The Name

CHAPTER 7

The Name That Shattered Everything

(Amara’s POV)

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

The words Daniel had just said echoed inside my head like a broken record.

The Nwoye family was involved in the accident that killed my brother.

I stared at him, waiting for the moment he would laugh and say it was a misunderstanding.

He didn’t.

“You’re serious,” I whispered.

Daniel stood a few feet away from me, his tall frame rigid, his expression carefully controlled. But I could see something else beneath that calm surface.

Conflict.

Pain.

Suspicion.

“Yes,” he said quietly.

My chest tightened.

“You think my family killed your brother?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You just did.”

“No,” he replied, his voice still steady. “I said someone connected to the Nwoye name appeared in the investigation.”

“That doesn’t mean it was my family.”

“I know.”

I ran a hand through my hair, trying to steady my breathing.

This had to be some kind of mistake.

“My parents are teachers,” I said. “My father teaches history, and my mother runs a small community school.”

Daniel didn’t interrupt.

“They’ve lived in the same house in Abuja for twenty-five years. They barely know anyone powerful enough to be connected to something like that.”

“I’m aware.”

My head snapped up.

“You’re aware?”

“Yes.”

The room suddenly felt smaller.

“You investigated my family?”

“Yes.”

The honesty of that answer hit harder than if he had lied.

“Wow.”

I laughed bitterly.

“Wow.”

“I needed to understand the connection.”

“So you followed me, researched my life, hired my company, and pretended everything was normal… just so you could investigate me?”

“I didn’t pretend.”

My eyes flashed.

“Oh really? Because from where I’m standing, this whole thing looks like one big setup.”

Daniel stepped closer.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”

“How was it supposed to happen?”

“I was going to confirm the information first.”

“And then what?”

Silence.

That silence answered everything.

“You would have destroyed me,” I said quietly.

“No.”

“Then what?”

His jaw tightened.

“I don’t know.”

That answer made my heart ache in a way I didn’t expect.

Because for the first time since we met, Daniel Cole looked like a man who had lost control of the situation.

I turned away from him and walked toward the kitchen counter, needing distance.

“This is unbelievable.”

“You have every right to be angry.”

“Oh, I’m past angry.”

I grabbed a glass of water, trying to calm the storm building in my chest.

“You know what hurts the most?”

He didn’t answer.

“I actually thought you were… different.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Daniel looked at me sharply.

“Different how?”

“Honest.”

A heavy silence filled the apartment.

Finally, he said quietly,

“I never lied to you.”

“You hid the truth.”

“Yes.”

“That’s the same thing.”

He didn’t argue.

I took a deep breath.

“Tell me about the accident.”

Daniel’s eyes darkened slightly.

“You want to know?”

“Yes.”

“Five years ago,” he began slowly, “my brother Michael was leaving a charity event.”

I glanced at the photograph on my laptop again.

The smiling man who looked so much like Daniel.

“A black SUV ran a red light and hit his car.”

My stomach tightened.

“He died before the ambulance arrived.”

I felt a sharp wave of sympathy.

“That’s horrible.”

“Yes.”

“What does that have to do with my family?”

“The SUV was registered to a company owned by someone named Nwoye.”

My mind raced.

“Nwoye isn’t exactly a rare name.”

“I know.”

“Did you ever find the driver?”

“No.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“The vehicle disappeared the next day.”

“Disappeared?”

“Burned,” Daniel corrected. “Someone destroyed it.”

A chill ran down my spine.

“That sounds like a crime cover-up.”

“It was.”

“Then why investigate my family? My parents barely own a car.”

“The company connected to the SUV was traced to an older address once owned by someone named Samuel Nwoye.”

My heart skipped.

Samuel.

“My uncle,” I said slowly.

Daniel’s eyes sharpened.

“You know him.”

“Barely.”

“Explain.”

“My father has an older brother named Samuel,” I said. “But they haven’t spoken in years.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

Daniel studied me carefully.

“You never asked?”

“Families fight sometimes.”

“This wasn’t just a fight.”

His certainty made my chest tighten.

“What do you mean?”

“The company that owned the SUV belonged to your uncle.”

The words landed like a bomb.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“That can’t be right.”

“Why not?”

“Because my uncle disappeared ten years ago.”

Daniel’s brows furrowed.

“Disappeared?”

“My parents stopped talking about him when I was in secondary school. One day he was around… and then he wasn’t.”

“And no one explained why?”

“No.”

The room fell into uneasy silence.

For the first time since this conversation began…

Daniel looked genuinely surprised.

“You didn’t know,” he said quietly.

“No, I didn’t.”

I met his gaze.

“And now I want the truth.”

Before he could respond, my phone suddenly buzzed on the table.

Unknown Number.

My stomach twisted.

Something about tonight already felt wrong.

I answered slowly.

“Hello?”

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then a male voice said calmly,

“Good evening, Amara.”

“Who is this?”

“A friend.”

My grip tightened on the phone.

“What do you want?”

“To help you understand why Daniel Cole is really in your life.”

My eyes lifted toward Daniel instantly.

His expression hardened.

“What are you talking about?” I demanded.

The voice chuckled softly.

“You should ask him about the investigation file he keeps on your family.”

Daniel’s jaw tightened.

My heart dropped.

“How do you know about that?”

“Because,” the voice replied calmly,

“I’m the man who took the photograph of you yesterday.”

The line went silent.

The call ended.

And suddenly…

This situation was no longer just about Daniel and me.

Someone else had entered the game.