Chapter 10: Lost Without Goodbye
974 Words
The sharp crack of the gunshot echoed through the night.
The photographer staggered backwards.
His camera slipped from his trembling hands, crashing onto the pavement below.
Then his body disappeared over the edge of the rooftop.
Amara screamed.
People scattered in every direction.
Within seconds, security officers flooded the hospital compound, but the assassin had already vanished into the darkness.
Only silence remained.
And a shattered camera lying on the ground.
---
Inspector Musa Ibrahim arrived within minutes.
Unlike many officers Ethan had encountered, Musa carried himself with quiet integrity.
He examined the broken camera carefully.
"Don't touch it," he instructed.
A forensic officer recovered the damaged memory card.
"Sir," the officer said, "if the card survived, it may contain photographs taken before he died."
Musa nodded thoughtfully.
"Then someone was willing to kill to stop those pictures from being seen."
He looked towards Ethan.
"Mr Okafor, this is no longer an ordinary criminal case."
"It has become a war against the truth."
---
The following morning, the hospital seemed unusually quiet.
Doctors completed Ethan's discharge papers.
Although his wound was healing, they warned him to avoid stress.
He almost laughed.
Stress had become his permanent companion.
Outside the hospital entrance, journalists waited eagerly.
Microphones stretched towards him.
"Mr Okafor, is it true you're engaged to Miss Amara Eze?"
"Are you withdrawing from the investigation?"
"Did your uncle betray your father?"
Ethan ignored every question.
He simply opened the car door for Amara.
"Ladies first."
Even in pain...
He had not forgotten how to honour the woman he loved.
---
Back at the Okafor Mansion, life seemed strangely peaceful.
The gardens were beautifully maintained.
Birds sang from the mango trees.
For anyone passing by, it looked like the home of a happy family.
Appearances, however, often tell the greatest lies.
Mrs Elizabeth Okafor welcomed them with tears of joy.
"My son..."
She embraced Ethan carefully, mindful of his injury.
Then she turned to Amara.
"You belong here."
Amara smiled politely, though something inside her felt unsettled.
She could not explain it.
It was simply a feeling.
Someone was watching.
---
That evening, while everyone gathered for dinner, the housekeeper approached Ethan.
"Sir..."
"Yes?"
"A package was delivered for Miss Amara."
Amara looked surprised.
"For me?"
"There was no sender."
She accepted the neatly wrapped parcel.
Inside was a small wooden music box.
Beautifully carved.
As she gently opened it, soft piano music filled the room.
Everyone smiled.
Until Ethan noticed something.
Hidden beneath the velvet lining...
...was a folded piece of paper.
He unfolded it slowly.
His face turned pale.
The message contained only one sentence.
«"If you truly love Ethan, leave him before sunrise... or you will watch him die."»
The room fell silent.
Mrs Okafor gasped.
Amara's hands began to tremble.
Someone wasn't merely threatening them anymore.
Someone was forcing a choice.
Love...
Or life.
---
That night, neither Ethan nor Amara slept.
They sat together beneath the old mango tree where Ethan's father had often read books during quiet evenings.
The moonlight bathed the garden in silver.
Ethan held the threatening note.
"I won't let fear decide our future."
Amara stared into the distance.
"What if they're serious?"
"They've always been serious."
"What if staying with you gets you killed?"
He gently took her hand.
"What if leaving destroys us both?"
Neither had an answer.
Only the sound of crickets filled the silence.
Finally, Amara spoke.
"When I was a little girl, my father told me something."
"What was it?"
"He said, 'Real love sometimes means walking away—not because your heart has changed, but because you want the other person to live.'"
Ethan's eyes filled with emotion.
"I don't want a love that ends in goodbye."
She forced a smile.
"Neither do I."
---
Just before dawn...
Amara quietly entered the sitting room.
Everyone was asleep.
She placed the engagement ring on the centre table.
Beside it lay a handwritten letter.
She stood there for a long time, tears flowing freely.
Then she whispered,
"Forgive me."
Without taking a single suitcase...
Without waking anyone...
Without looking back...
She walked out of the mansion.
The gates closed softly behind her.
The rising sun swallowed her lonely silhouette.
---
Hours later, Ethan awoke.
The house felt unusually quiet.
"Amara?"
No answer.
He searched every room.
Nothing.
His heartbeat quickened.
He ran downstairs.
The engagement ring caught his eye immediately.
It rested beside a folded letter.
His hands shook as he opened it.
«My dearest Ethan,
If you are reading this, I am already gone.
Don't look for me.
Don't blame yourself.
Loving you has been the greatest blessing of my life, but I cannot become the reason you lose yours.
Some people are willing to kill to keep us apart.
I refuse to give them your life as their victory.
If God truly wrote our story, He knows where to find me.
Until then...
Live.
Fight for the truth.
And never stop believing that somewhere, somehow...
True love always finds its way home.
Forever yours,
Amara.»
The letter slipped from Ethan's hands.
His knees buckled.
For the second time in his life...
He felt completely broken.
He rushed outside.
"Amara!"
His voice echoed through the empty streets.
Only the wind answered.
She was gone.
No farewell.
No final embrace.
No promise of when they would meet again.
Only memories.
And a heart left behind.
Far away, inside a luxury vehicle travelling towards the airport, Amara wiped away her tears as she looked one last time at the city disappearing behind her.
She never noticed the black SUV following at a distance.
Inside it sat Victor Dike.
He smiled coldly.
"Excellent."
"Phase One is complete."
He turned to Daniel.
"Now begins Phase Two."
Daniel frowned.
"What happens next?"
Victor's eyes glittered with cruel satisfaction.
"We make sure..."
"...she never reaches the airport."
- Writer
