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Willow immediately perked up, her eyes narrowing. “Did you say something?”

Marcellus raised his Bible slightly, like it was a shield. “Prayer.”

She narrowed her eyes further, not buying it. “That prayer sounded stressed.”

Lakelyn nudged her, giving her that look that said stop interrogating the priest. “Let the man work.”

I chuckled.

Watching Marcellus try to maintain his composure while I stood right next to him, Willow pick up on every little thing that was off, and Lakelyn try to keep everything respectful and normal was entertaining as hell.

By the time we made it into the kitchen, Marcellus had started sweating near his hairline… not a lot, but enough that I could see the little beads forming at his temples, at the edge of his fade.

Willow folded her arms, leaning against the counter. “So, Father, I do have an actual spiritual question.”

His expression suggested he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear it. His eyes darted to her, then away, then back. “Yes?”

“Can ghosts use debit cards?”

Lakelyn groaned, dropping her head into her hand. “Willow.”

“No, I’m serious.”

Marcellus looked genuinely confused. His mouth was opened slightly, like he was trying to figure out if this was a trick question or if she was actually asking what he thought she was asking.

Willow gestured around the kitchen, her hands moving expressively. “We got groceries showing up out of nowhere, my nephew got a suspicious Spider-Man bedroom upgrade, and my sister here received a substantial amount of money. And I’m not talking about no hundreds or thousands.”

Marcellus’s eyes widened with curiosity.

I could see him processing this information, trying to figure out what the hell was going on in this house.

“I’m not gonna say the actual amount, because that ain’t everybody’s business,” Willow continued, “but yeah… she’s somewhere between financially free and never needing to look at a price tag again.”

Lakelyn stared at her with a glare that could’ve melted steel.

“What? I didn’t say the number.” Willow turned back to Marcellus, completely unbothered. “So either we got the first financially stable ghost in history, or something in this house got excellent credit.”

Marcellus looked directly at me.

His eyes locked on mine, and I could see the question there, the confusion, and the disbelief.

I lifted one shoulder, like, yeah, that was me. What about it?

He returned his attention to Willow, clearing his throat. “I don’t believe financial activity is generally considered evidence of paranormal activity.”

Willow nodded slowly, like she was filing that information away. “So the church doesn’t have a policy on ghost banking.”

“No.”

“Interesting.”

Lakelyn rubbed her forehead, looking like she was about two seconds away from physically removing her sister from the room. “Please stop interviewing the priest.”

“I just feel like nobody is asking the important questions.”

Willow said fuck whether the house is haunted. That girl wanted to know about the logistics, the practical details… the stuff that actually affected their daily lives.

Marcellus finished the downstairs blessing, moving through each room with his holy water and his prayers, his voice steady even though I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his hand shook slightly every time he glanced in my direction.