Bound To The Billionaire's Guilt

The third year after my death, my husband sent me a lawsuit.

He was suing me. The papers alleged that the kidney I had donated to his childhood sweetheart, Olivia, was defective. He, of course, received no response.

To force me out of hiding, he held a press conference, publicly transferring twenty percent of his company's shares to her.

When that failed, he finally drove back to my hometown, his patience exhausted.

Our old neighbor was baffled. Maya? We haven't seen her since her grandfather passed.

He pounded on my family's door, his fury a palpable thing.

My sister was the one who opened it.

Ethan? Don't you know? My sister has been dead for two years.

1

The man, my husband, jammed his hands into the pockets of his tailored slacks. A derisive laugh escaped his lips. What new game is Maya playing now? Faking her death? Trying to make me feel guilty?

His voice was laced with ice. She had the nerve to drive her car at Olivia two years ago. All I did was cut off her credit cards, and she throws a tantrum like this? He shook his head, a muscle ticking in his jaw. If Olivias kidney hadn't started acting up today, I never would have forgiven her.

My sister Chloe's brow furrowed, her expression a mixture of grief and disbelief. My sister has been dead for two years. What are you talking about, you forgive her? Thats insane.

Ethan ignored Chloe completely, his gaze shifting past her into the small house. A flash of white fur caught his eye; our little dog, Buddy, was wagging his tail.

Don't even try to lie to me, Ethan scoffed. Buddy's here. Where could Maya have possibly gone?

He lowered his voice, the sound a low threat. You tell her I'm giving her an out. If she doesn't take it, she can stay gone forever.

As if he understood, Buddy limped forward, barking twice at Ethan's expensive shoes. Chloe reached down, scooping the little dog into her arms to soothe him. But it was too late. Buddy's tongue lolled out, and his small body was seized by violent, spasming convulsions.

Chloe scrambled, frantically searching for the small oxygen tank and the tongue depressor. Seeing Buddy like that, a fissure of pain cracked through my soul. I instinctively reached out, my ghostly arms trying to embrace him.

But they passed right through his trembling body.

The cold reality washed over me again. I wasn't in this world anymore. I could never hold my loved ones again.

A look of disgust twisted Ethans handsome features. Damn dog. You want me to kick you again?

Two years ago, in a fight over Olivia, Ethan had slapped me across the face. Buddy, ever loyal, had sunk his teeth into Ethan's leg. Ethan had kicked him so hard he flew across the room. The attack had left Buddy with permanent damage to his right leg and these terrifying stress-induced seizures.

Ethans voice dropped to a low warning. I'll say it one last time. Get Maya out here. Now.

She's dead! Chloes voice was a raw, desperate scream. And even if she were alive, she would never want to see you again! Id make her stay away from you, find a good man, and build a life that had absolutely nothing to do with you!

Ethan didn't believe a word of it.

So that's it? He sneered. She's shacked up with some other guy behind my back? Just like Olivia said. A cheap, faithless woman. I must have been blind to ever marry her.

The words struck me like a physical blow, tearing through the fabric of my spirit. So, this is what it felt like. Even in death, your heart could still break. He and his perfect Olivia had already pushed me to my grave, and still, he stood here, desecrating my memory with his filth. The agony was a wildfire in my soul, scorching me from the inside out.

How dare you, Chloe choked out, tears streaming down her face. Get out. Get out of our house!

Ethans eyes, cold and hard, swept over her. Your house? Every brick and board of this place was paid for by me, Ethan Blackwood. Didn't your sister tell you? Even the money for your deadbeat brother's weddingthat came from my pocket.

It was true. Ethan had been our familys twisted savior. When my mother was dying, he'd paid the medical bills that saved her life. When my brothers fiance got pregnant and her family pressured her to have an abortion, Ethan had provided the money that allowed them to marry, the money that allowed my nephew to be born.

And so, in his mind, everything I gave, everything he took, was simply a debt being repaid.

What he never knew, what he never bothered to ask, was that I was born with only one kidney. The doctor who did my pre-donation physical, the one who was supposed to protect me, had been bought off by Olivia long before.

I only found out on the operating table.

The anesthesiologist, in on the scheme, had given me half the standard dose. I drifted in and out of a hazy, paralyzed consciousness, a silent witness to my own violation. I heard them chatting idly as they worked. I felt the searing pain as they removed my only healthy kidney, replacing it with a cold, mechanical device that was a torture chamber inside my own body.

After the surgery, a severe infection took hold. Complications followed with terrifying speed. Less than two weeks later, I was dead.

And all the while, Ethan was by Olivia's side, whispering comforting words, tending to her recovery, never once thinking of me.

Chloe was sobbing now, her composure shattered. Mr. Blackwood, if you don't believe me, then go to the hospital where she had the surgery! Go and ask them!

They have my sister's death certificate!

