The Letters We Were Meant to Find

Chapter 7

The corridor beneath the old railway station smelled of dust, rust, and damp concrete. Amara followed Ruth through the narrow passage, her heart beating faster with every step. She had expected Locker 17 to contain documents, perhaps photographs or an old journal. She had not expected the silence that greeted them when Ruth stopped before the metal door.

“This is it,” Ruth whispered.

Amara stared at the faded number.

17.

For twenty years, her father had been a mystery. Now, somehow, that mystery had led her beneath an abandoned station in the middle of Shanghai.

Ruth removed a small key from her coat pocket and placed it in Amara’s hand.

“Your father told me never to open it unless you came looking for him yourself.”

Amara looked at her. “You knew my father?”

“I knew the truth about him.”

The key turned with a metallic click.

Inside the locker was a black leather case, a photograph, and a sealed envelope bearing her father’s handwriting.

Amara reached for the envelope.

Before she could open it, footsteps echoed from the far end of the corridor.

Ruth’s face drained of colour.

“They found us.”

Amara looked toward the darkness.

Then she heard a familiar voice.

“Amara.”

Ethan Kwon stepped into the light.