape, Ghost’s eyes lifted.
Just for a moment.
And he shook his head.
A silent plea.
Do not say it.
Louis froze.
The words died in his throat.
Chloe stepped forward.
Her hands slammed against Ghost’s chest, again and again, her strength weak but her pain overwhelming.
"Why did you do it, Kai?" she cried, her voice breaking apart. "I loved you... I trusted you..."
Her hands clutched onto his shirt.
Then she collapsed into him, burying her face against his chest, sobbing uncontrollably, her cries echoing through the room like something that could never be repaired.
Ghost did not move.
His arms did not rise.
He did not hold her.
He simply stood there.
Taking it.
Letting it pierce through him.
Then slowly... she pushed herself away.
She stepped back, her eyes red, searching his face desperately.
"Tell me it is a lie..." she whispered. "Tell me you did not do this..."
Her voice rose, desperation turning into accusation.
"You did all of that to reach my dad, did you not? You used me... all this time..."
Her lips trembled.
"The love... was that fake too?"
Ghost lowered his gaze.
He said nothing.
And in that silence...
Every accusation became truth.
Every wound became deeper.
Because he did not deny it.
He could not.
If she learned that her grandfather had pulled the trigger...
She would lose everything.
Not just her father.
Her last remaining family.
He could not take that from her.
So he accepted it.
All of it.
Chloe’s breathing grew heavier, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
"Why are you silent?" she shouted, tears streaming endlessly. "You betrayed me... you killed him... for what? Money? Why?"
The word echoed.
Why.
But Ghost had no answer he could give her.
No truth she could survive.
She turned suddenly and ran inside, her sobs trailing behind her like a storm that refused to end.
The room fell into a painful stillness.
Louis looked at Ghost.
At the boy standing there.
At the silence that held more pain than any scream.
"Why?" Louis asked, his voice breaking.
Ghost did not look at him immediately.
When he did, his eyes were wet.
"Because it is all because of me," he said quietly. "I was wrong from the beginning."
Louis shook his head.
"No... you are not. I will tell her the truth."
Ghost’s head snapped up.
"No."
His voice cracked.
For the first time.
Tears rolled down his face freely now.
"Please do not..." he whispered. "So what if that man betrayed his country... he was still her father... the only person she loved more than anything..."
His voice trembled, barely holding together.
"Do not take that away from her... do not make her lose the last person she has left..."
He swallowed hard.
"I am the outsider... the one who never belonged in her world... the one who should have never fallen in love..."
His shoulders lowered.
"My world is different... I cannot look into her eyes anymore... I do not deserve that..."
His voice softened, filled with regret.
"She was happy... innocent... and I ruined everything today."
He looked straight at Louis.
"Promise me... you will never tell her the truth."
Louis stood still.
Torn.
"I cannot..."
Ghost stepped closer.
"Promise me, Mr. Louis."
The weight of his words pressed down like a final decision.
Before Louis could answer...
The door opened again.
Chloe walked back in.
Her eyes were swollen.
Her face pale.
In her hands... a box.
She did not say a word.
She walked forward.
And threw it.
The box hit the ground in front of Ghost and burst open.
Everything spilled out.
The small gifts.
The memories.
The pieces of a time that now felt like a lie.
They scattered across the floor.
Broken.
Just like her.
Chloe dropped to her knees beside her father.
She leaned forward, resting her head against his chest.
Her voice that followed could not be described.
It was grief.
It was loss.
It was something that words could never carry.
Then slowly, she turned her head.
Toward her grandfather.
"Grandpa..."
Louis held her tightly.
"Yes... yes, dear..."
She raised her hand.
Without looking at Ghost.
"Tell him... Kai... or whatever his name is..."
Her voice hardened.
"To get out of here."
Her eyes shut tightly as her voice rose.
"Get out before I call the cops."
There was something hidden beneath those words.
Something she refused to show.
Something that still lingered.
But it was buried too deep under the pain.
The security personnel stepped closer, reacting to her command.
Louis raised his hand slightly.
A signal.
Do nothing.
Ghost stood still for a moment.
Then slowly...
He knelt down.
One by one...
He picked up the scattered items.
Carefully.
Gently.
As if they still held meaning.
As if they still mattered.
Among them... her diary.
The pages that carried her feelings.
Her memories.
Her love.
The things she no longer wanted.
Or perhaps...
The things she could not bear to keep.
Louis watched him.
And in that moment, he did not see the feared Ghost.
He saw a boy.
A boy the same age as his granddaughter.
Carrying a pain no one should ever have to carry.
Ghost stood up.
Holding the box.
He looked at Chloe.
One last time.
She was crying in her grandfather’s arms.
Broken.
Unreachable.
He smiled.
A small smile.
A final one.
Then he raised his hand.
A quiet wave.
Goodbye.
He bowed his head slightly toward Louis.
Respect.
Gratitude.
And apology.
Tears filled Louis’s eyes.
But he said nothing.
Ghost turned.
And walked away.
Slowly.
Each step heavier than the last.
The security guards stepped aside.
No one stopped him.
No one spoke.
They simply watched.
Because in that moment...
They had never seen someone so strong.
And so broken.
