Sara's heart raced like thunder, and she could feel a pulsating rhythm drumming in the ear as the mysterious woman came into the illumination. She felt that her inner world has turned upside down. The features of the beautiful woman were so unfamiliar that however much one tried, Sara couldn't understand.Ethan tightened his grip on her shoulder and dragged her toward him. "Don't stand behind me," he whispered ominously, as if forming without even a twitch of his muscles.The woman smiled coldly, her gaze still boring into Sara's face. "You don't remember me, do you?" she asked, with a voice silky, smooth, and twistedly familiar.Sara Blinked, trying to put the pieces of her past together. "Who are you?" she managed to get out in a shaking voice.The woman tilted her head, her eyes flickering with amusement. "I am someone who has been waiting for this moment for a long time, Sara." She stepped closer, and Sara's breath hitched in her throat."Who are you?" Sara asked in a voice barely above a whisper.The woman smiled a wide smile. "I am the one who you left behind, the one who you thought would fade away. But like Marcus, I'm not one to be forgotten. I am your past, Sara, your secret. I am your sister."Sara's mind was blasted apart with disbelief. "What?"The woman laughed hard, a bitter dark sound echoing around the deserted warehouse. "Oh, don't look so surprised. You really don't remember, do you? You were always the pretty, perfect one. And I was the one left behind, cast aside when you ran off to hide from everything. You don't even know who I am, do you?"Ethan's eyes flicked between the two women. His mind was racing. "Wait. You are saying you are Sara's sister?"The woman gave Sara a measuring look. "It is I who lingered in darkness while you scuttled safely from a mess we created. I have known exactly who you are all along. And, here we are again, at the crossroads of everything."Sara's head spun, and the world began to crack apart as the weight of the woman's words sunk in. It came back from an old haunting, and this was not just any discovery; this was everything she believed to go her way, unraveling."I don't remember you," whispered Sara, her throat clenching to hold back a tide of tears, "How could I forget you?"It was again the same laugh: low and mocking. "Oh, you remember the good parts. But you don't remember what we did together. The lies. The betrayals. The things that you ran from."In horror, Sara step backward as the feeling of constriction tightened around her chest. She was trying to piece everything together when she realized the ground shifted under her feet. Ethan kept a protective pose, not trusting either of them, but had his attention fully attached on her."But why now?" Sara managed to stammer. "Why is this being brought up now?"Her smile was cruel and almost gleeful as she replied, "Because it is time to face your past, Sara. Marcus has been waiting for this, and I'm just the courier. You think you've escaped? You think you've been free? You never were. You were always going to come back to me."Sara had the sensation that her insides twisted. "You're working with Marcus?"The lady slowly tilted her head from side to side while her eyes glistened with malice. "Of course. Marcus always knew where to find me. He and I have plans, Sara. Big plans. And you? You're the key."I steered Ethan forward, his voice unwavering as he pronounced, "We're done with your games, all of you. No more lies, no more secrets. What do you want from Sara?"A flicker of the unsightly gaze landed on him, and the dark corners of his eye pricked with contempt. "We don't want anything from you, Mr. CEO. We want something way bigger than you."Ethan clenched his fist, instincts protective coming to the surface. "I don't care what you want. This ends tonight."Sara was feeling the pressure of the woman's voice on her, a kind of entrapment-physical and emotional. Everything she fought to escape from-his past, her sister-had suddenly settled back into her existence, but along with that ha come the one thing that had changed-strength. She was not the frightened girl who had run away anymore."I won't be your pawn," Sara said. It was a voice stronger than it had been in years. "You and Marcus will not destroy me again."There was a slight hiccup in the woman's smile; it was quickly transformed into a twisted grin. "You will see, Sara. You will see how easy it is for the past to swallow up all from you."Marcus stepped out of the shadows, his eyes cold and calculating. "Enough, Amelia," he said in an ice-cold tone. "We have played this game long enough."The woman-Amelia-gave Marcus an insolent smile. "Fine. But don't think this is over. You have only won for now, Marcus." She turned and departed silently into shadows, her footfalls echoing ominously.He stood, Marcus, watching her leave, then turned his attention back to Sara and Ethan: "This is not over-not by a long shot. But tonight, I leave you with a parting gift-" Sara's heart skipped. "What gift?"Even before Marcus could say anything, that unmistakable sharp-siren sound reached their ears from a distance. His eyes grew dark. "Your little trap didn't work, did it, Ethan? I knew you'd come here with all your security."The warehouse doors bashed shut, and the sounds of police officers approaching from all directions were audible."Seems like your luck has run out," Marcus sneered back coldly. "But I'll leave you with something to remember me by." With that, he flung a small device toward them, and that instant, the warehouse became filled with blinding light and deafening explosion.Ethan pulled Sara down, holding her tight as the blast rocked the building.Finally, the dust was settling, and the world was returning to its hazy reality with Ethan still holding Sara. They were safe, just about, but nowhere near out of danger.Sara looked at Ethan and whispered, "Is it over?"Ethan's gaze was staunch. "Not yet. We'll make sure it is. I'm not letting him win."---The End