Chapter 1 - The Splintered Truth
The silence in the room was absolutely deafening.
Every single eye was locked onto the shattered white wood of the expensive coffin.
Maria, the maid in the bright orange uniform, did not wait for anyone’s permission.
She grabbed the heavy iron axe again and swung it down with all the remaining strength in her small body.
Wood splintered and cracked under the violent impact.
"Stop her!" screamed David, the grieving husband, his voice cracking with a sudden, unexplainable panic.
"She’s destroying my wife’s resting place!"
Two large men in dark suits stepped forward, clearly intending to drag Maria away from the ruined casket.
But the tapping sound came again.
Tap.
Tap.
It was unmistakable this time, echoing softly but clearly through the cavernous funeral hall.
The two men froze in their tracks, their faces draining of color as they stared at the white box.
"Somebody help me!" Maria shrieked, her hands bleeding from gripping the broken wooden shards.
"She is suffocating in there, help me open it!"
An older gentleman, Eleanor’s uncle, pushed past the crowd and grabbed the edge of the fractured lid.
Together, with a sickening crunch, they tore the upper half of the coffin lid completely off.
The entire room let out a collective, horrifying gasp.
Eleanor was lying there, dressed in a stunning white silk gown.
Her eyes were wide open, bloodshot, and filled with absolute terror.
Her pale fingers were bruised and bloody from desperately scratching at the padded silk lining above her face.
She took a sharp, rattling breath, her chest heaving as fresh air finally flooded her starved lungs.
David staggered backward, his hands trembling as he stared at his supposedly dead wife.
"It's a miracle," a woman in the back row whispered, crossing herself.
But Maria did not look at it as a miracle.
She turned her furious, tear-stained face toward David.
"You knew," Maria snarled, pointing a bloody finger at the wealthy businessman.
"You put her in there while her heart was still beating."
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Before David could formulate a lie, the wail of police sirens echoed in the distance.
The funeral had just become a massive crime scene.
