He had underestimated her. In a way, everyone had underestimated her.
Without Vlad Masters, a certain young woman named Valerie Gray would not be who she is today. She'd have nothing beyond her bitterness. To a degree, he can relate; without his ghost powers, he would have simply been a ruined, desperate young man secluded in the hospital. Of course, he had still been ruined, desperate, and secluded, but his newfound powers gave him an opening to amass a hefty fortune and make the best of his horrid situation.
In fact, Vlad considers, it was uncharacteristically noble of him to sharpen and guide Ms. Gray's need for revenge into feasible potential. In all of his years of ascending to obscene wealth, his actions toward the girl had practically been an act of charity, right? (Sure, it might have been for his own personal gain, but you take what you can get. In a way, really, this is the least tragic example of Vlad manipulating a teenager for his own gain.)
He does not expect Ms. Gray's arrival to his mayoral office one spring evening, just when he is about to depart. When Vlad sees her, fully clad in her red suit, the immediate impact is smug satisfaction because of the sheer absence of fear her presence affords him. Valerie Gray is not even a player; she is a pawn. Nothing more.
Suddenly, shock - a very literal shock, at that - surges through him. And so, three sordid fates have the grand mastermind on his knees, kneeling in front of his lacquered desk. He sees red - only red. He does not know exactly what hit him. Valerie Gray is a pawn. Oblivious. Are they under attack? Instinct and years of practice tell Vlad to morph, but he cannot afford to reveal his identity in front of Ms. Gray.
Still, even when he looks inside himself for the ability to change, it's as if something is stunted, burnt out. Which is completely ridiculous. He's gone up against formidable ghosts; he endured Daniel's strange scream attack in the Rockies. There's absolutely no reason why he should be so weak, especially with him being in the same room with a mere child - a child blinded by vengeance and unable to see the stark, ugly truth in front of her. So lacking in innovation...
Ms. Gray grabs his collar, and he's forced to see her eyes beneath the visor. Hurt, betrayal. For a mere second - so unguarded and without pretense. Lost. Then, it all melds into a fire forged in utterly shadowed coldness, a fire he knows all too well. Hatred. And then he sees.
She knew, she knows. But how?
Before he can say anything, Valerie's next words are mirthless and low. "I want to hear you scream, ghost."