The Man Who Found His Ghost

son

No. It couldn't be. My fist slammed down on the mahogany d

amiliar even to my own ears. "You're mistake

eyes wide with terror. He had delivered the news, trembling. "Sir... the reports are confirmed.

e we have! She's out there! She's always been a coward, she would never take her own life like this!" My mind,

a grim shadow. The scene was apocalyptic. Twisted metal, scorched earth, the acrid smell of burnt plastic

eyes, trying to catch a phantom scent, a wisp of her un

ith sorrow. "Mr. Holland, I'm truly sorry. The impact was cat

" I said, my voice hoarse. "And... she wears a s

aven't recovered anything ident

soot, approached the chief, holding something in a plastic evidence bag. "Chief, we foun

n looked at me, a flicker of understanding in

The intricate carving of the Holland crest, a delicate lion rampant, was still visible on the one side not completely consumed

mouth. He looked at me, his eyes wid

etal was still faintly warm, retaining some residual heat from the inferno. And then I smelled it. Beneath the stench of smoke

whatever fragile hope I had clung to. The ring.

t known I possessed. I dropped to my knees, the ground cold and unforgiving beneath me. The physica

pital table, flashed through my m

ore

words. The ten years of neglect. The public humiliations. The way I had dismissed her love, her loyalty, her very presence. I had pushed her away, tim

world around me faded into a dull, featureless landscape. All that remained was her face, her gent

lea on my lips. My voice cracked, raw with

safe, the corporate threats seemingly averted by my parents' swift action following Jamiya's "warning." But I had sacrificed the

y alone, adrift in an ocean of my own making. My u