Chapter 13: When Death Come Knocking
1150 Words
The sky was draped in dark clouds.
A cold wind swept across the deserted highway as Ethan tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
The anonymous message kept replaying in his mind.
«"Come alone if you care."»
Inspector Musa's warning echoed just as loudly.
"It's a trap."
Ethan knew it was.
But love has a way of making fear seem insignificant.
If Amara was in danger, no trap was too dangerous.
He pressed harder on the accelerator.
---
Miles away, inside the secluded farmhouse, Amara stood by the window.
Something felt wrong.
The birds that usually sang at dawn had vanished.
Even the wind seemed to carry a warning.
Mama Agnes noticed the uneasiness on her face.
"What troubles you, my child?"
Amara sighed.
"My heart is restless."
She looked towards Samuel, who was laughing as he chased a butterfly across the garden.
"I feel as though something terrible is about to happen."
Mama Agnes walked over and held her hand.
"When fear knocks on the door, let faith answer."
Amara managed a faint smile.
"I wish faith could silence this feeling."
---
Not far from the farmhouse, hidden among thick bushes, Victor Dike's men prepared their ambush.
Rifles were loaded.
Escape routes were sealed.
No one was leaving alive.
Victor adjusted his gloves and looked towards Daniel.
"This ends today."
Daniel remained silent.
"You've become unusually quiet."
"I've been thinking."
Victor laughed.
"Thinking is dangerous."
Daniel looked him in the eye.
"How many more innocent people have to die?"
Victor's smile disappeared.
"As many as necessary."
Daniel lowered his head.
For the first time since betraying Ethan, he realised there was no limit to Victor's cruelty.
A man without a conscience never knows when enough is enough.
---
At exactly noon, Ethan's car pulled onto the narrow dirt road leading to the farmhouse.
He stepped out cautiously.
The place looked peaceful.
Too peaceful.
"Amara!" he called.
No reply.
He took another step.
Then another.
Suddenly—
A twig snapped behind him.
He spun around.
Nothing.
Silence.
Then...
The unmistakable click of dozens of rifles being c****d at the same time.
Victor Dike emerged slowly from behind a tree.
"You never disappoint me, Ethan."
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"Where is Amara?"
"Safe."
"If you touch her—"
Victor interrupted with a smile.
"You still don't understand."
"This has never been about Amara."
"It's always been about you."
---
Unknown to Victor, Inspector Musa had refused to let Ethan come alone.
Keeping a safe distance, he had assembled a small team of trusted officers—men whose integrity had never been bought.
As they quietly surrounded the forest, Musa spoke into his radio.
"Nobody fires unless I give the order."
One officer whispered,
"Sir... there are more of them than us."
Musa nodded.
"I know."
"But truth has never depended on numbers."
---
Inside the farmhouse, Samuel suddenly stopped playing.
He looked towards the forest.
"Mama Agnes..."
"What is it?"
"I heard shouting."
Amara rushed to the window.
Through the trees she caught sight of Ethan.
Her heart leapt.
"Ethan..."
Without thinking, she ran outside.
"No!" Mama Agnes cried.
But Amara was already gone.
---
Victor saw her first.
A cruel smile crossed his face.
"Perfect."
He raised his hand.
"Take the woman."
His men rushed forward.
Ethan broke free from the two men holding him and sprinted towards Amara.
"Run!"
She froze.
Their eyes met.
For one beautiful, heartbreaking moment...
The world disappeared.
There were no enemies.
No conspiracies.
Only two hearts that had refused to stop loving each other.
Then the first gunshot shattered the silence.
Chaos erupted.
Bullets tore through the trees.
Inspector Musa's team returned fire.
People scattered in every direction.
Smoke filled the forest.
Samuel screamed.
Mama Agnes pulled him behind a stone wall.
---
In the middle of the confusion, Victor quietly aimed his pistol.
Not at Ethan.
Not at Amara.
At little Samuel.
"If the bloodline ends..."
"...the truth dies with it."
His finger tightened on the trigger.
Daniel saw it.
His eyes widened in horror.
"No!"
Without thinking, Daniel threw himself forward.
BANG!
The bullet struck him in the chest.
Time stood still.
Daniel collapsed to the ground.
Victor stared in disbelief.
"You fool!"
Daniel looked towards Samuel, who stood frozen with fear.
A faint smile appeared on Daniel's bloodstained lips.
"Run..."
Samuel burst into tears.
"Mister Daniel!"
Amara rushed to his side.
"So much blood..."
Daniel coughed painfully.
"I've spent months helping evil..."
"...today..."
"...let me do one thing right."
Ethan knelt beside his childhood friend.
"Why?"
Daniel looked into Ethan's eyes.
"Because..."
"...I finally remembered..."
"...the kind of man your father wanted me to become."
Tears rolled down Ethan's face.
"You should have told me the truth."
"I was afraid."
"Fear chained me..."
"...until love set me free."
His breathing became weaker.
With trembling fingers, he reached into his jacket and removed a small flash drive.
"I made copies..."
"...Victor never knew."
Ethan accepted it carefully.
Daniel smiled one last time.
"Don't waste..."
"...your second chance."
His hand fell.
The forest became silent.
The boy who had once shared Ethan's childhood...
The friend who had betrayed him...
Had redeemed himself with the greatest sacrifice he could make.
---
Even Victor Dike looked shaken.
For the first time in years...
Someone had chosen love over fear.
His face darkened.
"Kill them all!"
Before his men could obey, the thunderous sound of approaching helicopters filled the sky.
Inspector Musa looked up.
Reinforcements.
Victor realised the tide had turned.
"This isn't over," he growled.
He disappeared into the forest with his remaining men before the security forces could surround him.
---
As evening fell, Daniel's body was carried gently into an ambulance.
Ethan stood silently beside it.
He remembered two little boys racing through mango orchards.
Dreaming about changing the world together.
Neither of them had imagined that one would betray the other...
...or that forgiveness would arrive only moments before death.
Inspector Musa approached quietly.
"There was nothing more the doctors could have done."
Ethan nodded.
"I know."
He looked towards the fading sunset.
"My father used to say..."
"'A man is not remembered for the mistakes he made...'"
He paused.
"...'but for the courage he found to make them right.'"
At that very moment, Samuel tugged gently at Ethan's sleeve.
"Mister Ethan..."
Ethan knelt.
Samuel held out a tiny silver pendant.
"My daddy told me to give you this if anything bad happened."
Ethan opened the pendant.
Inside was a faded photograph.
On one side was Michael Okafor.
On the other...
A smiling young woman Ethan had never seen before.
Beneath her picture were four handwritten words.
«"Find Rose before Christmas."»
Ethan stared at the pendant.
His father had been searching for Rose until the very end.
But why before Christmas?
And was Rose still alive?
Somewhere, hidden by years of silence...
Another chapter of the truth was waiting to be revealed.
- Writer
