"Then who did it?" Sara's voice lowered. Both her palms pressed flat against the table, holding the room steady.
"Me." Rechel said it like a whisper at first. Then her hands closed into fists.
"I did it."
Julian's jaw tightened. He knew exactly where this was heading, but he held it in.
Sara glanced at him once, then quietly said: "Go on."
Rechel's fists trembled as she tried to pull the words out of herself.
"It started after Martha called me that day. We don't talk often… but for the past two weeks she kept calling. Talking about her relationship, her boyfriend, her family situation. I didn't think much of it. I thought it would settle down. That she'd figure things out."
Her voice softened, but the tremor beneath it grew. "But then I saw him that night."
She swallowed sharply. "Raul Vasquez. He was standing near Hector's car in the crash. I didn't know what happened at first. I thought… maybe it was an accident. Just a horrible accident."
Her shoulders throbbed with tension. "But the way he looked at me."
Her voice cracked. "That look told me everything. He recognised me. And I knew… he'd come for me next."
Sara's brows lowered. Julian didn't interrupt.
Rechel forced herself to continue. "Martha had told me enough about him… about her family falling apart… about how unstable everything was. When he looked at me like that, it all made sense. I didn't want it to. But it did."
Her hands opened, fingers stiff from shaking. "I didn't know what to do. Who to trust. Who to tell?"
Her eyes softened, almost guilty. "But he was with me then. Mike."
She breathed shakily. "He told me not to be afraid. That he'd take care of it. And he told me what to do next. So… I did. I went to the hospital and took Hector's blood."
Sara and Julian exchanged a glance.
Rechel went on. "Next day, Mike took me to where Raul was. He had… already abducted him. I was shocked. Terrified. But I thought maybe this was the only way to make him admit everything."
Her voice steadied, strangely calm now. "I talked to Raul. Told him to accept what he did. To tell the truth. But he denied everything. Said he just wanted to talk with Martha's father, and things got out of hand."
She shook her head, eyes firm. "But I knew he wasn't innocent. I knew he wouldn't let me go after what I saw. And I kept thinking… What about Martha? She loved him. How would she survive this? How would she carry the fact that the person she trusted killed her family?"
Rechel lifted her gaze to Sara. "I couldn't let her break like that."
She drew one breath. "So I made a decision. I would keep everything to myself. And I did what needed to be done."
"You're sure you're the one who did all of this?" Julian asked finally.
"Yes."Rechel nodded once.
"It was all me."
"And this Mike guy… he just watched you?" Julian leaned forward slightly. Voice deep enough to cut through her calm. "He never questioned anything?"
Rechel's breath caught for a moment. "He told me to stop. Once."
Her eyes dropped to her fingers. "But I wanted to keep going. I told him to back out… but he didn't want to leave me alone."
Her voice thinned. "He said it was payment. For letting him stay." She paused a little. "I extracted Raul's blood myself. He just… stood there. Watching. Not judging. Not stopping me. I think he understood me more than anyone ever did."
"Yeah. Little too much understanding," Julian muttered under his breath.
Rechel didn't hear it. Or pretended not to.
Sara stepped forward, her voice soft but steady.
"You're being lied to."
"You think I am lying?"
The ghost said it like he was tired of repeating himself. A small crack in the voice, disappointment all over his face.
Simon didn't answer.
"And here I thought you could understand."
He snorted softly. "But you're just like the rest. Pretending. Acting like you see the whole picture."
He paused for a moment. Then softly, "Guess I wasted time here."
"I cannot understand unless you tell me the truth," Simon said quietly.
"So you want the truth, huh?" The ghost's gaze sharpened a little. "Fine."
He stepped once. Dust shifted around his boots.
"How long do you think it has been since everyone thought I was dead? Since every trace of me disappeared? Since I didn't even remember myself."
He tapped the gun lightly against his own shoulder. An unforgettable habit. "You know the first thing I did after waking up? I killed a whole fucking family."
Simon's fingers twitched slightly.
"I didn't know why. I didn't even know who I was. No memories. No name. Nothing. Just… moving. Doing. Because somebody wanted me to."
He exhaled. "No one knew me. Not even me.
But I had one thing to hold on to so I wouldn't just vanish."
His eyes flickered to Simon again.
"I killed more. Again and again. Every time I thought maybe I'd remember something… there was nothing. Just blank. Like my brain refused to put anything on the page."
He paused. "But then I got the things that belonged to me."
