Ghost Billionaire Chapter 28: A Deal with the Opera Singer

"Regis Clan?" Matthew mumbled.

"You’ve never heard of them?" Argent whispered. The tension in the room had shifted the mont the na was spoken.

"No," Matthew lied without hesitation.

"Seriously?" Argent asked.

Matthew shrugged. He had, of course, but only in his past life. The Regis Clan was well-known in Italy.

On the surface, they appeared legitimate. Behind the scenes, they operated like the Mafia. Based on his mory, this was around the ti they started expanding into the U.S. Right now, their presence here wasn’t as strong as it was in Europe, so Duke had little reason to be concerned.

"You’re the first person here who hasn’t," Argent said.

"I’m new, rember?" Matthew replied.

"If you’re not bidding, then sit down," Duke said, interrupting their conversation. His voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.

"What is Duke doing?" Argent muttered. "Is he really challenging the Regis Clan?"

"Why not?" Matthew asked.

"You don’t know?" Argent glanced at him. "Right... you don’t. The Regis Clan is powerful. No one goes against them and survives, especially in Europe. Every death linked to them is either an accident or sothing natural. But they’re too clean. It’s like they have trained killers cleaning up everything."

The man in the robe scoffed and sat back down. "Three and a half," he said.

"Four million," Duke countered without hesitation. The clan na didn’t seem to faze him at all.

The bidding escalated quickly. Numbers flew past the million mark without hesitation. Duke remained calm through all of it. Each ti the man in the robe countered, Duke simply added more.

Five million.

Seven.

Nine.

By the ti it hit thirteen million, no one else dared to challenge him. The host confird it with a final tap of the gavel. Duke had won.

Matthew stayed still, his eyes fixed on the obsidian stone as two handlers carried it offstage. He had considered bidding, but decided it wasn’t worth it. In this life, he wanted no connection to Duke or to anyone who had sided with Lenox before. So he kept quiet.

"That was a good buy," the woman beside him said.

Matthew’s eyes shifted slightly. The ghost was back. The opera singer or whatever she was.

She leaned in. "You should have bought it. That stone is good for Nexians. You could absorb its essence. It would make you stronger."

Matthew said nothing. Argent was still beside him. He couldn’t risk being seen talking to thin air.

However, the ghost didn’t care. She stayed close.

"If you want to live, you need to get stronger," she said. "Spirits like that one will only keep coming. Especially in this place. Just look at how Duke wanted that stone. He probably thought it could help him."

Matthew kept still. Does this an that Duke is Nexian too? He tried to recall his interaction with Duke in his past life. Nothing stood out. Duke would do everything that Lenox asked him to do, and that’s it. He didn’t show any superpowers. Matthew sighed inwardly. It felt like he discovered so unnecessary secret.

The auction continued. A new stone was brought out, this ti a pale blue quartz with faint glowing lines. But whatever it was, it didn’t match the presence of the black orb. Matthew didn’t bid. Nothing else felt important.

When the auction closed for the segnt, Matthew stood up with the rest of the attendees. He adjusted his jacket, preparing to leave.

"I can give you a deal," the ghost said.

Matthew paused.

"I know the location of a Spiritual Stone," she continued. "It’s buried, lost. Most spirits can’t find it anymore. But I can. You just have to help recover sothing."

Spiritual Stone? So that’s what you call them, Matthew thought inwardly as he turned to Argent.

"Where are you going? The auction’s not done yet," Argent asked.

"I need to use the restroom," he said.

Argent glanced at him. "Again?"

Matthew nodded and quickly went inside the restroom and locked it. "Speak," he said.

The ghost bead. "The deal’s simple, I give you the location of Spirit Stones, and you help get my body back."

"How is that simple?" Matthew hissed. "What, you expect to dig up a corpse?"

The ghost scowled. "I’m not dead, idiot!" she snapped. "Not yet!"

"How are you a ghost if you are not dead yet?"

"Who told you I’m a ghost? I’ve never t anyone as stupid as you," she glared at him, clearly irritated by his words. Then she stomped her feet like a child throwing a tantrum. "Rember this, I am not dead and don’t you dare ntion that again!"

Matthew didn’t know what to say. Obviously, he knew better than to trust a ghost. "Where is your body?" he asked.

"I will tell you the details once you confirm and find the stones," she said.

"Not possible," he said. "I need to know the location of your body."

"It’s..." the girl hesitated. "It’s in my family’s mansion."

He lifted an eyebrow.

"But you don’t have to worry that stone will make you more powerful and... and it would be easier for you to help ," she said.

In response, Matthew snorted. "How certain can you be that I will help you after you give the stone?"

The girl seed to realize this as she paused and stared at him. "If you won’t help then— then I won’t leave you alone!" she said. "I will follow you even if I beco a ghost!"

Matthew frowned. Is there sothing wrong with this girl’s head? He wondered.

"And since I already told you its existence, you cannot say no now," the girl added. "This is— right, moral obligation."

"Moral Obligation my ass..."

"What did you— "

"Fine," Matthew said. "I’ll do it, but I will only help you once I confirm the stones," Matthew mumbled sothing under his breath and rubbed his temple. What was he getting himself into? He thought.

"You won’t regret it," the girl said before disappearing without warning.

He stood still for a mont, then exhaled. "Yeah, that’s what they all say," he mumbled again. He unlocked the door and stepped out.

Outside, Argent was nearby, speaking with soone Matthew didn’t recognize. The man wore a green mask—a familiar one. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, dressed more for function than style. Seeing him, Argent imdiately waved Matthew over.

"There you are," Argent said. "Ghost, this is Forge."

Matthew gave a small nod. Forge, no wonder the mask seed familiar, he thought.

"Forge sells specialized dicine," Argent added. "If you ever need sothing quick or hard to get, let him know. He’s reliable."

Forge extended a business card. "Just in case."

Matthew took it without saying a word and slipped it into his pocket. The na alone stirred mories from his past life. Forge, soone deep in the black market and had been around for years.

He should be in his fifties by now and, if Matthew rembered right, he was tied to the pharmaceutical world. The man knew everything there was to know about drugs, dicine, and poison. By the ti Matthew had entered the scene in his past life, Forge was already working closely with Lenox. He couldn’t let that happen again.

"I’ll let you two get back to it," Forge said. Then he nodded once and walked off down the hall.

Argent turned to Matthew. "Let’s walk around a bit while we wait for the next segnt. I’ll introduce you to a few people."

Matthew nodded. Once again, his decision to stick with Argent proved useful. He needed soone who talked—constantly—and knew the place well. But just as he started to follow, the ghost girl appeared beside him again.

"You shouldn’t trust that man, Argent. He’s up to sothing."

Matthew looked at her as she continued. "I don’t like his sll. It’s... rotten. Like that of a dead person."

Matthew imdiately narrowed his eyes.

As if sensing his thoughts, Argent turned around and asked. "Hey, is sothing wrong?"