I edited the photos, wrote the perfect description, and made sure everything looked flawless.
I didn’t stop until the ad appeared online.
The next morning, as soon as I sat down at my desk, the phone rang.
‘Hi, this is Chloe,’ said a young voice. ‘My fiancé and I saw the listing for the house on Maple Street. We’d like to see it today.’
‘Great,’ I said. ‘Would noon work for you?’
‘Perfect,’ she replied cheerfully.
When I hung up, Jake leaned against my desk with a smug smile.
‘Already found someone for the haunted house?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ I said.
Tina giggled. ‘Better bring some holy water.’
‘At least you won’t go grey with fear — you’re already there,’ Jake added.
I looked him in the eye. ‘Keep a sock handy,’ I said and grabbed my bag.
At noon, I drove to the house. A young man was waiting on the porch. ‘Hi, I’m Ethan,’ he said. ‘Chloe is still in town, so I’ll take a look myself.’
‘Sure,’ I said. ‘Let’s go inside.’
I led him through the kitchen, living room, and upstairs hallway.
He seemed genuinely interested, touching the walls, opening doors, asking questions about the neighbourhood.
Everything was going smoothly until suddenly there was a scream.
I rushed over and saw Ethan in one of the bedrooms, frozen, staring at the far corner.
‘There’s… someone there,’ he whispered.
I followed his gaze. For a second, I saw the faint silhouette of a woman in white. Then it disappeared.
‘There… someone’s there.’
Ethan backed away, pale. ‘No way. I’m not buying it. I’m not dying here.’
He rushed down the stairs, and by the time I reached the porch, he had already driven away.
I stood there, trying to make sense of the situation. Ghosts don’t exist.
‘No way. I’m not buying it. I’m not going to die here.’
I went back to the bedroom and looked around. I looked carefully and noticed a faint line on the wall.
Pressing on it, I discovered a small hidden door leading to a narrow cupboard. It was empty.
As I turned around, something shiny on the floor caught my eye. I bent down and picked up a single gold earring, modern and elegant.
‘Ghosts don’t wear jewellery,’ I muttered.
I put it in my pocket and smiled slightly. Someone wanted me to fail.
They chose the wrong woman.
The next morning, when I entered the office, I saw everyone there. Jake looked at me with a smile.
‘So, how was the haunted house tour? Did Casper propose?’
‘Or did he run away screaming?’ Tina laughed.
I didn’t answer, just put down my bag and started working.
A few minutes later, coming out of the toilet, I noticed a framed photo on Jake’s desk: him with a young woman.
I looked closer. The woman was wearing gold earrings similar to the ones I had in my pocket.
‘Who’s that?’ I asked, pointing to the photo.
‘My sister. Why?’ Jake frowned.
‘No reason,’ I replied quickly and returned to my desk.
Later, I heard Jake on the phone: his voice was sharp and low.
‘We had an agreement,’ he hissed. ‘Just stick to the plan.’
Around noon, my phone rang again.
‘Hi, it’s Chloe,’ she said cheerfully. “About the house. We discussed it and decided to buy it if the price drops by half. Because of the ghost, you know.”
‘Let’s discuss it in person. Can you meet today?’
‘Of course,’ she replied quickly.
When I arrived, Chloe and Ethan were already waiting on the porch. I recognised her immediately — the same woman from Jake’s photo.
‘Good to see you again,’ I said. ‘Brave enough to come back?’
Ethan smiled weakly. ‘We decided we could handle the ghosts if the deal was right.’
‘Brave enough to come back?’
Chloe blinked. ‘What do you mean?’
I took the earring out of my pocket. ‘You dropped this,’ I said, holding it out to her.
Her hand flew to her ear—one earring was missing.
‘You dropped this.’
‘I found it near the wardrobe in the bedroom,’ I continued. ‘Right where your ghost disappeared.’
Ethan froze. ‘Wait, what?’
I turned to him. ‘She wasn’t the only one involved. You both planned this, didn’t you? A little performance to get the price you wanted.’
‘You have no proof.’
‘Oh, I have plenty,’ I said. ‘You’re Jake’s sister. He told you everything about the house, didn’t he? You used inside information and staged a ghost.’
‘You should be grateful to me!’ Chloe shouted. ‘It was Jake’s idea. He wanted us to keep the rumours going so the house would never sell. But we thought, why not use it to our advantage and buy it for half price?’
‘You should be grateful to me!’
I smiled. ‘Here’s what will happen. I can give you a small discount, and you buy the house legally, or I go straight to the police and report you both for fraud.’
They looked at each other silently, while I stood there smiling, completely calm.
‘You buy the house legally, or I’ll go straight to the police and report both of you for fraud.’
An hour later, I walked into the office and placed the signed papers on Jake’s desk.
He froze, stunned. ‘You… sold it?’
‘Full price,’ I said.
Patrick came over and looked at the documents. ‘Is this the house on Maple Street? The one we’ve been holding for two years?’
‘Yes,’ I said.
Patrick smiled. ‘Well done, Maggie. Looks like we finally have someone who can work miracles. Expect a bonus in your next pay cheque.’
When he left, the room fell silent. Jake’s jaw clenched.
I looked at him and smiled. ‘So, Jake, which sock for lunch — left or right?’
Finally, I didn’t feel like someone’s ex-wife or someone’s mother. I was Maggie — the woman who sold the “haunted house”.