THE NAME SHE LOST
592 Words
No one moved as the phone continued to ring.
DAD.
Amara stared at the screen in disbelief.
“My father's number was buried with him,” she murmured.
Chike's mother looked visibly frightened.
“Don't pick it up.”
But Amara answered.
“Hello?”
For several seconds, there was silence until a man's voice broke through.
“Amara.”
Her knees buckled.
“Daddy?”
Chike grabbed her arm.
“Put it on speaker.”
She complied.
The voice resumed.
“You're getting too close to the truth.”
Tears filled Amara's eyes.
“You're alive?”
A low laugh echoed on the line.
“Your father died six years ago.”
“Then who are you?”
There was a brief pause.
“Someone who has been watching your family for a very long time.”
The call abruptly ended.
Suddenly, Adaeze dashed toward the road.
“Adaeze!” Amara shouted.
She halted, tears streaming down her face.
“My name isn't Adaeze.”
Amara cautiously approached her.
“Then what’s your name?”
The young woman glanced at Chike's mother.
“She knows.”
Chike's mother shut her eyes.
“Her name is Amara.”
Amara froze in disbelief.
“What?”
“The real Adaeze died in that accident twenty years ago. The child we rescued was her twin sister.”
Amara looked at the woman before her.
“Why did you name her after my sister?”
“Because someone was searching for her.”
“Who?”
“Your father.”
Amara shook her head in confusion.
“My father was looking for his own daughter?”
“No.”
Chike's mother looked at her compassionately.
“He was searching for the child who witnessed his biggest secret.”
Amara turned to the girl.
“What did you see?”
The girl began to cry.
“I saw Uncle Emmanuel arguing with your father.”
“And then?”
“He pushed him.”
Amara gasped.
“He pushed him?”
“Yes. But your father didn’t die right away.”
The girl wiped her tears.
“He looked at me and told me to run.”
“Why didn't you say anything?”
“Because Emmanuel threatened me.”
Chike stepped forward.
“And who helped you get away?”
The girl looked at Chike's mother.
“She did.”
Amara finally comprehended why the truth had been concealed all these years. But then she noticed something - a small scar on the girl's wrist.
She recalled seeing the same scar in an old childhood photograph.
Amara stared intensely.
“Wait…”
She retrieved her father's notebook, revealing a sketch next to one of the entries.
A tiny symbol, identical to the tattoo on the girl’s wrist.
“What is that?” Chike inquired.
Amara's voice quivered.
“It was my father's secret mark.”
Chike's mother suddenly appeared alarmed.
“Then he knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That the girl wasn't just a witness.”
She hesitated.
“She was his daughter.”
Amara looked at her in shock.
“No…”
Chike appeared confused.
“How can that be?”
The woman responded softly,
“Because the woman you’ve always called your mother…”
She turned to Amara.
“…isn't your biological mother.”
Amara's entire world crumbled.
Before she could react, another gunshot echoed in the night, this time from behind them.
The mysterious caller spoke again through the phone:
“Now you finally understand why I chose you.”
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