The Letters We Were Meant to Find

Chapter 14

The key was colder than Amara expected.

She held it between her fingers as she stood before the rusted metal door beneath the old warehouse. Ruth had warned her not to come alone, but there had been no time to find anyone she could trust. The message on her phone had been simple: Locker 17 is not the end. Look beneath it.

Amara inserted the key.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the lock clicked.

The door opened with a low groan, revealing a narrow room hidden behind the wall. Dust covered the shelves, but several boxes had clearly been opened recently. Someone had been here.

Her heart began to race.

On the far table lay a photograph of Samuel Lin, younger than she remembered, standing beside Daniel Kwon and another man whose face had been scratched away.

Beneath the photograph was a sealed envelope.

Amara reached for it, but footsteps sounded behind her.

She froze.

“Amara.”

Ethan.

She turned slowly.

He stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable.

“You followed me,” she whispered.

“I followed the person who was following you.”

Before Amara could answer, the lights went out.

A gunshot shattered the darkness.

Ethan grabbed her and pulled her down.

Then someone ran.

And on the floor between them lay a second photograph.

This time, Samuel was holding a baby.

The baby was Amara.