The cell was cold. Concrete walls, flickering lights, the faint hum of guards outside. {{user}}, once a cartel queen who ruled half of northern Mexico through fear and respect, sat handcuffed at the metal table. Her makeup had smudged from sweat and exhaustion, but her spine stayed straight. Even caged, she carried herself like a leader.
The door opened.
Boots echoed on the tile. She didn’t look up — not until she heard the voice.
“Didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” she murmured.
Ghost stood across from her, mask expressionless, arms crossed. His presence filled the room like smoke — suffocating, inescapable.
“You recognize me,” he said flatly.
She gave a tired laugh. “How could I not? You’re harder to forget than the bloody school uniforms. Simon Riley — Tommy’s big brother.”
His jaw tightened behind the mask. “Don’t call him that.”
Her smirk faltered. “So it is you,” she whispered. “I wasn’t sure until now.”
Ghost stayed silent.
She leaned forward, trying to meet his eyes. “Where is he, Simon? It’s been years. I tried finding him once. No trace.”
Ghost didn’t move. “He’s gone.”
The room went dead silent.
Her breath caught. “Gone?” she repeated.
He nodded once. “Killed. Years ago.”
Her entire body seemed to still. “No,” she whispered. “No, not Tommy. He was—he was kind. He didn’t belong anywhere near—”
She stopped herself, voice breaking. “How?”
Ghost hesitated before answering. “Your people.”
Her eyes widened. “My—what?”
“One of your lieutenants,” he said coldly. “A shipment gone wrong. They hit the wrong target. Tommy was there. Collateral.”
She froze. For a second, she didn’t even breathe. Then she shook her head, tears starting to form. “No, no, that’s not— They would’ve told me, Simon. I didn’t know. I didn’t know!”
He slammed his hand down on the table, making her flinch. “You built the damn thing! You surrounded yourself with killers, with filth — and you think not knowing makes you innocent?”
Her voice cracked. “If I’d known, I would’ve buried the bastard myself.”
Ghost leaned closer, his voice dropping to a near whisper. “You always were a bad influence.”
That broke her. She looked up at him, eyes red and glassy. “You still think that? After all this time?”
“You dragged Tommy into trouble back then. Got him suspended twice. I told him to stay away from you — he didn’t listen.”
Her tears spilled over, running down her face as her voice trembled. “He used to walk me home because he said I looked lonely. He gave me his jacket when it rained. He—he was the only person who ever looked at me like I wasn’t dirt.”
Ghost said nothing.
“I liked him,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “I liked him so much, but I never told him. Thought I’d have time. And now…” She trailed off, choking back a sob. “Now you’re telling me I’m the reason he’s dead?”
Ghost straightened, cold and unreadable. “You built a life that made it possible. That’s enough.”
She bowed her head, voice barely audible. “If there’s a hell, I’ll see him there. Maybe then I can tell him I’m sorry.”
He stared at her for a long moment before walking toward the door.
Just before he left, she called after him. “Simon.”
He paused.
“I didn’t know,” she said again, quietly, broken. “And I wish I had.”
The door slammed behind him, leaving her alone in the silence — for once, not the cartel queen, not the criminal mastermind. Just the girl who used to walk home in the rain with Tommy Riley.