CHAPTER THREE — THE TRUTH BETWEEN US

Amara stared at Daniel's message for what felt like an eternity.

Nadia is my mother.

Those four words had changed everything.

She read them again.

And again.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.

Amara: Then who is my mother?

The message showed as delivered.

No reply.

She waited.

One minute.

Five minutes.

Ten.

Nothing.

Favour was still beside her, watching her face.

"He's not answering?"

Amara shook her head.

"Maybe he doesn't know what to say."

Favour looked at her.

"Or maybe he knows exactly what to say."

Amara swallowed.

"Favour..."

"I know."

"No. You don't."

"I know you're scared."

Amara looked down at the photograph.

The little girl.

The little boy.

Two children standing beside each other.

Smiling.

Happy.

Before someone had separated them.

"Why would our parents separate us?" Amara whispered.

Favour didn't answer.

Because neither of them knew.

Suddenly, Amara's phone vibrated.

Daniel: Meet me tomorrow.

Amara: Where?

A few seconds passed.

Daniel: The old park behind St. Mary's.

Amara frowned.

Amara: Why there?

This time, his reply came immediately.

Daniel: Because that's where everything started.

Amara's heart skipped.

She stared at the words.

Everything started.

What did that mean?

---

The next morning, Amara barely slept.

She kept thinking about the photograph.

Her mother.

Nadia.

Daniel.

And herself.

There was a question she couldn't escape.

If Daniel was the boy in the photograph...

Then why had she never seen him before?

Why had their families acted as if they had no connection?

And why did Daniel already know so much about her?

By morning, she had decided she needed answers.

Not excuses.

Not half-truths.

Answers.

---

The old park was almost empty when Amara arrived.

Daniel was already there.

He stood beneath a large tree, his hands inside his pockets.

For the first time since Amara had met him, he didn't smile when he saw her.

He simply looked at her.

"You're here."

"You asked me to come."

"I know."

Amara stopped a few feet away.

"Tell me everything."

Daniel looked away.

"Amara..."

"Everything."

He took a slow breath.

"My mother is Nadia."

"I know."

"And the baby girl in that photograph..."

He hesitated.

"That's you."

Amara's eyes filled with tears.

"Why?"

Daniel looked at her.

"I don't know the whole story."

"Then tell me what you do know."

He was silent.

Finally, he reached into his bag.

He pulled out an old envelope.

It looked worn.

Yellow.

Almost forgotten.

He handed it to her.

"What is this?"

"My mother kept it."

Amara opened it carefully.

Inside was an old letter.

She began reading.

Her expression changed.

"Who wrote this?"

"My mother."

Amara looked up.

"To whom?"

Daniel's voice dropped.

"I don't know, maybe to your mother."

Amara's heart began beating faster.

She looked back at the letter.

There were only a few lines.

But one sentence made her hands tremble.

I don't know if you have known the truth, but they shouldn't know now.

Amara looked at Daniel.

"What truth?"

"I don't know."

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

"Then why did you bring me here?"

"Because I found the letter three weeks ago."

Amara froze.

"Three weeks?"

Daniel nodded.

"That's why I started looking for you."

The words hit her like a blow.

"So you didn't meet me by accident."

Daniel didn't answer.

Amara stepped backward.

"You knew who I was."

"Yes."

"You knew my name."

"Yes."

"You knew things about my family."

"Yes."

"And you still pretended you just wanted to be my friend?"

Daniel's face tightened.

"I didn't know how to tell you."

"You could have told me the truth!"

"I was afraid!"

His voice echoed across the quiet park.

Both of them fell silent.

Daniel looked down.

"I was afraid that if I told you, you'd never speak to me again."

Amara's eyes filled with tears.

"You should have let me decide that."

"I know."

She wiped her cheek.

"Why did you come into my life?"

Daniel looked at her.

"Because I wanted to know what happened."

"And now?"

He hesitated.

"Now I don't know if I want to lose you."

Amara's heart tightened.

For a moment, everything became confusing.

The fear.

The betrayal.

The questions.

And the feelings she had tried so hard to ignore.

She looked away.

"Don't say things like that."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know what's real anymore."

Daniel stepped closer.