Ethan let out a cold, humorless laugh. I already did. They told me she was discharged without any complications. You can't even get your lies straight.

That wasn't what happened. I died in that hospital. They couldn't save me. But a simple lie, one that could be disproven with a single phone call, was all it took for Ethan to believe what he wanted to believe.

Ethan Blackwood! You dare show your face here!

A new voice, low and shaking with rage, cut through the tension. My brother, Leo, stood in the doorway, his eyes burning red.

2

Leo had just gotten home from his construction job, his face streaked with grime and exhaustion. But the weariness was eclipsed by the inferno of fury in his eyes.

I've paid back every cent we owed you, he growled. What the hell are you still doing here?

Ethan calmly took a cigarette from the pack his assistant offered him, leaning into the flame. Smoke curled around his face, obscuring his expression. Leo. Your family leeched off my wife, and through her, you leeched off me. Do you really think a debt like that can ever be 'paid in full'?

A flicker of pain crossed Leo's face. He looked down, his voice a low murmur. You're right. I was a burden to her. But you you have no right to say that to me.

He lunged forward, grabbing the collar of Ethans expensive shirt. I was the only one who told her not to marry you. She knelt on our doorstep for a day and a night to get my blessing His voice broke. And what was the result? You shattered her heart. You got her killed! You should be off somewhere with your precious Olivia, living happily ever after. You have no business being here, disturbing her spirit!

Ethan! You're a piece of garbage, worse than an animal!

Ethans face hardened. He calmly pressed the glowing tip of his cigarette onto the back of Leo's hand.

Flesh sizzled. Leo! Chloe screamed.

It was just a kidney, Ethan said, his voice dangerously quiet. I gave her ten million dollars for it. What kind of garbage is that generous? He shoved Leo back. She agreed to it herself. Don't you dare try to blame me now.

Leo cradled his burned hand. What ten million? The fifty thousand for the wedding and the half-million for Mom's treatment, I paid it all back! Stop spewing your lies!

You took the money and now you deny it. Is everyone in this family so disgusting? Ethans patience snapped. He gestured to the black-suited men who had been waiting silently by his car. Grab them. Let the dogs out. Time to teach them some manners.

Panic seized me. My spectral form dropped to its knees in a useless plea as the security guards stormed the house, surrounding my family. Vicious, slobbering dogs, bred for fighting, were unleashed from the back of an SUV. They lunged. My brother shielded my sister, but Buddy was too small, too slow. He was torn apart in a blur of fur and blood.

No! Stop! Please, stop! I shrieked, but no one could hear me. Tears of blood streamed down my face. Only Buddy, in his final moments, looked up, his dying eyes seeming to find mine.

My Buddy. You knew I was here the whole time, didn't you?

And all I could do was watch him die.

That was just a small lesson, Ethan snarled, his face a mask of rage. You have three days. Tell Maya to come back on her own. Otherwise, what happened to that mutt is what happens to you.

The door slammed shut, shaking the small house to its foundations.

He would do it. Years ago, after Id said something unflattering about Olivia, he had systematically destroyed my family's business, driving my father into a stress-induced illness from which he never recovered. When it came to protecting Olivia, Ethan was a force of nature, destroying anything and anyone in his path.

For two years, my soul has been tethered to him by the ghost of that stolen kidney. It is a fate more agonizing than any hell I could have imagined.

Downstairs, in his car, his phone rang. The name on the screen was Olivia.

Instantly, the rage vanished from Ethan's face, replaced by a soft tenderness.

Hey, Liv. What's up?

My spirit was pulled along, an invisible passenger. I watched him, my heart aching as his entire demeanor changed.

Ethan, honey, Olivia's voice purred through the speaker. Is Maya still hiding from us? A delicate, fake cough. It's all my fault. My body is so weak, it couldn't even handle the rejection. I ruined the beautiful kidney she gave me. I bet she'll never agree to give me another one

Her cloying, manipulative tone made me want to vomit.

Don't be silly, Ethan cooed. How could you say that? We'll get her the best bio-printed artificial kidney on the market. She'll do it whether she wants to or not. He laughed. The doctors said your body can only accept a living transplant. Maya works out all the time, she's as strong as an ox. She's been living just fine with an artificial one, hasn't she?

He spent another thirty minutes soothing her before he reluctantly hung up.

Just then, another assistant, a younger man, knocked on the car window.

Mr. Blackwood, sir. An anonymous email just came through. It's a death certificate

Ethan raised an eyebrow. Whose?

It's it's for Ms. Maya.

3

Ethan took the printed document from his assistant with an air of casual indifference. My name, Maya, was clearly typed across the top.

He let out a short, sharp laugh. Maya, you really are something else. Forging a death certificate just to avoid me? Do you really think that's going to work?

