In Chapter 8, Amelia and Liam uncover their first substantial clue about Ethan — but what they discover at the station surprises them both.
The rain tapped rhythmically on the taxi's roof as it raced down the wet streets. Amelia sat in the back next to Liam, tightly holding a damp photograph of Ethan and Clara. Each streetlight flickered across her face, showcasing the conflict of fear and hope in her eyes.
“Why would Ethan keep a photo like this?” she pondered aloud, her fingers tracing the blurred edge of the woman beside him.
Liam spoke softly. “It might be a clue. Maybe he wanted you to find it.”
She shot him a sharp look. “Or maybe someone wanted me to see it.”
As they neared the train station, the car slowed, revealing a quiet, nearly abandoned building, with only a few flickering lights casting it in a nostalgic glow. The driver’s voice broke the stillness. “We’re here.”
Amelia stepped out into the chilly wind that snapped her back to reality. The familiar scent of iron and oil hung in the air — a smell that seemed to linger on every train platform. She recalled her first visit here with Ethan, when he had held her hand tightly, promising that no matter what happened, he’d always return.
Now, that promise felt like a distant echo she couldn't quite grasp.
They hurried to the ticket counter, where Liam leaned in toward the clerk and showed him Ethan's picture.
“Have you seen this man recently?”
The clerk scrutinized the image, then slowly nodded. “Yeah. I saw him two nights ago. Bought a one-way ticket to Westbridge Central Station.”
Amelia's heart raced. “Westbridge? But that’s north… away from everything he knew.”
The clerk shrugged. “He wasn’t alone. He had a woman with him. They looked… tense, like they were running from something.”
Amelia's hand shook. “Did he leave anything behind? A note, a bag—”
Before the clerk could respond, Liam gently touched her arm. “Look.”
A mobile phone was ringing softly on a nearby bench — the sound persistent and lonely. The clerk frowned. “That’s been going off since this morning. No one’s claimed it.”
With a heavy heart, Amelia moved toward it. Picking it up, she wiped the screen clean and gasped.
The wallpaper was a picture of her — laughing with Ethan at a seaside café.
Her throat tightened. “It’s his phone.”
Liam glanced around cautiously. “Someone must have left it here. Ethan wouldn’t just abandon it.”
She unlocked the phone using the code she still knew — 1103, Ethan's birthday. The screen lit up immediately.
Quickly, she scanned through messages and missed calls, all from an unknown number. But there was one unsent draft dating back to the night before he vanished.
> “If anything happens to me, don’t trust the woman who says she’s my sister.”
Amelia's heart dropped. “The woman who says she’s his sister?” she whispered. “You mean Clara?”
Liam’s expression went pale. “That can’t be true. Ethan always said she was family.”
The air turned icy, almost as if the truth itself was breathing down their necks. Amelia tightened her grip on the phone, her chest tightening. “So who is she really?”
Before Liam could reply, a train horn suddenly blasted through the station — loud and haunting. Its headlights cut through the fog as it approached.
Through the glass of one carriage, Amelia caught a glimpse of a face — a woman with dark hair, a faint scar on her cheek, and eyes locked onto hers — calm, knowing, and dangerous.
It was Clara.
Amelia's heart raced in her throat. “That’s her!”
But before she could react, Clara turned and melted away into the train. Liam grabbed her hand, and they sprinted towards the platform. The doors began to close.
“Clara! Wait!” Amelia shouted.
For just a brief moment, Clara glanced back through the window, mouthing something that Amelia struggled to decipher through the glass:
“He’s alive.”
As the train pulled away, it left behind only the wind and the echo of those haunting words.
Amelia froze, breathless. “Liam... did you see that?”
He nodded, eyes wide. “She said he’s alive. But if she lied about being his sister, why mention that now?”
Amelia turned her attention back to Ethan’s phone. A new notification popped up — one that hadn’t been there moments before.
New message received: 7:04 p.m.
> “If you want the truth, come alone.”
Location: Westbridge Central Station.
Sender: Clara.
Meeting Liam's gaze, she barely whispered, “I think it’s time we stop running from the truth.”
He shook his head. “No, Amelia. She said to come alone.”
With rain glistening in her hair, she looked back at the departing train. “Then that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
💬 Question for Readers:
Should Amelia trust Clara and go alone to Kaduna — or take Liam with her even if it means breaking the rules?
Tags: Romac Romance, Amelia and Liam story, Ethan and Amelia mystery, Clara and Ethan secret, romantic suspense, Chapter 8, Lolasura Romac
Previous: Chapter 7 — The Door in the Dark
Next: Chapter 9 — Coming Soon
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