Ghosted: Hayward Manor (Part III)

Ghosted: Hayward Manor (Part III)
“I’m his baby mama," Molly interjected.

Robert grimaced and Estelle laughed. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“You too. Can I ask a question though?”

“Of course.”

“You seem pretty relaxed about the fact that Robert’s a ghost. It really doesn’t bother you?”

“Not at all. He was as kind in life as he is now. Not too many people got to see it, but I did.” Her words conveyed every bit of adoration she had for Robert, and for the second time, Molly felt a grandmotherly warmth exude from Estelle all over her. “Will you be staying Mr. Hayward?”

“Not for long, but I wanted to speak to Molly about some important things.”

“The den is prepared, and I would be happy to bring you both some tea.”

He nodded. “That would be great.” They followed Estelle to the den. After she left, he bit the side of his cheek. “I know you have a billion questions.”

Molly cut her eyes. “You bet your ghostly ass I do.” She plopped into a chair. “So much for leaving a little of money behind. You’re a fucking billionaire with a mansion.”

“No. I’m someone who is trying to be in death what I wasn’t decent enough to be in life.” He sat in a chair opposite her. “I wasn’t lying when I said that my parents hated me. They hated that I wasn’t refined, or that I wasn’t as 'cold and callous or as they called it ‘having the drive to do whatever it took to succeed’. It didn't even matter that I’d added to the family wealth with my own investments and capital. Nothing was ever good enough, and soon I found myself doing things and taking a path that left me not knowing who the hell I was. I got reckless working overtime to try to be perfect so I wouldn’t embarrass my family name, but being clumsy, shy, and introverted isn’t something you can just pretend doesn’t exist.”

“You are all those things,” Molly said, patting his leg. “But you are also kind, thoughtful, funny, and a shit ton of other things. I knew that the moment we met, and I’m not sure who you were when you were alive, but I like who I’m seeing now.”

Robert leaned forward and caressed her face. “That makes me really happy to hear.” Standing, he walked over to a nearby table. “But trust me, if you knew me back then, you wouldn’t have been so kind with your words. I used my money to make friends, which is why I now understand why none of them gave a damn about me when I died. The well dried up, so the majority of them didn’t even come to my funeral.”

“That’s fucked up.”

“Yeah, but that’s life. I learned that too.” He picked up a few papers. “I promised to be honest with you about everything from now on, so I will…including how I died.” He returned to her and handed her the papers, waiting for her to read through them.

“Wealthy billionaire and heir to the Hayward fortune brutally slain. Killer still on the loose.”

“Oh my God,” she murmured. “Who did this to you?”

“That’s why I brought you here, Molly, because I really want to tell you everything. The good, the bad, how I’ve gone undetected and how it all will affect you and the baby. I came back to Hayward to start a new life with a woman who I thought loved me, but she was controlling and jealous, and eventually things went too far, and she stabbed me to death. I can’t blame her though; she wasn’t wrong about everything she felt.”

Molly shook her head. “She fucking killed you, Robert. You’re back now, why don’t you tell?”

“Because doing so would expose the plane. I can’t exactly walk up to the cops and tell them, and I also can’t have someone else do it, and turn the attention to them. I don’t want to endanger others, especially when telling the cops won’t change that I’m dead and would start a ton of problems for people who don’t deserve them.”

Molly sighed. “Fine…but I still don’t understand. You’re talking in riddles. You said that things went too far. What does that mean?”

“She had a sister who passed away that I had been dating prior. I had plans on marrying her, but she always gave me the runaround. I thought it was because she didn’t think I truly loved her, but now I realize it was because she wanted to see how much she could get from me. After her death, I met her adopted sister, and if I’m honest, I gravitated towards her because she reminded me of who I’d lost. I denied it, but she saw right through me and eventually the comparison became too much.” Molly’s face fell and she rubbed the side of his face. “I told you, you wouldn’t have liked who I tried to be.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything, but I do want you to read the next article.”

She did as he said, and once again read the caption out loud. “Woman killed in ransom gone wrong. Suspects found and arrested–I heard about this! She died in Sycamore. She was dating a wealthy guy named Steven or something. The story was insane because a few of her other friends died in weird circumstances.” She looked up at him. “Is this the woman you were in love with who died?”

He nodded. “Mhm, her name was Riley, and just like her sister, she was as beautiful as she was rotten.”