Chapter 1: The stranger at the gate

The rain had started just as Amara stepped off the bus.

She pulled her small suitcase behind her and stared at the unfamiliar street. Everything felt different from home—the tall buildings, the busy roads, even the way strangers hurried past without looking at one another.

She checked the address on her phone again.

“Twenty-four Rosewood Avenue.”

It was supposed to be somewhere nearby.

Amara sighed and started walking.

After several minutes, she finally saw the house number. A large iron gate stood in front of a beautiful two-storey house surrounded by tall trees.

She stopped.

“This can't be right.”

Before she could check her phone again, the gate opened.

A young man stepped outside.

He was dressed simply in a dark shirt and trousers. His expression was calm, but something about his eyes made Amara uncomfortable.

He looked at her suitcase.

“Are you lost?”

Amara straightened.

“No. I'm looking for Mrs. Collins.”

The man's expression changed for just a second.

“You're Amara?”

She frowned.

“How do you know my name?”

He didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he gave her a brief smile.

“Mrs. Collins is expecting you.”

Amara hesitated before entering the compound.

As they walked toward the house, she noticed an old photograph hanging beside the front door. It showed a group of people standing in front of the same house.

One face caught her attention.

Her steps stopped.

She stared at the photograph.

A woman standing beside a little boy looked strangely familiar.

Very familiar.

“Do you know them?” the young man asked.

Amara quickly looked away.

“No.”

But she wasn't being completely honest.

The woman looked almost exactly like someone from an old photograph her mother had kept hidden for years.

Before she could say anything else, an older woman appeared at the doorway.

“Amara?”

“Yes.”

Mrs. Collins walked toward her, looking nervous.

Then she saw the photograph.

Her face went pale.

“You shouldn't have brought her here,” she whispered.

The young man turned toward her.

“You said she needed somewhere to stay.”

“That isn't what I meant.”

Amara looked between them.

“Is there something I should know?”

Neither answered.

Then Mrs. Collins noticed the small necklace around Amara's neck.

Her eyes widened.

“Where did you get that?”

Amara touched the necklace.

“My mother gave it to me.”

Mrs. Collins stared at it as though she had seen a ghost.

“Your mother…”

She stopped.

The young man stepped forward.

“Mrs. Collins, what's wrong?”

But before she could respond, there was a loud knock at the gate.

Everyone froze.

Mrs. Collins looked frightened.

The young man's calm expression disappeared.

Then Amara's phone vibrated.

She looked down.

UNKNOWN NUMBER

A message appeared on the screen:

Leave that house before you discover what your mother did.

Amara's heart began to race.

She looked up at the young man.

For the first time, she noticed that his smile was gone.

And somehow, she knew one thing for certain.

He already knew the secret.