Rain drummed on the warehouse roof like a thousand quiet heartbeats.
Amelia stood frozen, her eyes flicking between Ethan and Clara — two faces from her past, now twisted by secrets she could no longer untangle.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Ethan… what did you do?”
Ethan looked exhausted, rainwater dripping from his hair, his chest rising and falling as if every breath hurt.
“I didn’t just disappear,” he said finally. “I ran because I was part of the reason your life fell apart.”
Clara’s smile sharpened. “Finally. The great Ethan speaks.”
“Shut up, Clara,” he said through clenched teeth, his voice trembling. “You started this.”
“Oh, don’t pretend you’re the victim.” Clara took a step closer, circling Amelia like a predator. “He just didn’t tell you, did he? That before he met you, we were working together. That the accident… the one that cost your company everything… wasn’t an accident at all.”
Amelia blinked, confusion flooding her. “What—what are you talking about?”
Ethan turned toward her, his voice breaking. “Amelia, the night before you lost everything — the files, the investors, your reputation — it was me. I was working under Clara. She promised me something I was too desperate to refuse.”
Amelia felt her knees weaken. “No… Ethan, please—”
“I didn’t know she was going to destroy everything!” he shouted, voice echoing in the empty hall. “I just thought I was helping her expose corruption. But it wasn’t corruption, it was you. It was your company, your dream, your name she wanted to ruin!”
Tears burned Amelia’s eyes. She took a step back, shaking her head.
“So all that time… when I thought you were kidnapped, or dead, or fighting for us… you were running from your own guilt?”
Ethan’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I wanted to come back. Every single day. But how could I? After what I’d done to you?”
Clara laughed softly — the sound like broken glass. “He begged me to make it right. He thought he could undo it all if he disappeared long enough. But guilt doesn’t fade, Amelia. It rots.”
Amelia turned on Clara, fury cutting through the pain. “Why? Why destroy everything I built? What did I ever do to you?”
Clara’s expression shifted — something like sadness flickering in her eyes.
“You took him,” she said quietly. “You took the only person who ever believed in me.”
Amelia froze.
“You mean Ethan?”
Clara nodded. “We were together before you came along. He left me for you, and when you took over the company we built from the ground up, I swore you’d understand how it feels to lose everything.”
Ethan closed his eyes, whispering, “Clara, stop. It’s over.”
But she shook her head. “No, Ethan. It’s never over. Not until she feels what I felt.”
Before Amelia could speak, a loud crash echoed from the far end of the warehouse — and Liam burst through the door, drenched and breathless, holding a small device in his hand.
“Step away from her!” he shouted. “I’ve already called the police.”
Clara’s eyes flashed. “You shouldn’t have come.”
Liam ignored her, rushing to Amelia’s side. “I knew something was wrong when you didn’t answer your phone.”
Amelia gripped his arm, relief flooding through her. “Liam—she—she’s not just after Ethan. She’s after me.”
Clara smirked. “I’m not after anyone anymore. I already got what I wanted.”
Ethan frowned. “What do you mean?”
She pointed to the ground, and for the first time, they noticed the faint red light blinking beneath one of the metal crates.
Liam’s face drained of color. “That’s a detonator.”
Amelia’s heart stopped. “Clara—what have you done?”
Clara’s voice was calm, chillingly so. “I told you, Amelia. You took everything from me. I’m just returning the favor.”
Liam moved quickly, pulling Amelia behind a support beam. “We need to get out, now!”
Ethan ran toward Clara, desperate. “Don’t do this! You’ll kill yourself too!”
Clara smiled sadly. “That’s the point.”
She pressed a button on a small remote—
—but nothing happened.
Ethan blinked. “What—?”
Liam stepped forward, holding up the real detonator. “Looking for this?”
For the first time, Clara’s expression cracked.
“How—?”
“I’ve been tracking you since the night you tried to meet Amelia,” Liam said. “You left your signal open.”
The tension shattered into chaos — Ethan rushing to restrain Clara as she fought to break free, Amelia crying out his name. Rain poured in through the broken windows, and the air was filled with sirens approaching in the distance.
Clara screamed, “You’ll regret this!” just before the police burst through the doors.
She was dragged away, still shouting Ethan’s and Amelia’s names like curses.
When the dust settled, Amelia stood outside the warehouse, her clothes soaked, her soul heavier than ever.
Ethan stood a few feet away, staring at his hands. He looked smaller now — not the man who had once swept her off her feet, but a broken version of him.
Liam placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”
She nodded slowly, eyes still locked on Ethan. “No. But I will be.”
Ethan approached carefully. “Amelia… I don’t expect forgiveness. I just wanted you to know the truth before I disappear again.”
She looked at him for a long moment.
“I spent months grieving you,” she said softly. “I built my life around a memory of someone who wasn’t even real anymore.”
He flinched.
“But now I see it — the truth, no matter how painful, is better than the lie that held me captive.”
Ethan nodded, tears filling his eyes. “I’ll turn myself in. It’s the least I can do.”
Amelia hesitated, her heart breaking all over again.
“Maybe one day… you’ll find peace,” she whispered. “Just not with me.”
Ethan lowered his head. “I know.”
He turned and walked into the flashing lights of the waiting police cars. The rain washed over him as if trying to cleanse everything that had happened — but some stains never fade.
Liam watched in silence. “You did the right thing
,” he said softly.
Amelia looked up at the stormy sky. “Then why does it still hurt so much?”
💬 To Be Continued…
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