ON THE EDGE

CHAPTER 14

DEATH CAME CALLING **

The night was supposed to be simple. A girls’ night—just laughter, music, a few drinks, and a break from the pain Amara was desperately trying to forget. Jane had insisted. Bella had brought wine. The living room felt warm, safe, full of loud American music, and even louder conversations.

But it only took one moment for it all to fall apart.

The first bang on the door came like thunder.

Amara’s laughter died instantly. Bella’s wine glass slipped from her fingers, shattering against the floor. Jane sat up, her face tightening, her fearless gaze locked on the door.

A second bang—harder, more violent—shook the walls.

“Who the hell—” Jane began, but another bang cut her off.

The third strike was deafening.

The door crashed open, slamming against the wall with brutal force.

They stormed in—four masked men, dressed in black, guns drawn, their voices sharp and commanding.

“Get down! Nobody moves!” screaming in Chinese.

Screams erupted.

Bella dropped to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Amara’s body froze in terror as one of the men grabbed her roughly, dragging her toward him.

But Jane didn’t cower. She was drunk or high or something.

Fierce as ever, with that reckless, fiery defiance, she stood between trying to protect Amara from the gunman who was beating Amara,

Jane knew they came for Amara, and she was going to protect her from them.

“Let her go!” Jane shouted, shoving the man back, her voice loud and fearless. “You bastards think you can barge in here? Take what you want! You’re not touching her!”

The girls pleaded with her to lie low,

But she didn’t listen.

Before she could think it was too late.

“Shut her up,” the leader growled coldly.

The gun turned.

One shot. Sharp. Final.

Jane’s body jerked violently, her words cut short as a dark stain spread across her chest.

She collapsed to the floor, lifeless.

The room fell into silence—except for Bella’s terrified sobs and Amara’s breathless gasps.

The masked men didn’t linger. They vanished into the night, leaving the door hanging open, the stench of gunpowder thick in the air.

Amara dropped to her knees, crawling toward Jane’s body, her hands shaking as she cradled her fallen friend.

"Call for help," she screamed.

“Jane… No… Please, no…” Her voice cracked, but Jane’s eyes were already empty—staring into nothingness.

The bullet had gone straight to her heart, spearing her no breath.

It could just be a dream. She thought.

"It's a dream. It has to be a dream." She cried, pinching herself.

That night, something inside Amara shattered forever.

And for the first time in years, Amara cried—not just from fear, but from grief. From guilt. From the overwhelming realisation that no matter how far she ran, her past would always find a way to bleed into her present.

Outside that bloodstained apartment, far from the screams and sirens, a quiet truth lingered in the shadows.

Someone had wanted Jane dead.

And they got what they wanted.

But Amara was still alive.

And now, she would have to live with the fact that Jane's dead. And it was her fault.

The wailing of sirens sliced through the night.

Amara sat in the back of the police van, her hands trembling, blood drying on her fingers—Jane’s blood. Her eyes stared blankly ahead as officers moved swiftly, securing the crime scene. Bella sat beside her, eyes swollen, shivering in silence, still wrapped in a thin police blanket.

The apartment was cordoned off.

It was a murder involving an international student. And the police department of the Republic of China would do anything to bring justice and make sure China is a safe place for international students to study.

Actions were taken already.

Jane's body had been taken away. Amara hadn’t said a word since they carried her from the bloodstained living room.

Now, inside the interrogation room, under the cold fluorescent lights, the world finally tilted.

Detective Han, an almost ageing but sharp-eyed officer, sat across from her, voice firm but not unkind. “Miss Okoye, we need you to start from the beginning. Tell us what happened before the gunmen arrived.”

Amara blinked slowly, her voice shaky, distant. “It was a girls’ night... We were laughing... drinking... We didn’t hear them coming.”

Detective Han nodded. “Had you seen any of the men before? Did u recognise anyone, their voice?”