His gaze moved to Simon's pocket. "The watch. And the pendant. The photo of us. That was the first time I thought… maybe I wasn't created out of thin air."
He looked down. Then up. "I searched every day. For answers. For someone who remembered me. For anything." His voice lowered.
"And I found you."
Simon's breath tightened for a moment.
"But I realised quickly… I wasn't supposed to know. I wasn't supposed to exist like this."
The ghost's hand tightened on the gun for a second. "What I did afterwards… it wasn't something I would've done before. Whoever I used to be… he wouldn't kill like that."
He smiled faintly. Tired and emptiness. "I killed more people than we ever saved."
He paused again. Then softly words escaped his mouth.
"I was tired, Simon. Really tired."
He blinked slowly. "Then I met her. Rechel. And for the first time since waking up… someone looked at me like I was still human."
His voice steadied. "So I helped her."
"You used her." Simon said it calmly. Correcting him.
The ghost didn't react at first.
"Did i?" A thin smirk pulled at his mouth. "If that's what you want believe then it's alright for me."
Simon's gaze didn't move.
The ghost stepped closer, boots brushing through dust.
"But that's just wrong. Very wrong." Ghost said. "I never forced her. Not even once. She did what she felt right. It was her decision."
"That's what you wanted her to believe." Simon's tone stayed flat.
"Yeah, because that's the truth." Ghost shrugged. "I didn't push her hands. I didn't hold the injection. I didn't tell her who to blame."
He paused.
"But human minds are very fragile things, you know that right?"
The ghost went on, voice lower now.
"I didn't have to force her." He tilted his head, smiling faintly. "She was already standing at the edge of the abyss. All I did was let her see clearly."
Simon's jaw tightened.
"She asked me what she should do," the ghost continued. "So I asked her questions. Simple things. What she wanted. What she feared. What she couldn't forgive."
He stepped closer, dust rising around his boots again. "I didn't say 'Kill Raul.'" He shook his head. "It was all her Idea, seriously."
His gaze locked onto Simon. "People always think they need orders. But give them a mirror and they'll show you exactly what kind of monster they already are."
Silence filled around them. The air turned colder again.
"You guided her," Simon said quietly.
"I showed her what she already wanted," the ghost corrected. "Is that guiding? Maybe. Is that forcing? Never."
"You manipulated her."
The ghost gave a short humorless laugh. "Come on. Don't pretend you haven't done the same. You think your team became who they are by some miracle accident?"
Simon didn't answer.
"You don't give orders either," the ghost said. "You just walk in, stare quietly, and let them decide what path to take. They think it's their idea. Every time."
He took a slow breath.
"So tell me," he whispered. "Is there a difference between you and me?"
"Because I know." Simon said calmly. "One day they'll understand everything."
"Yeah." He said half heartedly, as if getting bored. "I just hope it won't be too late."
Simon blinked once. "Why did you show up now?"
Rechel looked at the table first.Then at Sara. Then finally at Julian.
"I tried," she said softly. Her throat moved. "It didn't work."
Julian frowned. "Didn't work?"
Rechel nodded once. "I kept thinking everything was finished," she said. "That it was over. That I did what I had to do. That no one else needed to know."
She drew a shaky breath. "But when I woke up today… I realised something."
"Which is?" Sara asked.
Rechel swallowed hard. "I can't live with it," she whispered.
"Not like this. Not pretending. Not hiding. I keep seeing their faces every night. Hector. Raul. Martha. My family. All of them."
Her fingers curled into fists. "And if I don't tell someone… it'll eat me alive."
She lifted her eyes. "That's why I'm here."
Julian waited. He knew there's more than that.
Rechel exhaled slowly. "When I mentioned this to Mike. He told me to come here."
Sara's eyes narrowed just a little. "What?"
Rechel nodded. "Yeah. He said, 'I know some people who can understand this best.' And gave me an address to this place. Also when you enter the building, tell your name to anyone inside, and ask that, you want to meet Sara."
Perfect. Julian remarked with a faint shrug.
Sara's fist tightened a little. But she swallowed. "What did he say exactly?"
Rechel's gaze dropped to her hands twisting in her lap. "He said that I'll be here for you as long as you want, but it's not gonna help anyone. If I kept hiding. It'll only get worse from here. Not just for me… But for Martha. For everyone."
She looked up again. Her eyes were red.
"So I came," she said. "Because he told me this is where the truth should go."
"And you guys know exactly what to do with it."