Chapter 20: Face to Face
730 Words
The restaurant fell silent.
Amara sat frozen, her hand wrapped tightly around Lily’s.
Sophia smiled as though she had simply run into an old friend.
“You look surprised,” Sophia said calmly.
“I told you to stay away from us,” Amara replied, struggling to keep her voice steady.
“I wasn’t following you.”
Sophia glanced around the restaurant.
“We’re simply in the same city.”
Amara knew it was a lie.
No one could have found them so quickly by chance.
Lily looked from one woman to the other.
“Mommy… who is she?”
Amara gently stroked Lily’s hair.
“She’s… someone from Lagos.”
Sophia’s smile widened.
“Hello, Lily. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Lily hid behind her mother.
Something about Sophia made her uncomfortable.
“I don’t want to talk to strangers,” she whispered.
Amara squeezed her daughter’s hand proudly.
“Neither do I.”
Before Sophia could respond, the restaurant door flew open.
“Ethan!” Amara gasped.
He walked in, breathing heavily after running from the parking lot.
His eyes immediately found Amara and Lily.
Relief washed over him.
Then he looked at Sophia.
“I should’ve known.”
Sophia folded her arms.
“You always did have good timing.”
Ethan stepped between Sophia and Amara.
“This ends today.”
Sophia laughed softly.
“Does it?”
“You’ve followed them, threatened them, and manipulated the media. Leave them alone.”
Sophia’s expression became serious.
“I never threatened anyone.”
“You sent anonymous messages.”
“Can you prove it?”
Ethan remained silent.
Sophia looked at Amara.
“See? He can’t.”
She stood and placed a white envelope on the table.
“I didn’t come here to argue.”
“What is that?” Amara asked.
“Something you deserve to know.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
“Sophia…”
“She has a right to know the truth.”
Without another word, Sophia turned and walked toward the exit.
Just before leaving, she looked back.
“Oh… and Ethan.”
He stared at her coldly.
“You’ve been keeping secrets too.”
The bell above the door chimed as she disappeared outside.
For several moments, no one spoke.
The only sound was the ticking of the wall clock.
Amara slowly picked up the envelope.
Her hands trembled.
“What is this?”
Ethan looked uneasy.
“I don’t know.”
She opened it carefully.
Inside was a copy of an old newspaper clipping.
The headline read:
“Cole Group Construction Accident Leaves One Worker Dead.”
Beneath the headline was a photograph of the victim.
Amara’s breath caught.
She recognized the face immediately.
It was her father.
“No…” she whispered.
“This can’t be true.”
The article explained that years earlier, a construction worker had died during a building collapse at a Cole Group project.
His family had received compensation, but questions about the accident had never completely disappeared.
Amara’s hands shook violently.
“My father worked for Cole Group?”
Ethan stared at the article in disbelief.
“I’ve never seen this before.”
“You didn’t know?”
He slowly shook his head.
“My father was running the company then. I had just returned from university.”
Amara looked at him, pain filling her eyes.
“So your family’s company is connected to my father’s death.”
Ethan had no words.
For the first time since they met, neither love nor trust could erase the distance between them.
Lily looked up at her mother, confused by the tears.
“Mommy… what’s wrong?”
Amara hugged her tightly.
“I don’t know anymore.”
Outside the restaurant, Sophia sat inside her SUV, watching through the window.
Her assistant smiled.
“That should separate them for good.”
Sophia didn’t answer immediately.
She watched Ethan and Amara sitting in silence.
Then she spoke quietly.
“No…”
“What do you mean?”
“This isn’t the whole truth.”
She started the engine.
“The real story hasn’t been told yet.”
As the SUV drove away, Ethan remained inside the restaurant, staring at the newspaper clipping.
Somewhere in the past…
Someone had buried the truth.
And whoever had done it was willing to destroy innocent lives to keep it hidden.
End of Chapter Twenty
- Writer