"Amara, what I felt for you was real."

She looked at him.

He continued.

"Maybe I came into your life because of the past. Maybe I wanted answers. But somewhere along the way..."

He stopped.

"I started caring about you."

Amara said nothing.

She couldn't.

Because a part of her believed him.

And that frightened her even more.

---

That evening, Amara confronted her mother.

She placed the old letter on the table.

Her mother stared at it.

Her face immediately changed.

"Where did you get this?"

"Daniel."

Her mother closed her eyes.

"Amara..."

"Tell me the truth."

Silence.

"Who is Nadia?"

Her mother sat down slowly.

"She was my best friend."

"Were?"

Her mother looked at her.

"We haven't spoken in seventeen years."

"Why?"

Her mother looked toward the window.

"Because of what happened."

"What happened?"

She hesitated.

Then whispered:

"You were supposed to have a brother."

Amara's breath caught.

"What?"

"Before you were born, I had a son."

Amara stared at her.

"A son?"

Her mother nodded.

"He was born before you."

"Where is he?"

Her mother didn't answer.

"Where is he, Mum?"

Tears appeared in her mother's eyes.

"He died."

Amara's face fell.

"But the photograph..."

Her mother looked at her sharply.

"What photograph?"

"The one with Daniel."

Her mother stood up.

"Amara, listen to me carefully."

Her voice was shaking.

"Whatever Daniel has told you, don't believe everything."

"Why?"

"Because Nadia lied to me."

"What did she lie about?"

Her mother looked toward the door.

Then back at Amara.

"She told me my son was dead."

Amara froze.

The room suddenly felt cold.

"Then what are you saying?"

Her mother whispered:

"I don't know if he was."

---

That night, Daniel received a call from his mother.

"Nadia?"

"Where are you?"

"At home."

"Are you with Amara?"

Daniel froze.

"How do you know about her?"

There was silence.

Then Nadia spoke.

"Because I've been waiting seventeen years for you to find her."

Daniel's eyes widened.

"What?"

"You weren't supposed to find her yet."

"Why?"

"Because the truth isn't ready to come out."

Daniel stood up.

"What truth?"

Nadia's voice became shaky.

"The photograph you found..."

"Yes?"

"That's not the only photograph."

Daniel's breathing stopped.

"What do you mean?"

"I kept the others hidden."

"Where?"

Nadia paused.

Then said:

"With the person who knows what happened to the children."

Daniel's voice dropped.

"Who?"

Before Nadia could answer, the call suddenly ended.

Daniel called back.

No answer.

He tried again.

Nothing.

Then his phone received a message.

From an unknown number.

Stop searching.

A second message followed.

You don't know what you're looking for.

Then a third.

Ask your mother what happened on the night Amara was born.

Daniel stared at the screen.

His hands went cold.

---

Across town, Amara was sitting on her bed.

She had barely spoken since her mother had told her the truth.

Or what little truth she had given her.

Her phone vibrated.

It was Favour.

Favour: Amara, I found something else.

Amara: What?

A photograph arrived.

Amara opened it.

Her eyes widened.

It was another old photograph.

This time, there were three women standing together.

Her mother.

Nadia.

And a third woman Amara had never seen before.

But that wasn't what frightened her.

In the woman's arms was a baby.

The same baby girl on the previous photograph.

And beside her stood a little boy.

Daniel.

Amara zoomed in.

The little boy was holding the baby's hand.

Underneath the photograph was a handwritten date.

The night they were separated.

Amara's phone slipped from her hand.

She picked it up again.

There was one final message from Favour.

Amara... I think the baby is you.

Amara stared at the photograph.

Then she noticed something else.

A name had been written beside the baby's picture.

Not Amara.

Not Daniel.

Another name.

Miriam.

Her heart stopped.

Who was Miriam?

And why had her mother never told her?

Before Amara could think, someone knocked on her bedroom door.

Three slow knocks.

She looked toward the door.

"Mum?"

No answer.

Another knock.

She slowly stood.

Then her phone vibrated.

Unknown number.

One message.

Don't open the door.

Amara froze.

Another message appeared.

Your mother isn't the person you should be afraid of.

Then came the final message.

It's Nadia.