Chapter Seven

Questions That Refused to Sleep

The morning passed slowly and for the first time in days, Lily had enough strength to sit upright in bed. She had spread her new coloring book across the hospital blanket, carefully filling the pages with bright shades of blue and yellow while the pink teddy bear sat proudly beside her like a trusted companion.

Amara watched from the chair by the window. Seeing Lily smile again should have eased her mind. Instead, it only reminded her of the man who had made that smile possible. She picked up the handwritten card from the bedside table for what must have been the tenth time.

For brave little fighters. Get well soon.

No signature.

No initials.

No explanation.

It was exactly something Ethan would do.

He had always believed kindness lost its beauty the moment it demanded recognition.

"You're thinking about him again."

Amara looked up, startled.

Lily wasn't looking at her. She was still coloring.

"Why do you say that ?"

"You've been reading that card forever."

Amara smiled faintly.

"Have I?"

"You only look that serious when you're thinking."

"And how do you know that?"

Lily shrugged.

"Because you bite your lip."

Amara laughed softly.

"When did you become so observant?"

"I've always been."

She held up the picture she had finished.

It showed three people standing beneath a large umbrella.

One was clearly Amara.

The little girl in the middle was Lily.

The third figure was a tall man with dark hair.

Amara's smile faded.

"Who's that?"

Lily studied the drawing as though the answer were obvious.

"The man from yesterday."

"Ethan?"

"I don't know his name."

"Then why did you draw him?"

Lily frowned.

"I don't know."

She tapped her crayon against the page.

"It just felt like he belonged there."

A strange chill ran through Amara.

Children imagined all sorts of things.

That was all this was.

Still, she quietly folded the drawing and slipped it into her handbag.

At Cole Dynamics, Ethan sat through nearly an hour of presentations without hearing a single word. Charts appeared on the massive screen. Executives discussed market expansion.

Someone asked for his approval on a multimillion-naira investment.

"Ethan?"

He blinked.

The chairman was looking directly at him.

"Your thoughts?"

He glanced at the graph in front of him.

Normally, he could analyze financial reports in seconds.

Today, the numbers blurred together.

"I trust your recommendation."

The room fell unusually quiet.

His executives exchanged subtle glances.

Ethan Cole never said that.

He questioned everything.

He noticed every detail.

He had built his reputation on seeing what everyone else missed.

Yet this morning.

His mind was somewhere else.

After the meeting ended, his assistant hurried after him.

"Sir?"

"Yes?"

"You seem distracted."

"I'm fine."

She hesitated.

"I've worked with you for years."

He stopped walking.

"I've never seen you forget an agenda."

For a moment, Ethan almost smiled.

"I suppose there's a first time for everything."

Before she could respond, David, his head of security, approached with a sealed envelope.

"I have the preliminary report."

Ethan took it without opening it.

"My office."

A few moments later, the two men sat across from each other.

David placed several photographs on the desk.

"The investigation is still ongoing."

"What do we know?"

"Amara lives in Surulere."

He pointed to the first photograph.

"A modest two-bedroom apartment."

"She owns a tailoring shop about fifteen minutes away."

Another photograph showed a small storefront with a hand-painted sign.

AMARA STITCHES - Custom Designs & Alterations

Ethan stared at it longer than he expected.

He remembered nights in university when Amara stayed awake redesigning old dresses just for practice. She used to tell him, "One day women will wear my designs all over Africa."

He swallowed. She hadn't given up. Life had simply made the dream smaller.

"What about the child?"

David opened another file.

"Lily Okafor."

"Six years old."

"No father listed on official records."

Ethan looked up sharply.

"No father?"

"None that we've found."

His fingers tightened slightly around the report.

"Anything else?"

"There is something unusual."

David slid another document across the desk.

"The child's date of birth."

Ethan glanced down.

Then froze.

He counted silently.

His expression changed.

The timing...

It was impossible.

Or perhaps, It wasn't.

"Have you confirmed this?"

"It's from the National Population records."

Silence filled the office.

David carefully chose his next words.

"Sir..."

"Yes?"

"Would you like a DNA investigation?"

Ethan slowly looked out the window.

The suggestion sounded absurd, unreasonable and almost insulting.

And yet, Ever since that little girl had looked at him in the hospital, something deep inside him had refused to be quiet.

"No."

David looked surprised.

"Not yet."

Meanwhile, Vivian stood inside her walk-in closet selecting jewelry for a charity luncheon she no longer cared about attending.

Her phone rang.

Michael.

"I have new information."

"Tell me."

"We've confirmed the child's birth date."

Vivian closed her eyes.

"And?"

"It matches the timeline."

Her heart skipped once.

Only once.

But it was enough.

"What about the father?"

"Still unknown."

She exhaled slowly.

Unknown was better than confirmed.

For now.

"What is Ethan doing?"

"He's investigating."

That single sentence tightened every muscle in her body.

"How much does he know?"

"We don't believe he suspects anything specific."

"But he's asking questions."

"Yes."

Vivian ended the call without another word.

She walked toward the mirror.

The elegant woman staring back looked calm, collected, and perfect.

Only she knew how close that perfect life had come to collapsing.

She remembered the day seven years ago when she intercepted Amara's final letter.

She had burned it herself.

Watched every word turn to ash.

She had believed the past had died with it.

Now, the ashes were beginning to breathe again.

She reached for her handbag.

There was only one person who could help her keep those secrets buried.

And she intended to visit him before Ethan uncovered the truth.

As she walked toward the door, she whispered,

"Some ghosts should never come home."

She had no idea one of  those ghosts was already walking toward her.