The assistant hesitated. Sir, I don't think it's a forgery. I ran a check with the county clerk's office, and the police department confirmed it as well

Enough! Ethan cut him off, his voice sharp with irritation. It's obviously another one of her little games. She wants me to regret what I did. She can dream on.

He jabbed a finger at the man. Find her. I don't care where she's hiding. Tear this state apart inch by inch if you have to, but you will find her.

The assistant sighed, nodding meekly. Yes, Mr. Blackwood.

A week passed.

The assistant returned, his face pale and unsettled.

Sir, the private investigators have reported back. They've they've confirmed Ms. Maya's death. The body was cremated at the municipal funeral home. Her brother, Leo, signed for the ashes. There's no mistake.

Ethans brow furrowed. Bullshit! Maya loves life more than anyone I know. She'd never just give up and die. This is the woman who went on some crazy spiritual quest in the desert just to find some miracle cure for a damn fever!

A bitter laugh escaped my spectral form. He had no idea. That trip to the New Mexico desert wasn't for me.

That year, Ethan had contracted a rare, aggressive infection on a business trip to South America. The best doctors, the strongest antibioticsnothing could break his fever. I heard a rumor about a reclusive herbalist in a remote desert community who had an ancient remedy. I drove for days, then hiked for miles into the mountains, the high altitude leaving me dizzy and breathless, on the verge of collapse.

But I found the old woman in her isolated cabin. I got the remedy.

And whether it was the herbs or my desperate faith, I'll never know, but after he took it, Ethan's fever broke.

And he thought I did it all for myself. The irony was almost funny.

The assistant looked deeply uncomfortable. But sir, I hired two separate firms. They both came back with the same result. It's possible that Ms. Maya really is

Bullshit! Ethan slammed his fist on his desk. I know her better than that! She's relentless. She never gives up until she gets what she wants, and she was determined to be stuck to me for the rest of our lives.

A cruel, knowing smile spread across his face. Maybe she knew her kidney was failing all along. She's playing dead to avoid taking responsibility. I bet she's off somewhere right now, laughing her ass off.

The assistant was stunned into silence. But sir, that's that's incredibly dramatic.

Ethan's smile widened. She was the star of the drama club in college, remember? Faking her own death is right up her alley. She's a professional.

The assistant had no response.

So, Mr. Blackwood, he finally managed. Should I tell them to continue the investigation?

Ethan lit another cigarette, blowing a perfect smoke ring. Yes. I want to know exactly which funeral home, which crematorium. I want to know where the ashes are buried.

He took a long drag, his eyes glinting. I want to see just how perfect Maya's little performance really is.

I stood behind him, this man I had loved for seven years, and felt the last embers of my affection turn to ice. My soul felt a little more transparent, a little more faded.

Another week went by. The assistant came to report, his expression grim. He placed a file on Ethan's desk.

I found it. Ms. Maya was cremated at the City Central Funeral Home. The date of cremation was two years ago. He took a deep breath. Her ashes are interred at Green Hills Memorial Park, just outside the city. Section C, row six, plot eight.

The groundskeeper confirmed it. Her brother and sister visit every year on her birthday.

Ethans face was a thundercloud. Well, well, he whispered, his lips barely moving. She really thought of everything.

He shot up from his chair, his movements sharp and violent. You're really committed to hiding from me, aren't you, Maya?

He strode towards the door. Let's go. We're taking a drive to Green Hills.

4

I was a freshman in college when that photo was taken. My smile was shy, my eyes full of a hopeful, uncomplicated light.

Ethan stood frozen before the headstone, his gaze locked on that black-and-white image of a girl he barely remembered. His assistant hovered a respectful distance away, not daring to breathe. My soul drifted beside them, a wave of melancholy washing over me as I looked at my own grave. Leo took such good care of it. My mother, broken by grief, had followed me into death the year after I passed.

Dig it up.

Ethans voice was a harsh rasp, making his assistant jump.

Sir? What what did you say?

Are you deaf? I said dig up her grave.

The assistants face went white. Mr. Blackwood, we can't do that! That's that's a desecration! Ms. Maya is gone. Please, let her rest in peace.

Ethan was relentless. If you won't do it, you can pack your things and be out of my company by the end of the day. All of you.

The bodyguards exchanged uneasy glances, but they were paid to obey. With grim faces, they picked up shovels from the groundskeeper's shed and began to dig.

Ethan watched, his eyes never leaving the disturbed earth, until the shovels struck something hard. A small, simple urn was lifted from the ground.

He snatched it from the bodyguard's hands and wrenched the lid open. I saw his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed hard, a tense exhalation of breath just before his hands moved. The assistant and the bodyguards respectfully looked away.

A sound cut through the quiet cemeterya laugh. It was sharp, triumphant, and utterly devoid of warmth.

Hahahaha! I knew it! I knew she was playing me! Maya, let's see you act your way out of this one!

The assistant, bewildered, glanced at the urn. His jaw dropped.

It's empty.

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