Tina giggled. “Better bring some holy water.”
Jake added, “At least you won’t go gray from fear — you’re already there.”
I met his eyes. “Keep that sock handy,” I said and grabbed my bag.
At noon, I drove to the house. A young man was waiting by the porch. “Hi, I’m Ethan,” he said.
“Chloe’s still out of town, so I’ll take a look myself.”
“Of course,” I said. “Let’s start inside.”
I walked him through the kitchen, the living room, the upstairs hallway. He seemed genuinely interested, touching the walls, opening doors, asking questions about the neighborhood.
Everything was going smoothly, until a sudden scream echoed through the house. I ran toward it and found Ethan standing in one of the bedrooms, frozen, staring at the far corner. “There’s… someone there,” he whispered.
I followed his gaze. For a second I saw what looked like the faint outline of a woman in white. Then it vanished.
Ethan stepped back, his face pale. “No way. I’m not buying this.
I’m not dying in here.”
He bolted down the stairs before I could stop him. By the time I reached the porch, he was already in his car, speeding off. I stood there for a moment, trying to make sense of it.
Ghosts weren’t real. I went back inside and examined the bedroom. I looked around carefully and noticed a faint line in the wall.
Pressing on it, I found a small hidden door, leading to a narrow closet. Empty. As I turned to leave, something shiny on the floor caught my eye.
I knelt down and picked it up, a single gold earring, modern and elegant. “Ghosts don’t wear jewelry,” I murmured. I slipped it into my pocket and smiled faintly.
Someone wanted me to fail. They’d picked the wrong woman. When I walked into the office the next morning, everyone was already there.
Jake looked up from his desk with a grin. “So, how’d the haunted house tour go?” he asked. “Did Casper make an offer?”
Tina laughed.
“Or did he run off screaming?”
I didn’t answer. I just put my bag down and started working. A few minutes later, while walking back from the restroom, I noticed a framed photo on Jake’s desk, him with a young woman.
I looked closer. The woman was wearing similar gold earrings as the one in my pocket. “Who’s that?” I asked, pointing at the photo.
Jake frowned. “My sister. Why?”
“No reason,” I said quickly and walked back to my desk.
A little later, I heard Jake talking on the phone, his voice sharp and low. “We had a deal,” he hissed. “Just stick to the plan.”
By early afternoon, my phone rang again.
“Hi, it’s Chloe,” the cheerful voice said. “About the house, we’ve talked it over and decided we’ll buy it if the price drops by half. Because of the ghost, you know.”
“Let’s discuss it in person.
Can you meet me there today?”
“Of course,” she said quickly. When I arrived, Chloe and Ethan were already waiting near the porch. I recognized her instantly, the same woman from Jake’s photo.
His sister. I already guessed what was going on, but I decided to play along. “Nice to see you again,” I said.
“Still brave enough to come back?”
Ethan smiled weakly. “We figured we could handle the ghosts if the deal’s good enough.”
I smiled. “You’re right.
The house does have a story behind it. But maybe not the one you’re telling.”
Chloe blinked. “What do you mean?”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the earring.
“You dropped this,” I said, handing it to her. Her hand flew to her ear, one earring was missing. “I found it near the bedroom closet,” I continued.
“Right where your ghost disappeared.”
Ethan froze. “Wait, what?”
I turned to him. “She wasn’t the only one in on it.
You both planned this, didn’t you? A nice little performance so you could get the price you wanted.”
Chloe’s face turned red. “You have no proof.”
“Oh, I have enough,” I said.
“You’re Jake’s sister. He told you everything about that property, didn’t he? You used his inside information and staged a haunting.”
“You should be thanking me!” Chloe shouted.
“Jake was the one who came up with the idea, he wanted us to play along with the rumors so the house would never sell. But we figured, why not use it to our advantage and buy it for half the price instead?”
I smiled. “Here’s what’s going to happen.
I can give you a small discount, and you buy the house legally or I go straight to the police and report both of you for fraud.”
The two of them looked at each other in silence, while I stood there smiling, perfectly calm. An hour later, I walked into the office and dropped the signed papers on Jake’s desk. He stared at them, stunned.
“You didn’t. You actually sold it?”
“Full price,” I said. Patrick came over, scanning the papers.
“Is this the Maple Street house? The one we’ve had for two years?”
Patrick smiled. “Well done, Maggie.
Looks like we finally have someone who can make miracles happen. Expect a bonus in your next check.”
As he walked away, the room went silent. Jake’s jaw clenched.
I looked at him and smiled. “So, Jake,” I said, “which sock would you like for lunch — left or right?”
Finally, I didn’t feel like someone’s ex-wife or someone’s mother. I was Maggie — the woman who sold the haunted house.
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