Page 99 of Forking the Billionaire

“You didn’t?—”

“Of course not. I would never. You really think—” She put both hands up and her eyes went wide. “Did you hear that?”

I listened.

There was a quiet rustling sound. Like an animal.

I scanned the room and spotted an ottoman with a cloth seat that seemed to be wiggling like it was filled with Jell-O.

I pointed. “There.”

Instead of keeping her distance, Esme rushed forward and kicked it over.

A wiggling wave of green spewed out in every direction.

Esme cackled.

It took me a moment to realize what was happening. The green mass was a boatload of lizards.

Esme’s laughter faded. “I hope I didn’t hurt anyone. I didn’t think about that.”

She lifted the ottoman, then set it down with a sigh of relief. “All clear.”

“Who’s weird?” I asked.

“Shut up.” She gave my shoulder a little shove and continued on, with a yawn.

We found a set of stairs and followed them up to the second floor. It was impressive that this place could be in such disrepair without any structural problems. It really was a shame that it had been allowed to fall into this state.

“I still don’t understand why someone would abandon this building,” I said.

“That sentence doesn’t sound sarcastic, like it clearly should.”

“I’m serious.”

“Okay, well, maybe there was a hurricane.”

“That only damaged the one building? There’d be evidence elsewhere, too.”

“Well, then the answer is clear.”

“Is it? Because I’m not seeing it.”

She grinned wide at me. “The ghosts. Obviously.”

“Right. Ghosts.”

On cue, a whirring sound blew through the stairwell. It sounded like a gust of wind even though the air was still.

Esme shot me an excited look.

“I didn’t hear any words this time,” I said.

The sound happened again. Again, I didn’t hear any words.

“Let’s keep going,” Esme said.

I followed her through the second floor, to trashed room after room. I didn’t see any ghosts, nor any sign of my missing luggage.

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