CHAPTER 23: The Ghost Who Paid the Price

The Blackwood Foundation gala wasn't just an event.

It was a power display.

Held once a year, it brought together politicians, billionaires, heirs, and families whose legacies were etched into skyscrapers and currency.

Everyone who mattered was there.

And none of them had Isabella Lin's name on their lips when she entered.

That would change.

The venue was a glass-domed atrium suspended above Central City's skyline, dressed in chandeliers and moonlight. The air smelled like roses, aged whiskey, and ambition.

Victor greeted guests like a monarch—cool, refined, untouchable. Every move calculated. Every handshake deliberate.

But the moment Isabella stepped in, the air around him shifted.

She wore a backless obsidian gown that clung like silk shadows and revealed nothing but strength. Her eyes—ice-clear, unreadable—swept across the room like she owned it.

She didn't need to say a word.

The silence followed her anyway.

Victor's fingers tightened around his glass.

Markus muttered under his breath, "You brought a nuclear warhead to a wine tasting."

Victor didn't look away from her. "Good."

They hadn't announced her. She wasn't on the guest list. But somehow, whispers started anyway.

"That's her. That Lin girl…"

"She's just a charity case, right?"

"No, I heard she—wait, isn't she the one who—"

And then the projector flickered on.

The MC stepped forward, microphone in hand. "Before we begin, we'd like to honor this year's anonymous benefactor. The one who saved not only this event, but three medical programs and a refugee housing unit scheduled for closure."

A pause.

Then: "The name on the silent donation was EchoVail Holdings."

Gasps.

That name—EchoVail—was legend. No one knew who owned it. No one had ever claimed credit for the billions funneled into recovery and innovation.

Until now.

The MC turned toward the screen.

It lit up with a single image.

Isabella Lin.

The room erupted in a stunned wave of silence.

Victor's eyes didn't leave her.

He didn't look surprised.

Only proud.

Like he'd always known.

"I didn't authorize this," Isabella murmured later as she stood on the balcony, city lights glowing below.

Victor approached, hands in his pockets.

"You didn't have to," he said. "Some truths can't be hidden forever."

She turned to face him. "Do you realize what you've done?"

"Unmasked a ghost," he said. "And let the world see who really funded its heartbeat."

She studied him for a long moment. "Why?"

"Because they deserve to know what I already do."

He stepped closer. His voice dropped to a whisper.

"That behind all your silence… is the woman they'll never be able to control."

She didn't reply.

But when his hand brushed hers, she didn't pull away either.

That night, she messaged him as SkyeEcho.

[SkyeEcho]: "What happens when a ghost becomes visible?"

[AshenWolf]: "Depends on who sees her. Some will fear her. Some will want to control her."

[SkyeEcho]: "And you?"

[AshenWolf]: "I'd burn kingdoms to protect her."

Next Chapter Teaser: Victor's growing obsession with Isabella's secret life leads him to follow her again—only to stumble upon her in a place even he never expected: the underground racing circuit.