That’s when the memories hit her. Like a flood,

Yes, she had.

The voice of the leader was familiar, like she'd heard his voice before.

A flashback struck—

Two weeks ago...

Amara had been walking through the bustling night streets of Shanghai from her apartment. Taking a stroll. The lights, the food stands, the music from nearby bars—it felt free, and it felt safe with storekeepers and their stores. Until it wasn’t.

A group of rough-looking men loitered at a corner. One of them—she recognised at the party. The man Kai punched for trying to force her to dance with her at the party —had stepped forward, leering.

“Hey, baby. Come walk with me.”

She had ignored him.

He reached for her arm. She yanked it away.

The men with him laughed, but his face changed. He gripped her wrist so hard.

Some storekeepers came to her aid.

“You turn me down? You pay.” He said, muttering something else in Chinese, as they left.

She had hurried home. That night, she said nothing about it to anyone except Jane.

Jane had said he was just trying to scare her and that she'd be fine.

But now...

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

They came for her, she knew it.

It was supposed to be her, not Jane.

Jane had nothing to do with this.

It was all her fault, she thought as sounds faded from her ears.

Her voice broke. “It was him. He was at the party. He... then on the street before. He said he’d come back. I and Jane didn’t think he meant it.”

Detective Han exchanged a look with his assistant. “Can you describe him?”

She did. With tears in her eyes.

Next, Bella was brought in. Her voice was faint but clearer than Amara’s.

“We didn't see anything. We were just having fun. When they came. Jane was acting strange, we begged her to lay low." Her voice was cracking. ” She wouldn't listen. And they...They... She sobbed this time uncontrollably.

Outside, Kai stood with Ethan and Fred. They’d been brought in for routine questioning.

Inside, Kai answered calmly.

“I was at my work. Got home only to find Ethan going to the scene. And we went together. He said.

Ethan who had been quiet, finally spoke."We weren’t there when it happened. Bella called saying Jane was killed. I called Fred to inform him.

Fred was brought in.

" I was with her when she was getting ready for the girls' night. She was excited like always, but she'd been drinking lately, I caught her with some drugs, not once. We tried talking about it, but it always ended with fights. He took a breath.

"She always wanted to be in control.

Jane was a girl of her own. She did what she pleased, keeping me out of her life every time, and I let her die.

She went back to them drugs. He sobbed failing to control himself.

The officers confirmed their alibis quickly.

"You guys look for the guys who did this to my girl. Those MF have to pay.” Fred cried.

After what felt like hours, the questioning ended.

With the detective ruling Fred a suspect.

His relationship with Jane wasn't a rosy one, They had issues. But there was not enough evidence for the police to arrest him yet.

All evidence was tied to the four armed men.

The case was ruled a gang attack.

There were also complaints and cases attached to gang attacks in the area.

And they had to be stopped.

Kai and Ethan waited outside the station.

As soon as he saw her, his heart twisted. She looked broken.

Without a word, he stepped forward and held the door open to his car, covering her with his jacket.

Bella had already left with Fred.

Ethan watched quietly, as if trying to process the fact that Jane was dead.

---

In the Car

They drove through the dim street, the silence inside the car deafening.

Amara sat curled against the window, with Kai's jacket over her trembling shoulders, her eyes unfocused, her shoulders shaking with quiet sobs, Ethan comforting her.

Kai glanced at her once, then focused on the road again, knuckles white against the wheel.

He wanted to say something—anything—but the words never came.

He could only offer her what little peace he had left.

When they reached his apartment, he unlocked the door and stepped aside.

Amara entered slowly. So did Ethan. He went numb.

The space was still warm, quiet. Still.

Too still.

Kai gently placed her bag inside. “You can stay here... as long as you want.”

Amara didn’t answer. She simply walked past him and into the guest room.

She closed the door softly behind her.

And collapsed onto the bed.

Jane was gone.

And a part of her heart had gone with her.