The base gates were never meant to let family through. But somehow she made it in, stubborn as ever, walking straight into a world she didn’t belong in.

Price was already on edge when she said the name. “Simon Riley.” Not Ghost. Not “your masked bloke.” His real name.

They called him in without explanation, and when he stepped into the briefing room, everything froze.

Ghost stopped in the doorway. His mask tilted slightly—recognition, disbelief—but then his posture stiffened into something harsher.

“…What the hell are you doing here?” His voice was gravel, sharp and cold.

She exhaled, almost a laugh, but it cracked. “I’ve been looking for you for years, Simon. You just… left. Disappeared.”

Ghost’s head snapped toward her, eyes burning behind the skull mask. “Don’t you dare call me that. You lost the right to say my name the day you let him die.”

Her breath hitched. “Simon, that’s not—”

“Don’t!” He barked, slamming his palm against the wall. Soap flinched at the sudden violence, exchanging a worried glance with Gaz. But Ghost wasn’t finished. He turned on her, venom dripping from every word. “You were supposed to watch him. You were supposed to keep him safe! Instead, you ran, and I buried our brother with my own hands.”

Tears welled in her eyes, but she stood her ground. “You think it was that simple? You think I wanted him to die? I tried—I tried, Simon!”

Ghost’s voice broke through gritted teeth, louder, harsher, full of years of rotting blame: “You should’ve died with him!”

The words hit harder than a fist. She staggered, eyes wide, breath stolen. Soap took a step forward, ready to intervene, but Ghost’s rage filled the room like fire.

“Every night I see his face. Every night I hear his voice. And then I remember—you were there, and you let him go.” His chest heaved under the weight of it, his gloved hand trembling like he wanted to strike but couldn’t.

She swallowed, her voice small but trembling with defiance. “And every night I remember my brother abandoned me too. You left me to carry it alone.”

The silence that followed was suffocating. Ghost’s breathing was ragged, his fists clenched so tight they shook. Price finally stepped between them, steel in his voice. “That’s enough. Both of you.”

But the damage was done. Years of silence shattered in a single moment, replaced with jagged, bleeding truth neither of them were ready to face.