At the same time.
For a moment, it felt like everything had already ended.
The grief.
The silence.
The unbearable weight in the room.
But fate was not done yet.
The body that lay still near the wall... moved.
The man from Aveline Chevalier’s side, the one Ghost had knocked unconscious earlier, stirred violently as if dragged back from darkness by instinct alone. His hand trembled, then clawed against the floor until his fingers found something cold.
His gun.
In one sudden motion, he rolled, grabbed it, and rose to his feet.
It happened too fast.
Too sudden.
Too wrong.
Every eye turned.
The security reacted, but their reflex came a second too late.
The man lifted the gun.
Not at Ghost.
Not at the guards.
But at them.
At Chloe ... and Louis Moreau.
Time slowed.
Chloe still knelt on the ground, her head resting against her father’s lifeless chest, unaware that death had returned for her once again.
Louis froze, his mind still shattered, unable to react in time.
No one moved.
No one... except him.
The boy who had already lost everything in that moment.
The boy who had accepted blame.
Who had walked away.
Who had no right to turn back anymore.
Ghost’s hand moved before thought could form.
A single motion.
A single breath.
A single shot.
The gunshot echoed like thunder inside the villa.
Sharp.
Final.
The bullet tore through the air and struck the man’s head cleanly.
He collapsed instantly.
More blood spread across the floor.
More death.
More silence.
But this time...
It saved.
Everyone stood frozen.
The guards.
Louis.
Even the air itself felt still.
Slowly... all eyes turned toward Ghost.
He stood there.
Gun in his hand.
Unmoving.
Chloe lifted her head.
Her tear filled eyes widened.
She looked at him.
Not with anger this time.
Not with accusation.
But with something deeper.
Something confused.
Something broken.
Their eyes met.
For a brief second.
A second that carried everything they once had.
Everything they had just lost.
Ghost could not hold it.
His head lowered.
He turned away.
And walked.
No words.
No explanation.
No goodbye this time.
Just silence.
He walked out of the villa.
Each step steady.
Each step empty.
The stairs stretched endlessly beneath him as he descended, the box still in his hands, holding the fragments of a love that no longer existed.
Outside, the world felt distant.
A car approached.
It stopped in front of him.
Marcel stepped out immediately, his expression tense.
"Lead... the black car that passed... Chloe was not in that car."
Ghost said nothing.
Marcel’s voice grew more urgent.
"Lead... where is Gabriel... lead...?"
Before Ghost could respond, his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
Commander.
He answered.
"Ghost, where are you right now," the commander’s voice came through, firm and direct. "The backup team is at the safehouse waiting for you."
Silence.
The kind that stretched too long.
"Ghost?"
Ghost’s voice finally came.
Calm.
Cold.
"Commander... Gabriel Moreau is eliminated... during a confrontation with Aveline’s people... things escalated... I had no choice... I shot him with my own hands."
Marcel looked at him.
He understood.
Everything.
The commander paused.
"What?"
"Do not worry, sir," Ghost continued. "French Intelligence is already involved. They are taking responsibility. I am sorry for stepping out of line."
Another silence.
Then the commander spoke again.
"You did the right thing. I trust your judgment, Ghost."
Ghost closed his eyes.
Tears slipped down silently.
"Ghost, prepare for tomorrow’s mission. We are ending this. Go to your team. Plan the operation."
Ghost opened his eyes again.
But something had changed.
The warmth was gone.
What remained was something colder.
Sharper.
"I will not need them, sir."
A pause.
"I am going now."
His voice dropped.
"Raid Al Nawwar will be executed... tonight... by me."
And he ended the call.
Marcel did not speak.
He simply opened the car door.
Ghost stepped in.
The car moved.
And that night...
The world lost one of its most dangerous shadows.
Morning headlines screamed across nations.
A name feared for years.
Gone.
Assassinated.
Brutally.
No trace of the killer.
No explanation.
Only silence.
And fear.
The end of a monster.
But also...
The end of something far more fragile.
Something that never stood a chance in a world like his.
-End of the flashback-
....
[#....
Dear mom,
Today is the happiest day of my life... you know he confessed to me... I was so nervous when he started speaking but I wanted to hear it so badly... and when he said it... I felt like my heart stopped for a moment... I could not even breathe... I think I have never smiled this much in my life...
.
.
.
Dear mom,
Today he invited me to go to the Eiffel tower together... I am so excited and confused about what to wear... I tried so many dresses but nothing felt right... I want to look perfect tomorrow... I want to look so pretty that I weaken his knees...
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.
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Dear mom,
It was a very beautiful evening... the view from the tower was so magical... we laughed so much... we ate such delicious food... it felt just like those days when it was you, dad and me together... I talked about dad a little... I even told dad about him once before... now I really want them to meet... I am sure dad will like him... he is so kind... so good... I know dad will accept him... I just know it... maybe I will ask dad tomorrow... if he has time...
Love you mom...
Good night....
#]
[A/N: I will be honest... I was in tears while writing this part. It may not be perfect, and maybe I could not fully convey the emotions the way I wanted to... but I promise you this, the story of Chloe and Kai... umm.. Miles... does not end here. Thank you for reading.]