After The Divorce I Became Untouchable: The Rise Of Ghost Do

Chapter 2: Five Million and a Torn Goodbye

Lina stood perplexed. Her jaw dropped, and her chest ached. She felt like she had lost something valuable.

She swallowed hard. Even though Ivan had gone beyond the iron gate at the compound, she stared into the dark night. At the wind.

And something crossed her mind—where would he go?

Her eyes narrowed, as guilt bore down on her with relentless weight. She battled with her mind. A part of her wanted to run after him.

But…Victor pulled her close, and his arm swung around her waist. "Let him go, darling. He's not worth your breath."

But even as he said it, Victor watched the gate with steady eyes.

Something about the man's calm, the way he had torn up five million dollars without hesitation...

No. Victor shook his head. Just a desperate man's last attempt at dignity. Nothing more. He thought.

Meanwhile, Ivan walked down the silent road. No car waited for him. No driver. No one.

Just the empty street and the night. The secret lurking in the shadows. The dangers hanging in the corners and waiting to unravel.

And behind him, Lina stood with torn check pieces at her feet.

Fury and something else—something she couldn't quite name—churning in her chest.

"He'll be back," she muttered. "Begging. You'll see." But her breath stuttered. No conviction in her words.

Victor said nothing. He was still watching the darkness where Ivan had disappeared.

The gates swung shut with a hollow clang as heavy wind rattled the whole place. The clouds were beginning to gather. Soon, there would be a downpour, and with it comes danger.

Inside the villa, the party continued. Champagne flowed. Guests danced. Old Madam Zhao received gifts and compliments.

No one noticed the slight tremor in Lina's hands.

No one saw the torn check pieces scatter in the wind outside.

Ivan walked down the empty street alone, his footsteps echoing against the pavement. Wine still stained his clothes. He had no money, no phone, nothing.

But for the first time in three years, he smiled.

Really smiled.

The seal was finally broken.

He walked until the city lights swallowed him.

Three years.

Three years of silence. Of restraint. Of hiding.

He stopped beneath a flickering streetlight and exhaled slowly.

“Peace at last.” He mumbled.

The burden lifted from his shoulders like a breath he had been holding for too long.

Ivan Murphy was not his real name.

Once, in places where death was common and mercy was rare, people had called him something else…

The Ghost Doctor.

A man who could pull the dying back from the edge. A man who could cripple masters with two fingers. A man believed to be dead.

He had married into the Zhao family to repay a life debt to Lui Zhao Fei, Lina's late grandfather, and to disappear from those who believed him dead.

Now, he no longer needed to hide.

Ivan raised his head and looked at the city. The tower lights flickering ahead of him.

“Lakecity,” he murmured.

The city had laughed at him tonight.

Soon, it would learn his name. Soon, it'll learn his identity.

And when the time comes, no one would dare laugh at him again.