Amara's morning began like any other-quiet,slow and familiar. She stood by the small kitchen window,stirring her cup of tea while listening to the soft buzz of the neighbourhood coming alive. Birds chirped on the power line, and the scent of rain from the night before still clung to the air. She want to start preparing breakfast when her phone rang with an unknown number. She ignored the call and continued cutting her vegetables while wondering where her sister, Lilian could possibly be after sending her a message the night before. Which reads " I have something important to tell you" Amara's phone rang again with the same unknown number. She hesitated, then answered.
"Hello?"" Is this Amara Maxwell?" a man voice asked." Yes...… who is this?"There was a pause. A heavy,terrible pause." This is officer Ethan. I'm calling regarding your sister, Lilian Maxwell.
"Amara's grip tightened on the phone."
My sister?What- what happened
"I'm sorry he said gently. She was found earlier this morning. We….. we believed it's a suicide."The world around her went silent. She was lost in her thoughts." No," she whispered. "No, that's not possible. Lilian wouldn't- she wouldn't do that."But the officer quietly repeated the words she didn't want to hear.
Amara felt her knees weaken.
The morning air suddenly felt heavy,suffocating. Within an hour, she was at the small, dimly lit hospital where they had taken Lilian. Everything looked cold - too cold for the person she loved more than anyone in the world.She was led into a room where a covered body lay on a metal table.
" Are you ready?" a nurse asked softlyAmara's hands trembled as they lifted the sheet.Lilian's face was pale, far too still, as if the world had drained its colors from her.Amara gasped.But it wasn't just grief - something else caught her eye.A faint bruise along Lilian jawline. Another small mark on her wrist." Where did these come from?"she asked sharply.The officer looked surprised. "we... can't say for sure. She was found alone."Alone. That word echoed in Amara's mind like a lie.Later, when they handed her Lilian's belongings in a sealed envelope, Amara felt something inside her shift.Her sister's phone was missing.
Her wallet was half-empty.
And tucked at the bottom of the book in the envelope was a small scrap of paper with something scribbled on it: " Don't trust them."Them?Who?What was Lilian involved in?.
Back home, Amara sat on the edge of her bed long after the sun had disappeared behind the clouds. The room was dark except for a single lamp glowing beside her. She held Lilian's photo close, running her thumb across her sister's bright smile- the same smile that had warmed her childhood, protected her through heartbreak, and guided her like a lighthouse through every storm.Now that smile was gone.
Stolen .
Her breathing trembled as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. The house felt unbearably silent,as though it was also mourning Lilian. No footsteps, no laughter,no humming from the kitchen. Just cold emptiness.She laid the picture down and reached for the sealed brown envelope again. She hadn't had the courage to fully go through it earlier, but the quiet of the night pressed her forward.With shaky fingers, she emptied the contents onto her bed- her sister's wristwatch, a single earring, her ID card, and the small folded note she had already seen. Something felt wrong.Lilian was never without her necklace.Her phone was always with her.Her bag always neatly packed.These things were missing-as if someone had picked through her belongings.
She stood up to leave the room when her eyes sighted the torn page hidden under her computer.Amara picked up the torn note, staring at the messy handwriting.
If anything happens to me,it won't be what they say.
The words clawed at her,refusing to leave her mind."What were you trying to tell me Lilian?" She whispered.
She reached for Lilian's old notebook from her drawer- one she had borrowed some weeks ago. Tucked between the pages, she found a small receipt dated just two days before Lilian died. It was for a late-night taxi ride... from the company address.The same company whose card now lay on her bed.Amara felt her heartbreak quicken.She flipped to the last message Lilian sent the night before."I have something important to tell you".
Important.
Something she never got to say.Amara clenched her jaw." I should have asked what it was," she whispered." I should have pressed her."But regret only sharpened her pain.
A sudden knock at the door startled her.Her bestfriend,Maya, stepped inside slowly." Amara.... are you sure you don't want to come stay with us tonight?"Amara shook her head."
I need to be here. I need to think"Maya's eyes softened." we are grieving but you…. you look like someone searching for something."
Amara hesitated before answering." because she didn't kill herself."Maya flinched."
Amara, don't say that. The police-----"" the police are wrong."Her voice broke,but her gaze stayed firm." there were bruises. Her things were missing. And I found this." she showed Maya the note.Maya's hand flew to her mouth.' who would she tell you not to trust?"That's exactly what I want to find out."
A heavy silence settled between them until Maya finally nodded." please be careful."she whisperedAfter she left, Amara lay back on her bed,staring at the ceiling. Her body was exhausted, but her mind refused to rest. Every memory of Lilian kept replaying- Her laughter, her warnings,her worried eyes the last time they spoke.Around midnight, she got up to Lilian's old room. The air smelled faintly of her perfume-soft and familiar. Amara touched the edge of the neatly arranged books on her sisters shelf. Lilian was organized, meticulous,always planning ahead. She would never leave things messy-not in life,not in death.
On the desk lay a single journal with a pen beside it. Amara opened it carefully. Most of the pages were blank…. except for one near the back." someone at work knows what I found, I need to be smart about this. I don't know who to trust anymore."
Amara's breath hitched.
Someone at work.Her eyes drifted to the business card again. The one she took along to Lilian's room--- the company name printed in clean,bold letters. The logo felt suddenly threatening.She swallowed hard.
" tomorrow she would go there.Tomorrow she would step into Lilian's world,walk the halls she walked, talk to the people she talked to.And she would uncover everything.
She grabbed her sister's ID card and closed the journal,and she whispered softly into the quiet room:
" Lilian, I promise--- whatever they did to you,I'll find out."
Outside,thunder rumbled in the distance,as though the night itself responded to her vow.Amara turned off the light,but sleep never came.She lay awake until dawn,staring into the darkness,waiting for morning...…Waiting to face the place where her sister's secret were buried.